The Mission

We didn't come up with this mission. Jesus gave it to us.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:18–20, ESV

These are the words of the risen Lord, who reigns over all things. Because Jesus has all authority, the church does not choose its own mission.

Christ commands us to make disciples. His command includes baptizing believers and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded throughout their lives. He promises to remain with His people as we obey Him.

A disciple is someone who has trusted Christ and follows Him. If you are still considering what it means to trust Christ, read the gospel. Everything else on this page grows from that good news.

Christ gives spiritual life through His gospel and His Word. By His Spirit, He then strengthens and matures His disciples through the means He has given His church: Scripture read and preached, prayer, baptism and the Lord's Supper, and fellowship among believers. The church gives itself to these ordinary practices while trusting Christ to do the work only He can do. Disciple-making extends across the whole Christian life, not only through a class or semester.

Freedom describes this whole-of-life discipleship in three directions: upward, inward, and outward. Each describes the same life under Christ, seen from a different angle.

Love upward

Loving God comes first, because everything else follows from it. Upward love is worship: trust in His Word, glad obedience, prayer, and delight in who God is, not just what He does for us. Jesus called this the great and first commandment (Matthew 22:37–38). It shapes how we sing, how we pray, and how we read our Bibles on an ordinary Tuesday.

Love inward

Inward love is what upward love looks like among God's people: gathering together, belonging to a church through meaningful membership, telling each other the truth, showing hospitality, carrying one another's burdens, giving generously, and persevering with one another in love.

Love outward

Outward love takes that same life into the world: gospel witness and ordinary neighbor-love in your home, your workplace, your neighborhood, here in the Augusta area, and to the nations. Outward love doesn't wait for a mission trip. It shows up in a hard conversation with a coworker, a meal for a struggling neighbor, and a willingness to talk about Jesus with people who don't yet know Him.

Upward, inward, and outward are integrated dimensions of one life under Christ. They are not stages a believer completes or departments the church operates. Gather, Equip, and Circles do not lead to mission as a final step. Christ uses these rhythms to form a church that loves God, loves one another, and bears witness to Christ in everyday life.

This mission takes shape in the actual rhythms of this church.

Our Lord's Day gathering is the anchor of our life together. There we worship God and receive His gifts through His Word, prayer, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Meaningful membership gives inward love a real, covenant shape: specific people committed to specific people. Freedom's Discipleship Semester brings Equip and Circles together as complementary environments for instruction and relational application. Through ordinary service, hospitality, generosity, and witness, this shared life continues throughout the week.

Freedom's Discipleship page explains how this whole-life calling is lived through the ordinary life of the church and focused seasons of formation.

If you are considering gathering with us on Sunday, planning your visit simply helps us prepare to serve you if you have questions or specific needs. It is completely optional.