Mission

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)

 At Christ Church, our ongoing aims are to …

• Know God through the Lord Jesus Christ
• Build each other up in Christian maturity
• Bring more people into God’s Kingdom
• Live in this world as Christ’s servants

                  … all for the glory of God

 Vision

• Know God through the Lord Jesus Christ

God is the one who draws us together through our common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore knowing God through Christ, and growing in this knowledge, will be our primary focus. Our ultimate authority in these matters is God’s Word to us in the Bible, and so we aim to be a church where the Bible is taught faithfully, clearly, and practically.

• Build each other up in Christian maturity

We will be a community whose relationships are characterized by Christian love and service. Our model in this is the pattern of Christ, which was to lay down his life for the sake of others. Our love will thus show itself in words and actions. We will be a community where every member uses their gifts and abilities for the sake of building up others, and we will constantly seek to direct each other towards active and mature faith in Christ.  We will also be a community that is generous in its support of gospel ministry beyond Christ Church.  God has richly blessed us, and we will constantly seek to use this for the sake of his kingdom throughout Sydney, Australia, and the world.

• Bring more people into God’s Kingdom

We aim to be a community that shares the gospel of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection with people from the whole St. Ives region and beyond. In a world that sees no relevance in Christianity, we dream of a whole network of different congregations and associated small groups, reaching people from all walks of life with the gospel of Jesus, whatever their age, cultural background, wealth or education. By 2010, we dream of 1200 adult members won for Christ.  The work of salvation is God’s, and so whilst we actively seek to explain to people about Jesus, and to answer their questions, and to persuade them by reasonable argument, we will do these things surrounded by prayer and in dependence on God's Holy Spirit, who works through the words of the gospel to bring people to faith.

• Live in this world as Christ’s servants

In all our relationships and all our activities, we aim to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. God calls us to be holy as he is holy, and so we strive to be known as people whose behaviour stands out against the patterns of the world, and who excel in love, care, compassion and doing good. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and how we live reflects on people’s perceptions of him.  In all things, therefore, we will strive to live in a manner worthy of him.

 Strategies

Here are 7 strategies to help us be faithful to our mission …

• Pray at every opportunity
• Meet together regularly
• Encourage each other in service & ministry
• Proclaim Christ in all our relationships
• Plant sustainable congregations & fellowships
• Send gospel workers into all the world
• Give generously to support the ministry first at Christ Church, and then beyond