2022

• Church growth means that more people are saved
• obeys Jesus’ command to preach to all nations
• response to the Great Commission
• develops Christian mission
• teaches others about Christianity and Christ
• Jesus’ message gets to more people
• baptise more believers
• give people access to public worship
• to increase financial resources
• the more Christians there are, the more they are able to resist persecution
• to change corrupt societies
• to respond to people’s needs
• to increase church attendance
• bigger churches allow for organisations such as ‘Christ for all Nations’
• to influence change, eg in morality, attitude to the environment, reconciliation, political influence, evangelism, etc.

2018

• Some might join the Church Army to help people find faith.
• Some might work for the vulnerable and marginalised people in society / to bring them into the Church.
• Some might serve in Mission, especially in areas where Christianity is under attack.
• Some might join the Ichthus Fellowship, which offers evangelical worship.
• Some might join Fresh Expressions in order to engage with people who might not otherwise think of going to church.
• Some might show their commitment by talking to people about their faith, inviting them to special events and services.
• Some might give money to the Church / pay tithes / give to charity, et

2022

• The mission of the Church is to evangelise / this is clear from Matthew 28:19-20 where, having appeared to the 11 disciples after his death, Jesus commissions them: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you …’
• So as a command from Jesus / the mission of the Church is to evangelise – to spread the gospel of Christ by public preaching, teaching and healing, and/or by personal witness testimony.
• Similarly in Matthew 4:19, Jesus told Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him / and then he would make them ‘fish for people’.
• Many Christians therefore feel that it is important to use their skills to spread the good news about Jesus / and this might be done by preaching / teaching / healing / or any other particular skill that they feel called to use.
• For some, this leads them to undertake missionary work / at home or abroad / in order to ‘save’ those who do not know Christ.
• Paul took his evangelical mission to the Gentiles (non-Jews) / so that ‘they may be saved’ (Romans 10:1).
• It is important, therefore, for the mission of the Church, for all people to accept Christ and to be saved, etc.

Spec 2

• the organisation may care for victims of a natural disaster/they may help them re-build their communities/provide food, water, medicines, temporary shelters/comfort them in their time of need. Matthew 25: 35–36 etc
• the organisation may work with a community to make them stronger to face future problems/they may teach them new skills, how to look after themselves/they may provide money to start-up small businesses/they may build a school for the children or teach the adults better healthcare. Mark 12:31 etc
• the organisation may fight against injustice or provide a fairer way of doing things/they free people from slavery, poor working conditions, exploitation/they encourage people to work together and share profits/they put pressure on governments to implement change. Luke 4: 18–19, Gaudium et Spes: 26, etc