This is part of a 12-week series designed around some basic Christian disciplines that will propel you to spiritual growth!<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If the above player does not work for you, simply click this link:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/andyaddis\/beginnings-10-missions\" target=\"_blank\">Missions<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Here is the podcast above in a nutshell…<\/h3>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"td1\" valign=\"middle\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Welcome back to Beginnings where this week we continue our spiritual journey!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Already, we have challenged ourselves with new disciplines like Bible study, prayer, sharing our faith, Christian community, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This week we move on to the topic, share your faith: missions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Truly, God\u2019s people are a mobile people as story after story in the Bible includes the word \u201cGO!\u201d That\u2019s why I believe that the true church is a \u2018sending\u2019 church. A church that must be more interested in it\u2019s sending capacity than it\u2019s seating capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This appears to be the heart of our Lord as He gave us the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, \u201cAnd Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Jesus got even more specific about outreach in Acts 1:8, \u201cBut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In this passage, Jesus clearly identified three tiers of missions, which you can imagine as concentric circles:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Jerusalem – local, right where you live.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Judea\/Samaria – culturally connected but not home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ends of the Earth – everywhere else<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">At first, this may seem a bit overwhelming, but that\u2019s just because it is. Make no mistake this is a huge responsibility, so we need a plan of attack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">What are the options:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Pray<\/b> – Pray for missions work here, there and everywhere. Adopt a missionary family, global need, a unique region in prayer and make it your heart cry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Give<\/b>– when you regularly bring your offering to CrossPoint you can know that more than 10% of what you bring goes straight back out to the mission field. We practice the tithe as a church! Additionally, there are several opportunities throughout each year to give to mission causes. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Go<\/b>– Take a trip. Each year CrossPoint offers ministry excursions nationally and internationally. It’s your opportunity to take part in missions at whatever comfort level and costs you can incur. A mission trip is a great opportunity to live out your faith, make a difference in another place and grow spiritually yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So, let\u2019s make it simple and challenge ourselves with a few new disciplines:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Investigate options –<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> Make sure a mission you are contributing to at any level is a good thing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Pray and ask God to lead –<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> He wants you on the field at some level, so He won\u2019t keep it a secret if you ask!<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Start local and go global –<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> Don\u2019t wait to be missionary when you travel. Start now, remembering that wherever you are is your Jerusalem and God has already placed you on that mission field.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Don\u2019t forget to check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/andyaddis\/beginnings-10-missions\"><span class=\"s3\">podcast<\/span><\/a> for more info and we\u2019ll see you back here for more Beginnings next week!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><em><strong>Seeking more of Him and less of me,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Andy Addis<br \/>\nPastor, CrossPoint Church<br \/>\nJohn 3:30<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is part of a 12-week series designed around some basic Christian disciplines that will propel you to spiritual growth! If the above player does not work for you, simply click this link:\u00a0Missions Here is the podcast above in a nutshell… Welcome back to Beginnings where this week we continue our spiritual journey! Already, we … <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/09\/beginnings-week-10-missions\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> “Beginnings Week 10 – Missions”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}