Lakeland Baptist Church Exists to...
glorify God...
All of life should be devoted to exalting, praising, and glorifying the one true God. Both individuals and the collective people of God, the church, are called to enjoy and exalt the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; Eph. 3:21). God’s glory is the reason we have breath. Exalting and lifting high the name of Jesus is the reason we exist. How do we as a church seek to do this?
...by developing faithful followers of Christ...
Together, as a church, we seek to follow Christ and invite others to that journey. This glorifies God because as we follow Jesus together we are saying that he is the king of our lives. But what does it look like to be a faithful follower of Christ? There are three primary elements. Faithful followers of Jesus: 1) Know him personally, 2) Grow with him continually, and 3) Go with him missionally.
...who know him personally...
A faithful follower of Christ is someone who knows Jesus Christ personally. Specifically, this refers to someone who, through turning from sin and trusting in Jesus, has been delivered from the penalty of sin and freed to be devoted to Christ. This is what the term salvation refers to. The first step of being a faithful follower of Christ is knowing Christ in a personal way. Want to know more about what it means to know Jesus personally?
...grow in him continually...
Not only do faithful followers of Jesus Christ take the first step of knowing him through salvation, but then they enter into a lifelong journey of growing in their relationship with Christ. Faithful followers of Christ develop through areas such as gathering with the church weekly, service, study, giving, and prayer. This is what the term sanctification refers to. It’s a lifelong journey of thinking and living more like Jesus.
...and go with him missionally.
Jesus invites and commands all of his faithful followers into the most exciting calling imaginable: helping more and more people know and experience the love of Jesus, forgiveness of sin, and new life that the Gospel brings. This is what the term mission refers to. God has given each of his followers a mission to accomplish, and this mission takes place in their families, jobs, hobbies, and anywhere else they spend time. Faithful followers are deployed by Jesus into their neighborhoods and across the globe to tell others about Jesus (evangelism) and to train others to follow Jesus (discipleship).
Why This Mission Statement?
The mission of the church is decided by Jesus. Our mission statement is how we strive to obey Jesus in what he has already commanded us to do. In fact, our mission statement comes straight from Jesus' own words. In Mark 1:17, we read this command Jesus gave to his followers:
"Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Our mission statement seeks to line up with these words of Jesus. When Jesus says, "Follow Me" he is inviting people to know him personally. When he says, "I will make you become..." he is saying that following him means becoming something we weren't before. This is where we grow in him continually. And what will he forge us into? "Fishers of men." This means that Jesus gives us a mission in this world to point others back to him. This is where we go with him missionally.