www.shawneebiblechurch.org

Biblical Mission: Ministering the Gospel Together

At Shawnee Bible Church, we value an emphasis and focus on the gospel in all areas

of life. The mission of every local church is not vague, unclear, or yet to be determined

by some new instruction. It has been clearly given to us by our Lord: namely, to proclaim

the good news of Jesus Christ to all creation (Mark 16:15), making disciples of all nations

by baptizing and teaching them (Matthew 28:19–20). We clarify that ministering the

gospel entails communicating and calling individuals to respond to the truth of Christ’s

life, death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

While many other worthwhile activities vie for our attention, we carefully reserve our

corporate focus upon gospel-centered ministry as opposed to political involvement,

humanitarian work, or social reform.

It is our conviction that all believers are “ministers of the gospel.” That is not to say we

fail to recognize the New Testament office of pastor/elder (which is to be fulfilled by

biblically qualified men). Rather, we believe all followers of Christ are to be equipped

by the leadership of the local church for the work of service (Ephesians 4:12–13). This

work of service entails speaking gospel truth to others while also attesting to it by a godly

lifestyle of love and good deeds (Ephesians 2:8–10; Hebrews 10:24–25).

We believe the gospel effectively penetrates and brings some measure of change to

every believer in the areas of conviction, their sincere beliefs that motivate action;

character, their patterns of behavior and desire; and competence, their growth in ability

to serve Christ by ministering his truth to others. Consequently, we value and emphasize

a biblical understanding of conversion—that no matter who individuals are or what they

have done, if they are “in Christ” God forgives and changes them through the power of

the gospel (Romans 1:16). We reject the notion that people can have genuine saving faith

in Jesus Christ and yet their lives lack any sign of new birth, any desire for change, or any

indication of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence (Galatians 5:16–26).

We seek to be faithful and effective in our own community by ministering the gospel

with this focus, and we are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission by promoting the

same work throughout the world. We support missionary partners and mission agencies

that believe and practice this gospel focus through planting local churches and/or

propagating biblical discipleship.

We reject the use of any verbiage or analytical tools drawn from “social justice” theories for communicating

or ministering the historic, New Testament gospel.