Missional Church

We are believing God for a cell in every village, a congregation in every town, a celebration in every city!” – EMCC President, Phil Delsaut

Bear Creek Community Church is called to be a “missional” church.

Some have questioned what that means, so this page is designed to give some explanation. Far from being something scary, this is simply to re-state what Bear Creek has been from Day # 1 and what the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada is and calls us to be in partnership with our denomination.

Let’s first look at our denomination’s calling, then we’ll review Bear Creek’s core values and statement of mission from the outset. We begin with a definition.

.
What is a missional church? A missional church is a church that is committed to fulfilling the Great Commandment (“. . . Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . . . Love your neighbour as yourself” – Matthew 22:37-38) and the Great Commission (“. . . go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. . . .” – Matthew 28:18-20). That’s it. There are a host of other good things a church can do. But a missional church makes these two priorities of Christ, its own priorities.

EMCC is a missional denomination.

[Note: underlines are mine. – Pastor Ross]

Who is EMCC?
The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC) is a family of 130+ churches across Canada organized to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The EMCC maintains offices in Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta.

Mission Statement
The EMCC is passionately committed to introducing people to Jesus Christ, discipling believers and facilitating the multiplication of healthy churches in Canada and worldwide.

Vision Statement
Seeking God passionately for dramatically increasing numbers of relevant churches, led by Christ-inspired leaders.

Our Purpose
The EMCC catalalyzes, resources and networks missional congregations, leaders and disciples.[i]
This was stated well in one of EMCC’s membership brochures, “Christ at the Center”[ii] which discussed:

Christ’s Church... The Body of Christ Manifest in Cooperative Mission

Christ’s Church in all times and all places, mystical and invisible is manifest in a dynamic missional “ecosystem” of disciples, gathered communities, networks and institutions through which the presence of Christ is mediated to the watching world. Christ has given gifts to the Church that unify and mobilize believers for mission that transcends and extends the bounds of localized ministry (Eph 4:11; Acts 13:1-4; 1 Cor 12:28). It is biblical to set apart leaders who serve and have standing in the larger church. The Spirit of unity and mission implants the impulse of cooperation and connection that prompts churches of like faith to make common cause for the Great Commission, to organize and support one another and to hold one another to account. It is right for there to be a mutual accountability in matters of faith, practice and conduct where the guiding principles are “Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Non-Essentials and Love in All Things” with Christ at the Centre.

The recent major re-structuring of our denomination was completed for the express purpose of helping us to be more effective in fulfilling our missional purpose. Some of President Phil Delsaut comments are shared in what follows:

Motivated by a strong commitment to make denominational structures “purpose-driven,” the restructuring reduces administrative overhead and releases resources for mobile, field-based Regional Ministers. The District administrative structures cease and make way to a strengthened national leadership. President Phil Delsaut stated, “As a denomination we have stated that we are seeking God passionately for dramatically increasing numbers of relevant churches led by the Christ-inspired leaders.

This restructuring is an action step in following our mandate. In order to be true to God’s call to be a Great Commission movement we believed that it was necessary to reshape our structures to support this vision. The changes are significant and the virtually unanimous agreement is nothing short of amazing! We are believing God for a cell in every village, a congregation in every town, a celebration in every city!”[iii]

Pastor Phil re-stated this in his most recent news report in these words

“. . . We still have a mission. It is time that we all embraced the mandate of our Saviour to make disciples.”

“. . . let’s practice courteous courage in sharing our faith. Let’s remember that our first task as disciples of Jesus is to “make disciples.” One in four (25%) Canadians in 1900 were evangelical believers. We are now only one in ten! We need to recommit ourselves to the Great Commission of making disciples. Let’s increase the “salt and light” element of our Canadian society! . . .”[iv]

From the inception of Bear Creek’s purpose and mission the same missional focus was agreed on. The documents left for me when I came to pastor Bear Creek, documents written during the formation of the church, included the following statements. These have guided me in the leadership I am giving and the direction I am seeking to help re-affirm for the future of our church.

Our Mission

“The mission of Bear Creek Community Church is to make wholly devoted followers of Jesus Christ who are God-centered, people-friendly and world-focused.”

