MISSIONS
At Grace Point, we are passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20).
We are called to freely share the Gospel through words and actions.
God wants the whole world to hear the Good News through ordinary followers of Jesus like us!
Got questions about missions at GP? Email Joan Zeberlein, Director of Missions & Hospitality at jzeberlein@gracepointpa.org.
Our missions compass
Our Missions Compass will provide guidance in the ongoing process of selecting, prioritizing, and evaluating global workers to send/support, international leaders to walk alongside, organizations to partner with, and projects worthy of our time and resources. This compass will also help our global outreach leaders to evaluate their strategies and efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.
Our Missional Values
prioritized missions strategies
Grace Point has chosen the following strategies to drive our missions involvement.
Focused Global Partnering concentrates on a specific location/ministry, often with multiple partners, to achieve a larger goal with mutual benefits.
We do this by discerning God-designed priorities, gifts and needs for their church. We then develop partnerships led by on-site leaders built around a God-sized vision and goals that have the potential to engage our entire congregation. Example: Grace Point’s Middle East FOCUS in Lebanon
Mercy and Justice for the Marginalized focuses on Jesus’ care for those suffering and disenfranchised.
We do this by concentrating on addressing poverty, trafficking, education, etc. Grace Point affirms that mercy and justice must be accompanied by spiritual life transformation as the ultimate goal. Examples: ChoiceOne outreach, Compassion International in Bolivia
Missional Integration of Local and Global Outreach replaces attractional with missional thinking, responding to the contemporary context of global migration and the post-Christian US culture that require us to utilize missions methods to reach our community.
We do this by integrating international and domestic efforts, seeking to build cross-cultural outreach and discipleship skills applicable “here” and “there.” Example: Sorting ministry for NYC International Project
lebanon short-term trip info
Are you interested in a Missions Trip to Lebanon? We are excited to start putting together teams that will minister alongside our partners, Horizons International and Amchit Baptist Church. Please fill out the Lebanon Trip Interest Form. The information gathered will help to best match team members with the needs and goals of a particular trip. Please know that if a given trip is not the right match, there will be many future opportunities! We look forward to what God has in store for us through our Lebanon partnership!
Lebanon Missions Trip Interest Form
Have you completed the Future of Missions Survey?
As Grace Point prepares for greater church-wide missions engagement, we want to know what societal issues and causes you are passionate or concerned about. Don't worry! This form is for informational purposes only. By completing this form you are NOT committing to a missions team or serving opportunity. HOWEVER, if you are interested in engaging in missions, we'd love to hear from you!!
Our ACTS 1:8
We believe that God has commissioned each of us as individuals and as a church to be witnesses in:
At Grace Point our missions and outreach opportunities are strategic to help us focus on key areas of ministry and work in our "Acts 1:8" circles of influence.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
OUR global FOCUS
FOCUS is an acronym that stands for First Priority, Objectives Oriented, Collaborative, Untapped Potential, and Strategic.
This means that our FOCUS will receive first priority among our missions projects and new initiatives, and when communicating about our missions endeavors, our FOCUS takes priority.
The basis of our FOCUS is that it is a partnership with strategic goals and objectives to help meet key ministry needs both here at home and overseas. We hope that our FOCUS will be an opportunity for everyone in our church (regardless of your experience and/or skillset) to be involved in missions at a deeper level for significant Kingdom impact.
Lebanon
The FOCUS Selection Team worked for many months evaluating each of our current missions initiatives, interviewing missionaries about a God-sized vision they have, looking at current and potential global connections, reflecting on prior events and initiatives that had great energy and momentum, and closely analyzing our church’s DNA in the areas of ministry, make-up, and missions history.
After our survey trips, careful analysis and much prayer, it was clear that God was leading us towards Lebanon and the multi-faceted ministry opportunities there that include outreach to neighboring countries. Our team made solid connections with other like-minded churches and explored various ways that we could partner together.
KINSHIP NETWORK
There are lots of opportunities to get involved with our ministry partners in Lebanon and through the Kinship Network.
We anticipate that this will include things like evangelism, providing assistance to refugees, teacher training, medical teams, camps and other children’s ministries, business development, music ministries, building projects, encouraging our partners, internships of various types, and most importantly praying for our partners and the believers in Lebanon. We will also be pursuing ways to encourage and support the persecuted Syrian church.
One of our major ministries will be prayer. The believers in Lebanon want to know that Christians from the West care enough to intercede on their behalf as they face trials because they boldly declare themselves as Christ-followers.
looking for more FOCUS info?
On Sunday, November 1, 2020 Grace Point's Lead Pastor, Dave Wolf and Middle East FOCUS Team Leader, Denise Nichols met with Pierre Houssney, Executive Director of Horizons International. Watch the video of their discussion here.
On Sunday, January 5, 2020 we announced our FOCUS selection and welcomed special guest, Austin Delgado, Outreach Pastor from Riverstone Church in Yardley, Pennsylvania. You can watch a special interview with Austin here.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can participate in our Middle East FOCUS community, you can contact Denise Nichols, Middle East FOCUS Team Leader by email at focus@gracepointpa.org or by texting "FOCUS" to 267.291.0855.
You may also read our Frequently Asked Questions and 21 Days of Prayer guide.
