Mission Matters

It matters because it matters to God.  To be committed to mission is to walk in step with the heart beat of a loving God for a broken world.  Mission is the interpretive key to the revelation of God in the Bible. Mission is understanding and participating in God’s glorious, eternal purposes for his world and so we believe that every member of Highfields has a key part to play in God’s world church.

We want every member of Highfields to be a world Christian characterised by:

• Our allegiance to Jesus Christ and his Kingdom set above all national, cultural, linguistic, and racial allegiances.
• Our commitment to making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ through bringing and being good news to our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. For us that means our city of Cardiff, Wales, the UK and the nations of the world.
• Our confidence in the transforming power of the good news of Jesus Christ in individual lives and in the values and structures of society.

We believe, therefore, that mission is the global outreach of the global people of a global God. That God has revealed himself to us in the written word of the Bible and the living word of his Son, Jesus Christ. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we regard it our privilege and responsibility to be involved in the sending and receiving, the giving and accepting, of the body of Christ in mission throughout the world.

This involvement finds expression in specific ways:

1. Praying

We believe the Lord Jesus when he said, “Without me you can do nothing”.  We see prayer as fundamental to any involvement in world mission.  Every member of the church can be involved in this primary way.  Prayer on a weekly basis is made for world mission, especially for those who have been sent from Highfields Church.  Updated material for informed praying is always available from the Information Desk. Prayer groups operate to support specific ministries.

2. Giving

We believe that giving from the material wealth which God has given to us is fundamental to involvement in world mission. In this way those whom we have sent out from Highfields Church receive regular support.  Some receive this directly, others through the channel of various mission agencies. 

As one-off crises occur across the world, funds are also channeled through Christian relief organizations.

3. Sending

We believe that God, the Lord of the harvest, is still calling workers to go into all the world and make disciples of the nations.  In answer to that call some from our own congregation are presently involved in mission in other countries, in the UK, and locally in Cardiff. (See our Mission Partners page).

We believe it is the responsibility of the local church as modeled in the New Testament (Acts 13) to set apart those whom God has called to the work of mission. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit our aims are to ascertain a person’s call and their suitability for the task and area of service to which they feel called. As a church we are happy to work in partnership with any mission agency whose basis of faith, aims and objectives are consistent with a Biblical approach to mission. (See our Missions Application page).   At Highfields we also support short term mission trips that enrich the spiritual life of participants through seeing and serving God’s church in other cultures.  (See our Short Term Missions Opportunities page)

4. Receiving

We acknowledge that the last half century has witnessed a seismic shift in the practice of global mission through the growth of the global church. No longer is it from the West to the rest. We believe that God is calling those from his church worldwide to go into all the world.  Thus, we recognize that in the 21st century the traditional sending base has changed as God is doing a new thing globally.  We rejoice in this development and welcome the mutuality in mission that this implies.  In Highfields we accept this sort of reciprocal ministry as a sign of the maturing of God’s church worldwide as we have received Korean, Indian and African partners in mission. It is a reminder to us in the West that we benefit from the gifting of missionaries sent by God’s global church who will help us fulfill our mandate for mission at home.