If you are a member or parishioner of a Christian church right now, would you be able to recite your church’s mission statement word for word? Does your church even have a mission statement? If your church has a mission statement, does your church follow its own mission statement?
I am not a parishioner of the Church of the Nativity (Timonium, MD), but I have learned so much from various people at this church over the past couple of years. Even though their church is a two-hour drive from my home, I have learned much about Catholicism and Christianity through attending their Masses online, participating in a men’s small group community every Monday night, reading their church’s Lenten and Advent devotionals, watching their small group podcasts, attending workshops and webinars online, and listening to Father Michael’s sermons as part of each weekend’s message series. All of these have helped me remain grounded in my faith and they have helped me with living out my faith on a daily basis and growing closer to Jesus Christ.
Getting back to a church’s mission statement. Nativity’s mission statement is “Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples.” It is such a nice, concise, and very strong mission statement. It is also one you can remember. Looking at each sentence in their mission, one can find each one stated in Scripture.
- “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
- “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
- “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Church of the Nativity does a wonderful job with many different things. In no particular order, some of these include the following: a mission statement, small group communities, faith formation, discipleship, evangelization, youth ministry, missions, celebrating the Mass, fellowship, reaching the “unchurched,” welcoming any person who is new to their church or has been away from church for many years, experiencing God from anywhere online, prayer, music, worship. Check out Nativity at ChurchNativity.com. It may be what you are looking for in a church at this particular time in your life!