I Dream of a New Church for a New Day

I really do have a Dream. "I dream of authentic New Testament communities filled with mature, Spirit-filled believers who are consumed with Great Commandment hearts and sold out to Great Commission priorities."

The New Testament Community

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27

Nowhere in the New Testament is there any such thing as a commitment to Christ apart from a commitment to the body of Christ, His church. At the very heart of Christian experience is the dynamic of life in the New Testament church community.

We Dream of reestablishing the church as central to the life of our families and our community.

“Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread together in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” Acts 2:46-47a

In the book of Acts a new kind of community is born: the church, the radically transformed community of God’s people. It is the place where followers of Christ gather to grow in Christ-likeness, express and receive love, and through which they carry out their ministry. Community is God’s design for all followers of Christ.

We Dream of every follower of Christ in our church relationally connected to a small group of believers, growing together in Christ: supported, encouraged and accountable.

“They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need…And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2

The New Testament Church devoted themselves to just a few basic things – basic, but foundational. Their example is our model.

We Dream of a healthy, dynamic church committed to worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and ministries of compassion, and experiencing the blessing of growth and multiplication of other disciples and churches.

Great Commandment Hearts

“Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than this.” Matthew 22:37-39

With these words Jesus summed up the Christian life. A relationship with God is not performance driven! Jesus is our example for a new kind of relating to God. Love for God and love for one another is to be the generating force in the Christian life.

We Dream of every follower of Christ in our church being liberated from disheartening legalism and agonizing slavery to rule keeping so that they might freely and fully know and enjoy God, and genuinely and practically love one another.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

Though there has been an attempt throughout the church age to drive a wedge between deep thought and deep feeling, passionate pursuit of God should be the norm for every believer. True spirituality combines heart and head, emotion and thought, doxology and theology.

We Dream of every follower of Christ in our church pursuing a passionate love relationship with God, one that engages both mind and the heart, in which the glory of God is magnified and the hearts of His people are satisfied.

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” Galatians 4:19

Jesus not only offered eternal life to humanity but he offered a new kind of living. He called it “abundant life.” This new, transformed life was to be rich in significance, purpose and hope. Total spiritual transformation is what Paul agonized over on behalf those that followed after Christ, and is to be the aim of all believers.

We Dream of every follower of Christ in our church striving in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, to full devotion and total transformation in Christ.

Great Commission Priorities

“The Son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

Jesus Christ had a mission. He came to earth from heaven knowing His purpose: To glorify God by restoring mankind to a dynamic and personal relationship with God and to give them a new rich life with meaning and purpose. At the end of His ministry, He could pray to His Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work which you gave me to do.”

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21

Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, but He also came healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and giving sight to the blind. He ministered in word and deed.

We Dream of transforming the metro regions of Kansas City and St. Louis by ministering to the greatest physical, psychological and social needs of these greater communities, and overcoming the devastating effects of sin.

“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 28:19,20

Jesus had a vision not just for His own people, but also for the world. He discipled followers who became leaders- who also discipled others. His vision is for that process to spread across the world to multiply disciples, leaders and churches for Christ.

We Dream of a day when our churches actually have a farm system (a deliberate strategy) for raising up leaders from within.

We Dream of being a sending and reproducing church by raising up servants and servant leaders who are prepared to go across town, across the country, and across the world to multiply disciples, leaders and churches for Christ.

The Harvest is ripe and the needs are great in the metropolitan regions of our nation. It’s time take these territories back for God. With the help of God we will start a Disciple-Making, Church Multiplying Movement in Kansas City and St. Louis. Our goal is to have 10 churches in Kansas City metro and 20 Churches in St. Louis metro in the next six years.

*We need committed Church *Planters to join this venture.

*We need Faith Partners who pray daily for us.

*We need Financial Partners who will give regularly.

We need Ministry Partners who will join church planting teams.

*All gifts received will be tax deductible and will used for Church Planting. Please memo your gifts K.C.or S.L. and send gifts to:

Midwest District Missionary Church

C/O Rick Yaussi

25157 W. 117^th Street N

Burrton, Kansas 67020

Please contact Bob Carder, Mission District Leader for more info:

Email: bcarder@centurytel.net

Phone: 636.332.9311 & cell 636.698.4708

Address: 815 Autumn Bluff Lane, Wentzville, Mo 63385 (St. Louis metro)