MISSIONS
GO, THEREFORE, AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS
Matthew 28:19-20
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The Philosophy
At Northwood, we want to help you connect your faith to your everyday life. Part of that is through engaging the world with the gospel. Revelation 5:9-10 and 7:9-10 provide a glimpse into the future. Although we don’t know all the details of what the future holds, we know this: every tribe, tongue, and nation will be represented around God’s throne in new creation. However, that picture of the promised future isn’t a present reality. All over the world there are people who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ, and, even worse, many never will. Jesus gave his followers clear instructions to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). Obedience to the Great Commission is the means by which the promises in Revelation will come to fruition.
Of the 8 billion people on the planet, nearly 3.5 billion are unreached with the gospel. That can be an overwhelming number, but we know God is faithful to his promises and is saving people across the world every day. Northwood can’t go and share the gospel with 3.5 billion people, but we can play our part. We seek to engage the world in three ways: locally, nationally, and internationally.
Locally, we seek to be a light to our immediate community. We do this through outreach and partnership. Several times a year we have big events to bless our community and share the gospel with those who attend. We also try to think creatively about how to engage our community on a regular basis as a church family. In terms of partnership, we come alongside organizations in our context to care for, serve, and share the gospel with them. We also partner with other churches in our area for the purpose of outreach, service, and seeing reproducing churches planted or revitalized.
Our hope is that through these different avenues, our people will gain a greater understanding of how and where God is working across the world, and what that means for them individually as they serve on the mission of God. We also pray that God would use people from Northwood to go locally, nationally, and internationally. If you want to learn more about how you can go and serve on the mission of God, please let us know. We would love to help you figure out the ways you can engage the world.
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Get Involved
As you consider what it looks like for you to engage the world with the gospel, there are three main ways you can partner with us: pray, give, and go.
Everyone, no matter how young or old, can partner with us in prayer. We realize many people will never be able to go to Southeast Asia or Boston. Just because you can’t go somewhere far away doesn’t mean you can’t be part of what God is doing in these locations. Prayer is not just for the work; prayer is part of the work. Our partners often send out updates about how you can be praying for them, their families, and the work they are doing. We have prayer cards for our partners that you can have. You can pick one of our partners and commit to praying for them throughout the year. Or you can pray for all of our partners throughout the month. Whichever way you choose to do it, we just want you to partner with us in prayer.
Praying, giving, and going are key elements of partnership as we engage the world with the gospel. Ultimately, we think disciples of Jesus do all three of these. What that looks like will be different for everyone, but we encourage you to start somewhere! Let us know how we can help you engage the world.
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