In the American captivity of the Evangelical Church, every local body of believers, aka the local church, needs, apparently, a unique mission statement, like our secular, business and consumer oriented, culture. Like a local business or a major corporation has a mission statement, slogan, or defining purpose, the Evangelical church is told it needs the same, if only for advertising.

There’s plenty of sloganeering to go around. Here’s a few samples. I’ve left the name of the church out to protect their dignity (or stupidity), but couldn’t help making some funny editorial comments:

Helping people find their way back to God
(We have some very nice road maps in the lobby for your convenience)

To lead people into an authentic, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ (We don’t know how to define or observe that, but we’re on it.)

To revive believers, reach friends, and renew culture
(I think the Rotary and Lions Clubs do this, too)

We exist to make Heaven more crowded
(Can Heaven ever be crowded? Hell has no limits, either.)

To make Christ known and empty your wallets (That’s bullshit. I made that up.)

Leading people to experience a God-First Life
(Which God do they mean? And when does anybody put God first. Oh yeah, that was Jesus. John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him [God the Father] who sent me.)

To crush people with the Law making known their sin, then preaching the Gospel that they might know the love God in Christ Jesus for their salvation (This one’s getting closer to the first mark of a true church, but I doubt if their parking lot is full on any given Sunday. No. I made this one up, too.)

To glorify God by introducing Jesus Christ as Lord to as many people as possible and to develop them in Christian living using the most effective means to impact the world, making an eternal difference in this generation
(I think this one was written by a political speech writer or a Lutheran. They’re very long-winded and very precise. But unpacking this statement is also a large task: “using the most effective means” does that include waterboarding.)

My church recently spent several months redesigning a mission statement, slogan, brand. I don’t know what it is, so apparently it’s not memorable or meaningless, or both. We don’t have a jingle or mascot yet ,but I’m sure that’s in the works.[1]

There are even Internet sites which will help your church come up with one. One such website, churchrelevance.com, basically defines what the purpose of a church mission statement is in their domain name: to make your church seem or sound relevant to the populace.

We can observe several things from these statements. One, there’s some confusion about whether to mention God (generality), Jesus (the man), or Jesus Christ (the human and divine Son of God). Second, most are tuned to evangelism and an undefined meaning of discipleship. Third, the definition or purpose of the church is subjective, reflective, and consumer-focused: what we want to do for you.

At our church, we have a preamble before the greeting or sermon time that goes something like this: We want to be the kind of church if you identify as a Christian, maybe lapsed as a Christians, maybe a seeker and have question, or maybe you are an atheist and you’re curious. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey. I think we covered most of the bases.

The purpose is entirely subjective based on the needs of the people. It’s not a bad purpose statement. Heck. Every Christian wants every not-Christian to become a believer. Well, maybe not that banker who turned down their mortgage refinance or the ex-boss who fired them without cause.

Actually, it’s not our desire at all that matters nor the needs of the unsaved, but the will of God the Father who wants all to believe in his son, Jesus Christ. Everything begins and ends with the will of our Sovereign God in Jesus Christ.

So, then, what is the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ? Certainly, we would all agree every human being needs to come to faith in Jesus Christ. We would also agree that to do so is to do evangelism, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, at it’s core, the Church is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, meaning an objective truth in a true historic person, Jesus Christ:

The incarnational birth of Jesus Christ, both God and man, a sinless obedient, his substitutionary death on the cross for our salvation and forgiveness of our sins, the our justification before a holy god by imputed righteousness of Christ in his resurrection, and his ascension which assures his kingdom authority and secures our present and future status as his adopted children removed from the kingdom of Satan and placed into the inaugurated Kingdom of God.

Unfortunately,  that doesn’t make for a pithy and catchy mission statement or slogan.

But it does show us that the essence of the church is the person and work of Jesus Christ, and everything flows for that truth: salvation, Christian living, evangelism, worship, and so forth.

But in the American Captivity of the Church, we capitulate and appeal to our secular culture and methodology. Yes, there is an ontology of the church. That meaning and being is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Gospel.

One historic confession declares that the purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. This is not some subjective, Jesus in my heart feel good statement. To glorify God is to acknowledge, know, believe and exalt Jesus Christ.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks: What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am not my own, but belong — body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Another way of saying this is to present the first of the three marks of a true church: The first mark of a true church is the pure preaching of the gospel. This is the foundation for everything else and effectively defines the church’s mission.[2]

The definition and purpose of the Church is Jesus Christ. Everything that flows from his life and work is the fulfillment of blessing and righteousness to all who believe. Praying a prayer is not the Gospel. Doing good works is not the Gospel. Discipleship is not the Gospel.

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[1] This is the same church that paid thousands of dollars to a group composed of former church growth professional and pastors who, I guess, grew churches, to determine what was wrong with us. We got several hundred pages telling us, basically, that we’re ingrown and performing poorly as a church. Really? I could have told you were we sinners and lousy followers of Jesus for much less money.

[2] https://www.wscal.edu/basics-of-the-reformed-faith-marks-and-mission-of-christs-church/