Scriptures: Matthew 22:36-37, 20:26-28, 28:18-20, Luke 8:39

In this message, Dr. Merritt unpacks the central mission of the church in Scripture. In order to understand Christ's vision for the church, we must move beyond buildings and staff to see the real church--its people. We bring the church with us wherever we go and when we leave the church building, the church goes with us. It's not about doing church--it's about being the church, everywhere, every day. The New Testament shows us a church that loved God, served others and shared Jesus at every opportunity. This is not a new "vision statement" for the church, but rather the words of Christ Himself for what the church was designed to be.

"The one thing that God wants from us more than anything else is love. It is our most treasured gift, because that is one thing God will not force us to do. Any parent knows that the one thing you want from your children more than anything else and the one thing you cannot demand from them is their love. I’ll tell you just how important this is. There is not a problem that any church has that cannot be solved if the people, in that church, love God as they ought to love God and love God as God deserves to be loved." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: envision, mission, vision, church, purpose, statement, love, serve, share, commandment, commission, Jesus, disciple, Christ-follower, neighbor, ministry, effectiveness, intention