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  • Essay / Understanding the Mission of God and the Church

    In this essay I will examine a number of different sources from the Bible and Christian theory to understand what the broader mission of God is, how I can program my work towards young people in my local community using the ministry of Christ as a model for church, youth club and outreach programs within the Christian youth work environment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay At the age of 19, I came to the conclusion that my life was an absolute disaster just before I gave my life to Jesus. Doing drugs, selling, going to raves, drinking, stealing, not being interested in school, leaving without GCSEs, getting in trouble with the police and having the occasional fight. I thought this whole thing was the worst, but it really wasn't, not honoring my mom and dad was. I made my parents go through hell by lying to them, not telling them where I was going, staying out late and sometimes not coming home, being completely drugged. My nerves were so bad that the doctor considered putting me on Valium. I remember one day God spoke to me while I was on drugs and told me to throw the drugs I was hiding out the window. He must have asked three times and the third time I knew he wouldn't give up, so I did. One day I was on the run from the police because I was in a car accident with no insurance, I had just had enough, my whole life seemed to be falling apart around me. So, a few days later, I remember standing in the middle of my room on the roof and asking God "if you are real, help me cry." I was so unhappy and angry all the time. At least two hours I thought had passed and I was heartbroken, in tears, I had never cried so much, then I realized God had answered my prayer. That day my life changed forever. God revealed himself to me, he gave me a vision of a rose bud blossoming in rapid motion into a beautiful red rose. I saw him standing holding my sister's hand and saying you will be with her again one day. My sister Jacqueline was run over and killed at the age of two and unless I ask God for forgiveness, I will never be able to meet her. I knew that that day, God's mission was to tell everyone that Christ is real and that I needed to be a part of that mission. My friends couldn't believe that I had given my life to Christ. In my heart, young people need to know Christ to help them escape the pain I felt. The scales were removed from my eyes and I could see the kingdom of God. Just as Paul states, the scales were also lifted for his eyes in Acts 9:18: “And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. » I believed that God had called me. The Mission was to go back to all the old clubs and streets and tell the young people that Jesus is real. So, what is the Mission and the Church? David Bosch, in his book Transforming Mission, states the term mission as "a sender, a person or people sent by the sender, those to whom one is sent, and a mission." (Bosch, 2011) In the Bible, John 20:21 says we see the mission of Jesus Christ that he passed on to his own disciples: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” » (ESV Study Bible, 2008). Since I knew Christ, I have always believed that Christianity has always been an evangelical work. I believed that as a believer I should go out and spread the word that God is real andteach the gospel to lead people into the kingdom. from Heaven, it was implanted in my heart. From the beginning after the fall, God's mission has always been to restore order and bring humanity back into His presence, made perfect. This is why God sent Jesus to earth to be with and serve people before he was crucified for the sins of the world. David Bosch states, citing the work of Hering, that "mission is quite simply the participation of Christians in liberation." David Bosch argues that “the Christian faith, in my view, is inherently missionary; this dimension of the Christian faith is not an optional task” (Bosch, 2011). Christianity is a mission by nature or it denies its very usefulness. Bosch helps us better understand that as a Christian youth leader, it is fundamental to our faith to engage in God's mission and to be a witness to the community in which I work and to all those with who I contact. God's mission in Matthew 28 is known to me as the Great Commission (ESV Study Bible, 2008), this must be the key and motivation for the work I do for young people. As a youth leader I must have knowledge of the great commission and I must develop myself biblically and have a passion to evangelize to every young person I come in contact with in the local community as well as in other areas. other places I might be called. About the Church, David Bosch said: “There is a Church because there is a mission and not the other way around. “By its nature and vocation, the Church is a missionary community” (Bosch, 2011). Therefore, mission should be natural to the very life and calling of the Church. Moltmann also maintains, in agreement with David Bosch, that “the mission does not come from the Church; it is from the mission that we must understand the Church” (Jürgen Moltmann: The Church, 2020), which means that the youth club or street work only exists thanks to the mission more wide of God. Our youth group must understand that we are called to be servants of God's missionary mission, no matter what community I find myself in and, as David Bosch states, "God is a missionary God, the people of God is a missionary people” (Bosch, 2011). is a missionary God, therefore mission must be seen and known as the movement of God in the community and throughout the world. This is the exact opposite of how mission is often thought of as the primary activity of the Church. In order to maintain their faith in the mission and work of God, those in ministry believe that missionary work belongs to God. and that they are simply his instruments working in the world. Using Bosch as the main point of reference to understand his quote “The Christian faith is intrinsically missionary”. (Bosch, 2011) I can discuss how youth evangelism will work within the larger mission of God and also have a better understanding of the mission of Jesus Christ. This is incredible news that God loves us so much, that's why I have to pass it on to the young people and in the community. But with love and without constraint. Frost & Hirsch supports David Bosch in his approach by stating: “We will see the Church differently, no longer as a religious institution but as a community of followers of Jesus dedicated to participating in his mission. » (Frost and Hirsch, 2009) As a youth worker, I need to know that my work with young people is to participate in God's mission by accomplishing the restoration and reconciliation of all young people with Him and also bringing hope to the community and everywhere I go. Anything different fromthis, I believe, that God is not at the center of this mission but that