Vision. Purpose. Mission.

The Bible clearly teaches that the main and highest purpose of redeemed humanity is to glorify and to enjoy God. We glorify God by loving him and doing what he commands. We enjoy God as more and more we realize that he himself (not just his blessings to us) is our very great reward. The Church exists to gather and perfect the saints of God; it is the body within which God himself has said we will glorify and enjoy him, and outside the Church there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. And Christ has given his Church three responsibilities to bring about this end. We at Ozark Presbyterian Church are called to serve God through worship, to serve the people of God through nurture, to serve the world through outreach.
Serving God through worship is the first and fundamental function of the Church. In John 4:23, Jesus saidthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. In Christ, God the Father has sought out for himself a people who will worship in a way that is both heartfelt and genuine (in spirit) and also biblical and committed to God’s form of worship as revealed in Scripture (in truth).
Our goal in worship at Ozark Presbyterian Church is to be faithful to God’s Word and exalt him in ways that he has commanded through worship that is from the heart, participatory, and vibrant.
Just as the Church is to serve God in worship, she is also to serve the people of God through nurture. In Ephesians 4:12-15, St. Paul tells us that Christ has given gifts to the church to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… . The goal of the Christian life is growth in Christlikeness, and our calling as the Church is to disciple and nurture believers toward this maturity in Christ, so that every believer is equipped to glorify and enjoy God, not just in public worship, but in every area and in every role of life.
Our mission in nurture at Ozark Presbyterian Church is to transform lives by moving our members gently but purposefully toward the goal of mature discipleship and corporate unity in Christ.
The Church’s third area of service is to the world though outreach. Jesus’ final command to the Church is recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8: 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…. you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. This command was accompanied by a promise of Jesus’ presence and the Spirit’s power. The Gospel of Jesus is not only for believers and their children, but also for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God may call to himself (Acts 2:39). We are called to demonstrate the truth and power of this Gospel at home in our words and in our deeds, and to support missionary efforts abroad with prayer, financial support, and, as the Spirit may lead, with going.
The goal in outreach at Ozark Presbyterian Church is to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to Ozark, Dale County, and the world through evangelism, outreach, mercy ministry, missions support and other word and deed ministries.

As our catechisms teach and our mission statement affirms, the vision, purpose, and mission of Ozark Presbyterian Church is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. This is our chief end and calling individually and corporately as a covenant community. By God’s grace alone we have been created, designed, redeemed, gathered, called, and empowered for this purpose and task. In Christ alone, the Spirit and the gifts are ours, enabling us to follow God’s commands in faith. Therefore, as God gives us understanding and wisdom, all of our activities in worship, nurture and outreach will be done to God’s glory alone.

 

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