“BECOMING LIKE CHRIST FOR THE SAKE OF ________________.”

 

Our salvation from God in Christ Jesus is a process. It’s a journey. Call it what you will --- justification, sanctification, spiritual formation, transformation --- it doesn’t happen overnight. The course of being made perfect, being made into the image of our Lord, is difficult and lengthy. But this is precisely what God is doing with those he has saved and called for his glorious purposes: he is forming us into the image of his Son. Because of God’s faithful covenant love, through the life and death and resurrection of the Christ, and by the power of his Spirit, we are forgiven of our sins and given brand new life and power in order to live righteously with our Creator and with one another.

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“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life.” ~Mark 10:45

 

As we are shaped more and more into the image of Jesus, the natural outcome will be ministry and service to others. This is God’s great purpose and will for his people. As we act more like Christ, as we increasingly think and behave like Christ, we’ll sacrifice and serve like Christ. We’ll see that God is working in us and through us to benefit others. He changes us and empowers us to be living testimonies to his mercy and grace. So, just like our Lord, we live for the sake of others.

 

“God predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” ~Romans 8:29

 

Discipleship and Mission go together. Transformation and Ministry go hand-in-hand. Following Jesus and serving others are inseparable realities. The life of our Lord and the witness of Scripture are clear: you don’t really have one without the other.

 

This is who we are at Central. This is our identity and our vision. This is what God is doing in us and through us. The new statement is not a strategy. It’s not a program or a plan. The simple sentence at the top of this page reflects our commitment to fostering an environment that places discipleship and mission above all else. This is our framework. We’re pursuing a culture at Central that values transformation and ministry.

 

“Prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” ~Ephesians 4:12-13