MIC is Parkwood’s Mission Impact Celebration. In less than a week we will kick off our biannual conference in which we celebrate missions to our neighbors and among the nations. Mission Impact Celebration exists to glory in the mission of God, to share what God is doing through the mission of the church, and to exhort the church to be on mission in the intentional opportunities of everyday life and in the strategic cross-cultural communication of the gospel. Consider with me the mission of God, the mission of the church, and the opportunity we have to be involved in the mission for the glory of God and the sake of his gospel.
MIC is for glorying in the mission of God. His mission is to magnify the glory of God and proclaim the gospel of God among the nations. The motivation of the mission is clear in Psalm 67. God wants the nations to praise him; he wants them to be glad and sing for joy as they find their salvation in him. The time of the mission is clear in Matthew 24:14. This gospel will be preached until it has reached the end of the nations and until the end of time. The example of the mission is clear in John 20:21. Disciples of Jesus are sent just as Jesus was sent, and so we go as his representatives with his example. The strategy of the mission is clear in Matthew 28:18-20. Our Father wants his glory magnified and his gospel shared, and disciple-making is his chosen methodology. And so we glory in the mission and missionary heart of our God to reach a people who are running and to redeem a people who are wretched.
MIC is for sharing the mission with the church. The mission of the church is rooted in the mission of God. He is using his church to accomplish his mission. Parkwood is delighted to send and/or partner with a number of harvest field personnel who have given their lives and their families to see the mission realized. MIC is a great time of celebration, and certainly of thanksgiving, as we gather with guests who have surrendered to the call from the Lord of the harvest. He is sending laborers into his harvest field because his mission is to magnify his glory and proclaim his gospel. As Lord of the harvest, his prerogative and delight is to send laborers to carry his life-giving gospel and accomplish his mission. So the mission of God has been received and embraced by laborers as the church’s mission. We do not gather for Mission Impact Celebration to pat ourselves on the back but to express thanksgiving and share the work that God is accomplishing through the church for his mission. It is not a time for pride in our work but for rejoicing in God’s name.
MIC is for exhorting the church to be on mission. With this grand mission to be sent out as ambassadors of Christ to proclaim reconciliation to a world far from God, we want to exhort the church to join the mission. Collectively, Parkwood embraces God’s mission in the mission of the church, and this resolve is evident in her stated purpose of glorifying God by laboring together for the growth of all believers while going with the gospel to all peoples. Individually, though, it is a constant work to exhort the faith family to join the mission. We must be consistent here for two reasons. First, the church is growing, so we must communicate well across the body of Christ to new members/visitors, and second, the natural tendency of fallen creatures is away from the surrender and discipline of mission. For these reasons, we exhort the church often, and particularly during our Mission Impact Celebration, to join the mission of magnifying his glory and proclaiming his gospel in all the world until Christ returns. I anticipate MIC with much excitement as we glory in the mission of God, share the mission with the church, and exhort others to join in the grand, creation-consuming, Christ-exalting mission. Hope to see you March 2-6 at our 2016 Mission Impact Celebration.
Schedule for Mission Impact Celebration
Wednesday, March 2
6:30 pm MIC Worship Celebration in Worship Center
Thursday, March 3
6:30 pm MIC Guests “Really COOL Story Night” in the Worship Center
Friday, March 4
6:30 pm On-Campus Growth Group Dinner Meetings with MIC Guests
Saturday, March 5
11:30 am Off-Campus Growth Group Lunch Meetings with MIC Guests
6:30 pm Night of Prayer and Fasting in the Worship Center
Sunday, March 6
8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am Worship Celebration and Life Commitment
8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am MIC Guests Share in Adult Growth Groups during Bible Study Hours