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all of your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

This includes:

Celebrating               God's presence               through Worship
Communicating        God's Word                      through Evangelism
Caring for                  God's people                    through Fellowship
Developing                God's people                   through Discipleship
Demonstrating          God's love                        through Service

Our Ministry
By God's grace we embark on this mission by being:

1) God Centred –
Putting our relationship with Him in perspective through prayer, the Word, and worship;

2)People Friendly –
Providing natural comfortable and creative ways to:
– meet and enjoy one another,
– have needs met for personal growth,
– enjoy serving God and others.

3) World Focused –
Our goal is to reach into our community, nation, and world with the message of Christ.We will reach out into our community, nation, and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will try to meet spiritual brokenness and contemporary social problems in a way that is creative to the need and proclaim our message in a positive, respectful, but unashamed manner.

Our Core Values

6. The Good News – We value the good news of Jesus Christ, which is the biblical message of God's love to all people.

7. The Great Commission – We value the command of Christ to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”

Statement of Purpose, Priorities and Values

I. PURPOSE

To the glory of God, Bear Creek Community Church is called of God to minister God’s transforming love and care to families of central Surrey and beyond. As a part of this community of faith and worship, every member is called into active ministry for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ, who are biblically literate, Spirit led, and active in this ministry.

II. PRIORITIES

And Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 23:37,38)

WORSHIP AND PRAYER

“And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 23:39)

Equipping/Teaching
Community/Fellowship
Ministry/Service
Mission/Evangelism

These are not our only core values and purposes. As a church there are, of course, many other worthy things we are seeking to accomplish. However, in terms of seeking to be a missional member church of the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, these are the priorities which have been Bear Creek Community Church’s from the beginning. May God help us as we together continue to fulfill what He is calling us to be and do.

– Pastor Ross Johnston, August, 2005

^[i] From website page: http://www.emcc.ca/default.asp?id=4

^[ii] “Christ at the Center” (can be found on the website, http://www.emcc.ca/default.asp?id=94 )

^[iii] From The EMCC Restructures (6/2/2005), News Release May 2005, “The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada Restructures”, http://www.emcc.ca/news.asp?news_id=11

^[iv] EMCC's Response to Bill C-38 (7/8/2005), July 2005 – Phil Delsaut, http://www.emcc.ca/news.asp?news_id=13



