9) Describe the nature and mission of the church. What are its primary tasks today?

Now it's feeling like a Letterman Top Ten Countdown...with no humor:

9) Describe the nature and mission of the church.  What are its primary tasks today?

            The church is the community of true believers that constitute the visible representation of Christ to the world.  The local church is the redemptive fellowship where the Word of God is preached and the sacraments are administered.  The nature of the local church is to help people come to know Christ, confess Christ as Lord and savior and live each day in light of their relationship with God.  The Book of Discipline says that the local church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world (133).  This is the mission of the church, to make disciples.  This means that the church functions to help people to “accept and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live their daily lives in light of their relationship with God” (133).  All this is done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by the grace of God working in and through the members of the local church.  Ultimately, the church is seeking to transform the world by making disciples and spreading holiness.  This is not meant to be done alone, and the local church provides the fellowship that is necessary for growth, the edification that is necessary for one to live a life as a disciple of Christ, and the base from which Christians move out into the world.

            In light of this mission, the primary tasks of the church are worship, discipleship, and evangelism.  Worship keeps the church focused on God and provides an opportunity for the people of God to join in praise to God for all that God has done.  It is also the place where the Word of God is preached and the sacraments are administered, two things that every Christian needs to experience.  Worship is the starting point for all that the church does.  Discipleship involves helping people to “live lives worthy of the calling” they have received (Phil. 4:1).  This involves growing in knowledge of God and applying that knowledge to their lives.  The church is the place where they receive instruction, accountability, and are challenged to seek God in every area of the life.  Discipleship also involves service to the world, as one learns to help those in need, fight against oppression, care for creation, and work for the renewal and redemption that God is bringing about.  Evangelism involves reaching out to others to welcome them into the life of faith, then bringing them into the community through baptism so that they can begin the process of discipleship.  Evangelism is also about taking the love of Christ to the world.  It is broader than individual salvation, as it also includes a social concern that people experience redemption from oppression and social injustices such as poverty, racism, and prejudice.

            All three of these tasks are constantly being done within the local church.  As the church worships, they are growing together and they are being nurtured so that they can be sent into the world to carry the love of Christ.  As the church disciples, people are encouraged to draw closer to God through worship and to carry their understanding of God into the world, spreading the love of Christ and calling others to join them on the journey of faith.  Discipleship should always lead to evangelism, as the local church is not “a place where you go to do church work” but instead is a “training ground from which you go to do your most vital church work in your daily contacts with your fellow workers, your political colleagues, your community organizations, and your family” (Tuell 47).  Evangelism calls people into the life of the church, experiencing God in worship and growing through discipleship.  In performing these tasks, the local church serves as a representative of the church universal, who is the body of Christ here on earth (Romans 12:5).