“you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12
• Global • Local
What is Evangelism and Missions?
Mission work includes making disciples through local evangelism and global missions.
Evangelism is the compassionate sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ with lost people, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of bringing them to Christ as Savior and Lord, so that they in turn might join a local healthy Biblical church and share Him with others. The goal is to reach and teach the lost for the glory of Christ. Evangelism can be done both locally and abroad.
Global missions is the local church’s engagement in the sending and/or supporting of the going-out-into-the-world and making disciples by declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering disciples into churches. This is so they might worship the Lord and obey His commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father. Missions has the unique goal of going out into the nations—to unreached people groups—to make disciples.
The Biblical Mandate for Missions
The Lord has mandated that Christ's followers be engaged in making disciples locally and abroad (Matt 28:19, 24:14, 4:19 Mark 13:10, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:8). The believer’s love for Christ and his desire to see Him glorified serve as the driving force behind their obedience to this mandate (Rom 1:5, Jn 14:15).
Riverbend is wholeheartedly committed to the spread of the Gospel both locally and worldwide. For more information about our philosophy of evangelism and missions, click on the link below.