	BEAR CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH
	We are believing God for a cell in every village, a congregation in every town, a celebration in every city!” – EMCC President, Phil Delsaut Bear Creek Community Church is called to be a “missional” church. Some have questioned what that means, so this page is designed to give some explanation. Far from being something scary, this is simply to re-state what Bear Creek has been from Day # 1 and what the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada is and calls us to be in partnership with our denomination. Let’s first look at our denomination’s calling, then we’ll review Bear Creek’s core values and statement of mission from the outset. We begin with a definition. . What is a missional church? A missional church is a church that is committed to fulfilling the Great Commandment (“. . . Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . . . Love your neighbour as yourself” – Matthew 22:37-38) and the Great Commission (“. . . go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. . . .” – Matthew 28:18-20). That’s it. There are a host of other good things a church can do. But a missional church makes these two priorities of Christ, its own priorities. EMCC is a missional denomination. [Note: underlines are mine. – Pastor Ross] Who is EMCC? The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC) is a family of 130+ churches across Canada organized to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The EMCC maintains offices in Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta. Mission Statement The EMCC is passionately committed to introducing people to Jesus Christ, discipling believers and facilitating the multiplication of healthy churches in Canada and worldwide. Vision Statement Seeking God passionately for dramatically increasing numbers of relevant churches, led by Christ-inspired leaders. Our Purpose The EMCC catalalyzes, resources and networks missional congregations, leaders and disciples.[i] This was stated well in one of EMCC’s membership brochures, “Christ at the Center”[ii] which discussed: Christ’s Church... The Body of Christ Manifest in Cooperative Mission Christ’s Church in all times and all places, mystical and invisible is manifest in a dynamic missional “ecosystem” of disciples, gathered communities, networks and institutions through which the presence of Christ is mediated to the watching world. Christ has given gifts to the Church that unify and mobilize believers for mission that transcends and extends the bounds of localized ministry (Eph 4:11; Acts 13:1-4; 1 Cor 12:28). It is biblical to set apart leaders who serve and have standing in the larger church. The Spirit of unity and mission implants the impulse of cooperation and connection that prompts churches of like faith to make common cause for the Great Commission, to organize and support one another and to hold one another to account. It is right for there to be a mutual accountability in matters of faith, practice and conduct where the guiding principles are “Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Non-Essentials and Love in All Things” with Christ at the Centre. The recent major re-structuring of our denomination was completed for the express purpose of helping us to be more effective in fulfilling our missional purpose. Some of President Phil Delsaut comments are shared in what follows: Motivated by a strong commitment to make denominational structures “purpose-driven,” the restructuring reduces administrative overhead and releases resources for mobile, field-based Regional Ministers. The District administrative structures cease and make way to a strengthened national leadership. President Phil Delsaut stated, “As a denomination we have stated that we are seeking God passionately for dramatically increasing numbers of relevant churches led by the Christ-inspired leaders. This restructuring is an action step in following our mandate. In order to be true to God’s call to be a Great Commission movement we believed that it was necessary to reshape our structures to support this vision. The changes are significant and the virtually unanimous agreement is nothing short of amazing! We are believing God for a cell in every village, a congregation in every town, a celebration in every city!”[iii] Pastor Phil re-stated this in his most recent news report in these words “. . . We still have a mission. It is time that we all embraced the mandate of our Saviour to make disciples.” “. . . let’s practice courteous courage in sharing our faith. Let’s remember that our first task as disciples of Jesus is to “make disciples.” One in four (25%) Canadians in 1900 were evangelical believers. We are now only one in ten! We need to recommit ourselves to the Great Commission of making disciples. Let’s increase the “salt and light” element of our Canadian society! . . .”[iv] From the inception of Bear Creek’s purpose and mission the same missional focus was agreed on. The documents left for me when I came to pastor Bear Creek, documents written during the formation of the church, included the following statements. These have guided me in the leadership I am giving and the direction I am seeking to help re-affirm for the future of our church. Our Mission “The mission of Bear Creek Community Church is to make wholly devoted followers of Jesus Christ who are God-centered, people-friendly and world-focused.” Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all of your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). This includes: Celebrating God's presence through Worship Communicating God's Word through Evangelism Caring for God's people through Fellowship Developing God's people through Discipleship Demonstrating God's love through Service Our Ministry By God's grace we embark on this mission by being: *1) God Centred –* Putting our relationship with Him in perspective through prayer, the Word, and worship; *2)People Friendly –* Providing natural comfortable and creative ways to: – meet and enjoy one another, – have needs met for personal growth, – enjoy serving God and others. *3) World Focused –* Our goal is to reach into our community, nation, and world with the message of Christ.We will reach out into our community, nation, and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will try to meet spiritual brokenness and contemporary social problems in a way that is creative to the need and proclaim our message in a positive, respectful, but unashamed manner. Our Core Values *6. The Good News* – We value the good news of Jesus Christ, which is the biblical message of God's love to all people. *7. The Great Commission* – We value the command of Christ to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” Statement of Purpose, Priorities and Values I. PURPOSE To the glory of God, Bear Creek Community Church is called of God to minister God’s transforming love and care to families of central Surrey and beyond. As a part of this community of faith and worship, every member is called into active ministry for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ, who are biblically literate, Spirit led, and active in this ministry. II. PRIORITIES And Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 23:37,38) WORSHIP AND PRAYER “And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 23:39) Equipping/Teaching Community/Fellowship Ministry/Service Mission/Evangelism These are not our only core values and purposes. As a church there are, of course, many other worthy things we are seeking to accomplish. However, in terms of seeking to be a missional member church of the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, these are the priorities which have been Bear Creek Community Church’s from the beginning. May God help us as we together continue to fulfill what He is calling us to be and do. – Pastor Ross Johnston, August, 2005 ^[i] From website page: http://www.emcc.ca/default.asp?id=4 ^[ii] “Christ at the Center” (can be found on the website, http://www.emcc.ca/default.asp?id=94 ) ^[iii] From The EMCC Restructures (6/2/2005), News Release May 2005, “The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada Restructures”, http://www.emcc.ca/news.asp?news_id=11 ^[iv] EMCC's Response to Bill C-38 (7/8/2005), July 2005 – Phil Delsaut, http://www.emcc.ca/news.asp?news_id=13


	Copyright © 2001 Bear Creek Community Church. All rights reserved