Connecting With the Local Church

A few years ago I took a Perspectives course on missions at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Cebu.  Just to get our brain juices flowing the question was asked, “Does missions exist because churches exist, or do churches exist because missions exist?”  That’s a  pretty profound question and while it’s true, churches would not exist without missions, neither would missions exist without churches.  The bottom line is that the two are mutually dependent and therefore one cannot fulfill it’s God given role without the other.

Recently we have had the opportunity to spend time with our friends at Pacific Coast Church of San Clemente.  From the first day I set foot in this church in 1990 I could sense a real passion for missions, both locally and to the ends of the earth.  And so when we felt called to ‘GO’ in 2002, this church stepped up and guided us through the process.  Yes, there have been some growing pains and yet ultimately we are so grateful to have PCC as our sending church and for other’s also that have come alongside of us in this work. 

Thinking back to the question above, perhaps more than the church and missions being mutually dependent, more importantly the two are completely dependent upon God and neither entity can achieve any real good short of a total focus on Him.  We are so grateful to be part of a church that is focused on Christ and desires to be like Christ to those within, to our neighbors, and to the ends of the earth.