Next Steps: Our Ministry Philosophy
At MSC, our mission is to develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. That sounds nice, but what does it actually mean?
By way of illustration, we refer to the process of becoming a fully devoted follower as a "spiritual journey," and we've come to understand a couple of important things about that:
- There's no earthly way we can reach the finish line. We're human, after all, and so our journey toward being Christ-like will be life-long.
- Not everyone's spiritual journey is a linear process. For that reason, it doesn't make sense to take a formulaic, do-this-then-that approach to developing Christ-followers. Instead, we offer several next steps--classes, groups, serving opportunities, and so on--and you get to choose the ones that will be most meaningful along your individual journey.
Although we recognize that we'll never be "done" with our journey, it's still important that we have a clear picture of what a fully devoted follower would look like:
- When we say fully we mean it in the context of “completely,” or “well-rounded.” We see the spiritual journey consisting of several different areas (or practices), and our hope is to give people tools to grow in each one.
- The word devoted gives us a feeling of “loyalty.” If we're devoted to someone, we're dedicated in a no-matter-what kind of way.
- A follower is . . . one who follows. We don’t intend for that to sound silly, but that really is what we mean. We aren’t followers of our pastors or leadership; we’re followers of the One who came from God, died for our sins, and rose again.
Consider yourself invited to participate in the journey. You'll find next-step options in both the Experience and Connect areas of this website, and you can even register online for most of the opportunities! Be sure to holler at us if you'd like some guidance or suggestions.
Want to check out your next step opportunities from the comfort of your favorite recliner? Download and print our Fall 2009 Catalog.