The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany

The Five Marks of Mission: The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
3. To respond to human need by loving service
4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth

We come now to the Third Mark of Mission, responding to human need by loving service. It is tempting to imagine that our mission must be determined by something “divine”, or something that we “receive from on high”, or even perhaps something we discover “deep within ourselves”, but Christian mission as stated in the third mark takes its “orders” from the needs that are evident all around. It looks at the human beings that are a part of the warp and woof on one’s life and allows the needs that arise in those relationships to determine the “what” of that mission.

Christian mission is a mission of response… a response to human need, but to simply respond doesn’t capture all of what is suggested in this third mark. We are called not simply to respond, but to respond with loving service. Our love is meant to take its shape based on the needs we encounter around us. May this be our heart’s desire as a church located in the heart of Broomfield, Colorado—to respond with loving service to the needs all around us!

See you on Sunday!