At Mercy Hill Church, we embrace a core commitment to the mission of Jesus.

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“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.”

Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel of John 20:21

 

The story of the Gospel shapes us into a community of disciples who are entrusted with the call to be missionary servants.

WE ARE MISSIONARIES

To be a follower of Jesus is to be commissioned to tell the Good New about Jesus to others, helping them to understand the implications of the Good News of his kingdom for their lives both now and for eternity.

After his resurrection, Jesus gave this Great Commission to his followers,

“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

He also said,

“As the Father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21).

These words of Jesus tells us that his disciples are sent as missionaries – people who tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ – whether we go around the world or across the street.

We are learning to live as sent people who have experienced the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the amazing love of the Father, and it is both our calling and our privilege to be heralds of this life-transforming Gospel.

WE ARE SERVANTS

Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, but he also became the Servant of servants.

On the night he was betrayed, he took a towel and a bowl of water and washed the feet of his disciples. In that day, such a task was usually reserved for the lowest of servants. Even his disciple, Peter, objected to what Jesus was doing.

And then Jesus said,

“You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also outh to wash one another’s feet. For have have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:13-17).

Jesus not only taught us that we should love by serving others, but he became the example par excellence (cf. Philippians 2:3-11).

And so as followers of Jesus, we are learning what it means to humble ourselves by serving others. Whether in our marriages, in our family, in our work environments, or just anywhere in our beautiful but broken city, we make it our ambition to be servants. Indeed, it is our highest calling to imitate our Lord Jesus.

WE ARE IN, WITH, AND FOR OUR CITY

As the story of the gospel forms us into a family of disciples sent by Jesus to make disciples, we embrace our calling to live on mission where God has placed us in the city of College Station.

As residents of this community, we neither despise nor retreat from our city, but rather embrace it and love it. Rather, we are in, with, and for the community of Bryan-College Station.

In our City

  • We show great respect for people in our city from diverse backgrounds and beliefs, thankful that we can be neighbors and servants to so many kinds of people.
  • We take seriously the honest questions that people in our city have about life, God, and faith, knowing that these are the things that matter most. Therefore, we want to honor questions that many people have, and we seek to give honest answers.
  • We strive to make the message of Christianity intelligible and accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds believing the Jesus is worth considering and understanding.

With our City

  • We live as residents of this great city with all its opportunity and abundance. At the same time, we long to see her be all that she can be with the blessing of God. We grieve with her over the brokenness of the city, knowing that the things are not the way they are supposed to be.
  • We seek to be the kind of neighbors that bring blessing to others, knowing that simple acts of love, kindness, and intentionality are part of our design as humans.
  • We seek to bless our city by integrating faith and work, knowing that the purpose of work is to love and serve others.

For our City

  • We seek the flourishing of the city. Therefore, we work for justice, mercy, and compassion in our spheres of influence.
  • We know that it’s difficult to admit that we are more broken, flawed, and yes even more sinful than we’d like to admit, but we’ve discovered that in Christ we are more loved, forgiven, and accepted than we had ever dared to dream.
  • We invite our neighbors, colleagues, teammates, and friends to respond to the Good News of what God has done to reconcile all things to himself in Christ Jesus.

Like the ancient people of God, we are called to seek the peace of the city. That means we seek the flourishing of our city. And we believe that happens fully when the Gospel is proclaimed, and Christ is embraced as it’s rightful King.

May what was said about the ancient city of Samaria when it responded to the Gospel of Christ be said of Bryan-College Station: “…there was much joy in that city” (Acts 8:8).

So to sum up, we are being formed into a family of missionary servants who are in, with, and for our city.