I do it alone. It's good for me to have plans and an agenda, but I have to remember that the only goal should be for young people and the community to encounter Jesus. It is also important that as a youth worker I am clear about what God's mission is before I even think about engaging with young people and the community. My role as a youth worker is that it is important for me to have a need to understand young people and make an impact, building relationships is a huge key factor and must be developed over time and consistency. My role model Jesus continually reminds me of the relationship he has with his own Father God in heaven. While Jesus was on Earth throughout his ministry, he always spoke about his relationship with everyone he came into contact with, both believers and non-believers as well as his disciples. Relationships are so important in mission in the New Testament. The relationships we build will have a massive impact on the lives of others, especially within the community, neighbors, young people and will help those who are heartbroken, but it is so important that I personally, maintain my relationship with Jesus and meet him every day by praying and studying his word. Mike Breen writes: “Relationships are the only means we have to enable and encourage young people to achieve maturity in their physical, emotional, social and spiritual lives. » (Harrington, nd) As a youth leader, I needed to create an environment or community where I can practice showing the love of Christ right under the noses of young people; I am always looking for ways to introduce God to the young people I work with. Hirsch helped me understand that “presence highlights the role of relationships in mission” (Hirsch, nd) if relationship is the key that means in mission. the transfer of the Gospel simply means that we will have to be directly present with the young people in our community. Our very lives are our message and we cannot take ourselves out of the mission equation. The kingdom of God was at the heart of Christ's broader mission. » As part of my evangelism methods within my internship, I also had to start helping young people open up to God with the work and programs I do with them. Most young people love music, so I started teaching worship and prayer before all activities. The best and simplest example I thought I could use was the Lord's Prayer and before each youth club day I would ask if anyone would like to play a worship song or say the Lord's Prayer . Some young people liked to stand and others just listened. Matthew 6, 9-13, Jesus showed his disciples how to pray to the father with the Our Father. (ESV Study Bible, 2008). In the community where I work, there is a great need to bring young people to believe in the word of God. However, this can be difficult as we live in an era of increasing secularism. My goal as a youth worker is to meet young people before they have fully formed a secular/humanist belief, even if some already had and were not interested in any kind of faith. I needed to help the young person understand how to belong, to feel loved so that he could get a taste of what it would be like to be in relationship with Jesus. I believe that by showing young people that they belong and feel loved, they will encounter God, receive hope, and begin to believe in themselves. After all, that's the purpose of myassignment. The incarnation and the crucifixion go hand in hand, this is my mission. The incarnation is the meeting with young people, where they find themselves with the Bible and faith. God gives us an example to follow when he gives us Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. In John 1:14 it says, “The Word became flesh and made the only Son, from the Father, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth” (ESV Study Bible, 2008). Hirsch said “if God's central way of reaching his world was to be incarnate in Jesus, then our way of reaching the world should also be incarnate” (Missional-Incarnational Impulse, 2020) As facilitator As a youth, I try to help young people face the challenges and struggles of life, Frost argues that "we must take seriously the call to live in an incarnate way as closely as possible, close to those whom God desires redeem. » (Frost, nd) According to Bosch, “the churches, on the whole, have an underdeveloped theology of the incarnation [while] the churches of the East have always taken the incarnation more seriously (Bosch, 2011 ). Paul's mission in Scripture was not only to practice evangelism and church planting, but he aspired to build communities of believers capable of thinking biblically through an ethical culture.ʼ David Bosch gives a great understanding in stating that “evangelization is only possible when the community that evangelizes is a radiant manifestation of the Christian faith and presents an attractive lifestyle.” (Bosch, 2011). The young people I work with don't want to just hear me talk, but they need to see me live a lifestyle that draws them to faith, leading by example, enjoying my life but also not not afraid to share my difficult moments. , I don't go too personal in my life. James 2:18 says, “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have actions. Show me your faith without actions, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (ESV Study Bible, 2008)Paul summarizes the message of incarnation in 1 Corinthian 9:19-23 “for the sake of the gospel he will become everything to every tribe, people or culture as long as he is able to gain as much people as possible. possible." (ESV Study Bible, 2008) Graham Cray writes: "Youth ministry has become a matter of cross-cultural mission. It is about entering into the world of young people and honoring them by taking it seriously too than them” (Subworth, Cray and Russell, 2007) As a youth worker, I must be creative and imaginative in my missionary work with young people and the community in the way I present to them. the message of Jesus. For example, I organized a program called “The Big Question”. I started the six-week program with the first question: Do you believe there is a God? This question lasted six? weeks and I was totally amazed at how interested the young people were in helping them find Christ “right where they are” and equipping them to be part of the kingdom of God. The Greatest Message of the New Testament. is that Christ has an effect on all men through the power of redemption (liberation from sin). John 3:16 teaches how God, ever living and giving through the incarnation, brought Christ to the whole world without leaving a single soul behind. (ESV Study Bible, 2008). In my environment, everyone is involved in what God offers. I found that during the rotation, some youth may have completed their work more quickly than others, but the youth were always willing to step in and help those who had not completed their work. It is encouraging that young people use their own initiative to help and do not have to ask. Conclusion To have a better.