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Core Values
GOD'S GLORY
"Declare His glory among the
heathen, His wonders among all people" (Psalm 96:3).
"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists
because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is
ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the
redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.
It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever." (Dr. John Piper)
We are driven by the certainty that some day "every knee will bow" in eternal
worship and "every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of the
Father" (Philippians 2:10-11). But, we are also motivated by the fact that even
NOW we can see the beginnings of that worship. Fellowship International
missionaries pray and labor so that men, women, and children will willingly
acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, before it is too late . . . before they have
no choice.
PERISHING PEOPLE
Jesus said, "He that
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him"
(John 3:36b). Paul said that those "that know not God . . . shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His
power (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Missionary statesman Elwyn Davies once said, "If we could for one minute look
into the heart of a lost eternity, we would be forever ruined for anything in
this life but worship and witness."
Fellowship International always seeks to keep the reality of "a lost eternity"
in focus. We constantly need the powerful motivation of the certain horrors of
hell awaiting those who die in their sins.
PRAYER
Fellowship International
Mission believes that after all the missionaries are sent and all the money is
spent, it will be prayer that determines the final result.
With Andrew Murray, we believe that "The evangelization of the world depends,
first of all, upon a revival of prayer. Deeper than the need for men - yes, deep
down at the bottom of our spiritless life - is the forgotten secret of
prevailing, worldwide prayer."
We must be first, last, and always, people of prayer . . . churches of prayer .
. . missionaries of prayer . . . a mission board of prayer! When we KNOW NOT
what to do, we must pray. When we DO KNOW what to do, we yet must pray. When we
know what to do, AND HAVE DONE IT, we must still pray.
THE CHURCH
Fellowship International
values the church, not just for herself, but also for the dream of her being all
that God has called her to be in this age.
"The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning" (Ralph Winter). This
means that she can never know the joy of a fulfilled purpose and God's approval,
divorced from her very reason to be.
"Unless, and until, in faith, the future of the world becomes more important
than the future of the church, the church has no future." (Ralph Winter)
Fellowship International seeks to be Church-based and Church-focused in
everything, always with Christ's promise in mind - "I will build My church."
OBEDIENCE
Martin Luther said, "The
true believer will crucify the question, 'Why?'. He will obey without
questioning."
Fellowship International values obedience because Jesus Christ exemplified it
and commanded it. Indeed, the fulfilling of the mission mandate depends on
habitual and unquestioning obedience in all areas of life and service.
"If our Master returned today to find millions of people unevangelized, and
looked (as of course, He would look) to us for an explanation, I cannot imagine
what explanation we should have to give. Of one thing I am certain, that most of
the excuses we are accustomed to make with such good conscience now, we shall be
wholly ashamed of then." (James Fraser, missionary to Burma)
The Word of God allows no room for disobedient followers of Christ. In fact,
"disobedience" and "disciple" are a contradiction in terms. Men know that we are
His disciples by our love, yes, and also by our obedience (John 13:35; 8:31).
SACRIFICE
Jesus' call to
discipleship, in such passages as Matthew 10 and Luke 14, does not just allow
for loss, it requires it!
Fellowship International Mission believes that for the Gospel to have the
revolutionary impact envisioned by our Lord, believers will have to learn deeply
the meaning of sacrifice. And if the multitudes of unreached people will ever
have their chance to respond to the Gospel, those who claim to be Christians
will have to embrace all of His requirements for true discipleship.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that, though He was rich, yet
for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich . . .
As the Father hath sent me, so send I you" (2 Corinthians 8:9; John 20:21).
RISK
Today, there are few
notable exploits for God apart from faith - a faith frequently born and
developed out of hazard and even life-threatening danger. Indeed, Hudson Taylor
wrote: "Unless there is the element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no
need for faith."
Paul asks rhetorically, "Why stand we in jeopardy every hour?", and then states
the reality of ministry for him and for every committed disciple: "I die daily"
(1 Corinthians 15:30, 31). See also 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 and 11:23-33.
We of Fellowship International Mission would ever be those, who while living,
"are always being delivered unto death for Jesus' sake." (2 Corinthians 4:11)
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