Skip to main content

The Vision for Missions at Glory of Christ Fellowship, by Pastor Charlie Handren

     Glory of Christ Fellowship (GCF) exists to make disciples for the glory of Christ. Accordingly, while our primary value is the glory of God made visible in and through Jesus Christ, we express our love for and value of God through worship, community, and mission.
     In order to accomplish our mission, we are committed to sharing the love of Christ locally and globally, baptizing new believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). With regard to supporting global missions, we give preference to missionaries or nationals who are directly engaged in making disciples by establishing and strengthening churches. Further, our desire is to stand with those who are working among unreached or under-reached people groups. For the majority of current missions investments around the world support ministries where the church is already established and the gospel is already being preached. Finally, we are committed to giving as much support as possible to a few global partners rather than giving a little support to lots of global partners.
     With these things in mind, we partner with global gospel-workers in at least three ways. First, with some global partners we covenant to regularly hold them up in prayer over a long period of time. For example, we have been prayer partners with Catherine Rivard for about seven years and we have stood with her before the throne in good times and bad.
     Second, with some global partners we covenant to pray for and financially support them for a prescribed period of time as one church among others. For example, we have supported the church planting efforts of Amos and Meredith Anderson for a number of years as they labor to establish churches in Albania.
    Third, with others we covenant to pray for and financially support them for a prescribed period of time as their sending church. For example, we currently serve as the home church for David and Carmen Gunderson who serve with Arrive Ministries, and Ethan and Elysia Larson who serve with Training Leaders International.
     Finally, we partner with some global partners by sending small, short-term teams to encourage them, pray with them, and serve alongside them in a variety of ways. I’ll say more about this in the next devotional, but for now, let me simply call you to earnest prayer for the missionary vision and partnerships of GCF. 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Worship Songs, October 15, 2017

We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. My Redeemers Love Hope Has Come I Will Glory In My Redeemer Blessed Be Your Name Here In Your Presence Your Glory Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) -- Sermon Text: John 11:1-16 That the next generation will set their hope in God and not forget the works of God (Psalm 78:7).

God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me.  Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...

We Will Feast in the House of Zion by Patience Griswold

No one ever plans to have their lives upended. We know that the world is broken and bound in futility, we know that everything can change in an instant, and yet crises still have the ability to shake us to our core. None of us entered 2020 planning to experience a global pandemic this year, but here we are, practicing social distancing, wondering how the virus will affect us and our families, and wondering when we will be able to return to our regular rhythms and routines as what can feel a little like the world falling apart around us.  In the midst of social distancing, I miss my church family. I miss my Bible study, the kids in my Sunday school class, the ability to meet people for coffee, and I know that I am not alone in this. It is not wrong to grieve the temporary loss of these things. In fact, we ought to grieve, even as we seek to live joyfully and find satisfaction in Christ in the midst of difficult circumstances. If we feel no grief whatsoever over the loss of some...