Reaching Out Where We Are

(This page has yet to be completed.) From the beginning we sensed God calling us to something more than a somewhat traditional church involvement in outreach and missions. God can be served in a variety of ways on the mission field; at Countryside, we felt we wanted to do more. As we searched the Scriptures to better understand what God wanted us to do, we were struck by a couple of things:

 

In the opening verses of Acts 13, we find the church laying hands on their own, those who were to serve as "missionaries," sending them out to service. For this reason, we have moved away from casting financial support towards mission boards, ministries and agencies. Although we realize their valuable work, we have chosen instead to focus on and be committed to preparing the body at Countryside to serve the Lord themselves. Some will be raised up to serve in ministries near home only; others will leave for a short time as the Lord gives them opportunity. Still others we believe, will respond to God's call on their lives and will serve the Lord, full-time, outside of our area. All of us will minister right where we are,

 

We believe heartily in the wisdom taught by Jesus in passages like Matthew 10:5-42 and Luke 9:1-6. In watching the Lord raise up servants from within the body, and then sending them out as missionaries from the body, we are better able to keep in step with the heart of Jesus when He sent out the disciples for the very same work.

 

Jesus said in Acts 1:8: "…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." We see the Gospel and the Kingdom spreading throughout the then-known world beginning with the birth of the church on Pentecost in Jerusalem. Throughout the book of Acts the good news and abundant life spreads and the church's influence for the Lord expands throughout Judea and Samaria until chapter 13 where the message is taken to the "ends of the earth." For this reason, we too have chosen to center our first efforts on our Jerusalem — Coburg, Eugene, Springfield and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.