Missions & Outreach
Missions and the Redemptive Gospel
When people hear the word “missions,” they usually think of evangelism or the “saving of souls.” Now, while this understanding is not necessarily wrong, it is incomplete. The biblical understanding of missions is much wider in scope.
Of course, evangelism is central to the missional endeavor. Prior to ascending into heaven, Jesus does commission us to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth so that all people may become children of God. However, missions cannot be reduced only to this.
Biblical history ends in the Book of Revelation with the renewal of heaven and earth. The trajectory of God’s work culminates with the redemption of the created order which includes body, soul, and the rest of creation. Furthermore, while Jesus walked this earth, much of what He did was heal the sick, show compassion to the poor, and feed the hungry. Now, when you couple the above with God's command to be good stewards of the material creation and James' imperative to provide for both the physical and spiritual needs of people, it is quite clear that Christians are called to bring redemption to all spheres of life. This is what is known as the “redemptive gospel” – as Christians we are called by God not only to redeem souls, but to bring redemption all aspects of life.
The redemptive gospel is the foundation of Hope’s missional efforts. Consequently, we understand being missional not only as saving souls overseas. Rather, we understand missions as bringing redemption through everything we do at Hope, locally and abroad. The leadership of Hope is dedicated to prayerfully and strategically calibrating the ministry so that everything we do aims at bringing renewal to lives on all levels - the spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical.