Church PLANT Manual

42 • Church PLANT Manual

C. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Jesus is sending us into our cities and neighborhoods to take the message of the gospel. But in order for us to effectively carry out the mission of Christ, we must become wise in our understanding the cultural landscape. Contextualization not only requires an exegesis 2 of the Scriptures to better understand the gospel, but also an exegesis of our culture to better understand the people we are trying to reach. This exegetical process will help us to see our culture through the missionary lenses of the gospel. III. The Means of the Gospel A. The gospel not only saves us and sends us, but it also shapes us. Jesus calls us to the gospel (loving Jesus), to the culture (loving our neighbor), and to the church (loving our brothers and sisters). When we are saved, and before we are sent, we are shaped by the gospel within the context of the local church. The church is God’s primary plan for reaching the World. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). B. Gospel and Mission do not flow out of a vacuum. They are the focus and purpose of the church, the fuel and fire of God’s people who have been joined to Christ and his Church.

2 Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a biblical text in which one seeks to understand the meaning of a passage in its own setting to draw out key principles. For more information on the exegetical process, see Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis, Bible Interpretation . The Capstone Curriculum, Module 5. (Wichita: TUMI Press, 2005).