Bethel Temple Cathedral
of Agape Christian Ministries
New Bedford, Massachusetts
CALLING
About
Dear Friend,
Even before God created man, Adam, He knew that men would rebel against Him. But God had a great plan.
What did God plan? God planned to call out people from Adam's sinful family and to unite them into one spiritual body called "the Church."
The word "church," as it is used in the New Testament, means "an assembly of called-out ones." It refers to people, not a building. It is speaking of believers—those whom God has redeemed.
When did the Church come into being? The Church came into being on the Day of Pentecost. God's called-out assembly had been in His mind from eternity, but it was formed on the Day of Pentecost.
Your calling can be thought of as the urge to share your gifts with the world. When you express your gifts for the sake of others, you often experience the joy of being fully alive.
Vision
To establish and equip a diverse multicultural ministry staff reflecting our community for the purpose of reaching the unchurch for Christ through high-tech communication, blended worship styles, practical Biblical teaching and wholesome fellowship at non-traditional times suitable to current lifestyles.
Mission
I think one of the great features of the church today is that we have people of different backgrounds, different races, and different ages coming together under the banner of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (verses 26–28 NKJV).
Yet there are a lot of churches today that want to gear their entire church toward a specific group of people based on certain demographics.
But we need to be careful with this because the Church is made up of true believers from every background. Regardless of who you are, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you are a part of His Church. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 NKJV).
The word Jesus used here for “church” is the Greek word ekklēsia, which means “called-out ones.” The Jews used this word to describe themselves as a unique group of people, a unique race. And some Gentiles used it in describing a community.
But here Jesus used it in a unique context, which wasn’t for only Jews or for people living in a community together. He was saying, “I’m going to build a new unit of believers. But it’s not just for Jews. It’s not just for Gentiles. It’s for everyone.” That was a revolutionary thought.
Now, there may be a place for specialized ministry to various groups, but we must not allow that to overshadow God’s primary desire of bringing us all together. That’s one of the great testimonies of the church.
We are the called-out ones—called together, called to worship the Lord.
