up in the grace and truth of Christ

(Eph. 2:1–10, 4:14–16).

Gathered in reproducing local

churches:

Those who are placed by

the Spirit into the Body of Christ

join with other gifted believers to

celebrate and proclaim the gospel

(Acts 2:41–47, 1 Tim. 2:3–7, 3:15–16).

Sent to make disciples among all

nations:

On the basis of Jesus’

authority over all, the Church

identiﬁes and commissions servants

to advance his mission among the

nations (Matt. 28:18–20, Acts 13:1–5,

14:21–27).

If crystallized into four components,

this one mission could be described by:

Exaltation

: A passion to exalt the

glory of Christ among the nations

Evangelism

: A prioritization to

proclaim salvation in Christ among

the nations

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: A commitment to the

healthy growth of the Body of Christ

among the nations

Equipping

: An investment in

identifying, training, and sending

servants of Christ among the nations

JESUS’ MISSION

AND MISSIONS

Christ has

one

mission for this

Church age, dynamically expressed in

a diversity of missions. However, he

did not provide multiple handbooks,

one for doing church in our own

culture, and another for doing

missions outside our culture. Rather,

we do the one mission of the Church

everywhere, and our one handbook

for this mission is the Bible. The

mission of the Church is not one

program among many other programs

in a local church; it is

the

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the engine that pulls the train

and

the

track that aligns all the cars.

WHERE IS THE

MISSION FIELD?

We overlook the ﬁrst 2–3 geographic

spheres of Acts 1:8 (Jerusalem, Judea,

and Samaria) when we talk about

the mission ﬁeld as if it is only

somewhere “overseas” or cross-

cultural. The mission ﬁeld is certainly

farther away out there, but it is also

right where you are and everywhere

else that the full rule of Christ is yet

to be realized.

Therefore, the mission ﬁeld is

wherever the mission is advancing

with the spread of the Word and the

growth of the Church (Acts 6:7, 16:5).

Distance and cultural boundaries

do not deﬁne the mission ﬁeld or

the missionary; rather, the genuine

advance of the mission is what

deﬁnes the missionary and the

mission ﬁeld.

JESUS’ MISSION AND

THE MISSION OF ��Ƶ

Appalachian Bible Fellowship is

a mission of the Church, for the

Church, and by the Church—

supported by and serving a coalition

of like-minded local churches. These

churches, through the Spirit’s work,

identify prospects for ministry

training and cooperate through

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these servants for the mission.

This partnership of churches for

equipping servant-leaders is united

by a trio of core values: 1) the

primacy of the Bible, 2) the priority

of the Church, and 3) a passion for

servanthood. Together, these deﬁne,

ﬁrst, our

what

: We’re motivated, in all

belief and conduct, by the absolute

necessity and sufﬁciency of God’s

authoritative Word, the Bible. Jesus’

mission only advances through the

advance of his Word. Second, our

where

: We’re committed to serving

local churches to equip servant-

leaders for the Church. Third, our

how

: We’re passionate for a ministry

philosophy of loving enslavement to

others that exalts The Servant, Jesus

Christ.

Our passion for The Servant, our

dear Savior Jesus, and the priority

of his mission are the compelling

motivations for world missions and

for the purpose of Appalachian Bible

College. In short, life is for

gospel

service because The Servant is our

life. Is your passion worth living and

dying for?

In addition to serving as Vice President of

Development, Jonathan Rinker is the newly

appointed Chair of the Bible and Theology

Department. He recently received a Ph.D. in

Biblical Studies from Baptist Bible Seminary.

A 1998 graduate of ��Ƶ, Dr. Rinker loves to

teach on campus and mentor students in his

church. He has served at ��Ƶ with his wife,

Sarah, since 2001.

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