His Mission for us: Sharing God’s Word! Serving All! Our Aspirational Values: Preaching and Teaching God’s Word The Great Commission–living God’s Word Sharing God’s Word Practicing Christ’s love with each other by our words and actions. His Vision for us and our future: Our Community knows Mount Calvary as a beacon of hope because our focus is on the cross, and our members are involved in and supportive of the community. We are known for our service because we are visibly active and our doors are open to all. Our guests want to return often because they are warmly received and intentionally welcomed back. They know that this is a safe and calm place in a sometimes stormy life. Our members are growing in the light of Christ. We are unified in God’s purpose to care for all people. Our Denominational Emphasis… Witness, Mercy, Life Together These phrases—Witness, Mercy, Life Together—illustrate how the church lives and works together to proclaim the Gospel and to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ in our congregations, communities and throughout the world. And in all we do, Christ is at the center, leading us, sustaining us, keeping us focused on our mission. This will never change. Witness (“Martyria” in the Greek, also translated as “testify”) “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” – 1 John 5:7-8 It is the Holy Spirit that enables the Christian Church to continue the testimony that was first made through the water of Jesus’ baptism (that He is the Son of God) and through the blood of His sacrifice on the cross (that He died to rescue us from sin, death and the devil). The witness of the Church is both public and personal. Through the faithful proclamation of the Gospel and the right administration of the Sacraments, the Christian Church publicly says, ”this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son“(1 John 5:11). Empowered by and connected to that witness, each Christian then personally desires to live in their daily lives according to 1 Peter 3:15 which says, ”in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.“ Mercy (“Diakonia” in the Greek, also translated as “service”) “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 Jesus saved and established His Church based upon His self-sacrifice and His attitude of service to others before Himself. On the night before His death He told the future leaders of His church, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet” (John 13:14). As Christians therefore, a major emphasis of our lives must be to do as Jesus taught; that we, are to “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). This means that the needs of others — both spiritual and physical, must be of first-importance to us. And as Christ's disciples, we are to strive together to respond to those needs with Christ’s love through acts of mercy and service to all people around the world. Life Together (“Koinonia” in the Greek, also translated as “fellowship”) “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:9 Jesus, by His grace, has brought us together with Himself in this special bond of “fellowship”. Biblical “fellowship” is not just a loose tie of friendship and cordial visitation. St. Paul defines this life together, urging “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind” (1 Corinthians 1:10). This very close fellowship is what Jesus prayed for in His Church; that we be perfectly united as He and the Father are united as one (John 17:22). This fellowship is only accomplished when we humble and submit ourselves to be sanctified “in the truth” of God’s perfect “Word” (John 17:17), which tells us “God has so composed the body (of His church), … that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together“ (1Co 12:24-26). Now empowered by His grace and taught by His Word, we strive to live together in this world and grow ever-closer in our fellowship within Christ’s Holy Church. For more information and articles about this LCMS Emphasis click here.