Our vision as Charis is to be a church that reveals the whole Gospel to the whole person for the sake of the whole world.  We believe with all of our hearts that we are to be “the aroma of Christ”; spreading the knowledge of God everywhere we go.  But how are we going to do it?  How are we going to live in such a way as to reveal the Gospel?  We must believe the Gospel ourselves.

We need to understand we continually need the Gospel as much as anyone.  Our first priority is not figuring out what we must do.  Our first priority is always realizing what Jesus has done.  The most important thing about us as individuals and as a church is not what we do.  The most important thing about who we are as individuals and as a church is what God has done for us in the Gospel. 

What is the Gospel?  The Gospel is the good news of the good God who came to earth in Jesus Christ.  He came to save His rebellious children from sin and folly, to forgive them, to make them whole by dying for their sin, and to restore them to Himself. 

Through the Gospel,

We’re forgiven. (Eph. 1:7)

We’re made God’s children. (1 John 3:1)

We’re loved by God.  (Romans 5:8)

We’re given the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 1:13)

We have a relationship with God. (1 John 1:3)

We’re promised an inheritance. – (1 Peter 1:3-5)

We’re made dead to sin and alive to God. –(Romans 6:6-8;11)

We’re freed from selfishness to serve God. (2 Cor. 5:15)

We’re promised eternal life in a world without any sin and sorrow one day. (Rev. 21:3-5)

We receive radical grace and kindness from God. (Titus 3:3-5)

We’re sent out into the world as missionaries with the gospel. (John 17:18)

We belong to God’s people, the church. (Eph. 2:13,19)

We’re given gifts to serve the church. (Romans 12:4-8)

All of this is true of us as believers in Christ.  (*Speaking to Charis* this is true about us!)  These aren’t just nice, inspiring thoughts.  This is our reality in Christ.  What would happen in our lives if we lived everyday, through every circumstance, in every relationship – in view of the reality of the Gospel? 

The most important thing for our church to do is to believe the Gospel.  The only way we will live out our vision of being a church that reveals the whole Gospel to the whole person for the sake of the whole world is if we ourselves continually grow in our understanding, belief, joy, and hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The more we preach the Gospel to ourselves, the more we intentionally strive to live in the good of the Gospel, and the more we identify idols in our lives that look to unseat Jesus as our hope, joy, satisfaction, and identity – the more we will bear fruit, reveal the Gospel, and live out God’s vision for us.