In this series we have shared, in bite-sized chunks, the foundation documents of The Gospel Coalition Australia, that have their origin in the establishment of The Gospel Coalition in the United States of America in 2004. The documents are comprised of a Preamble, a Confessional Statement and a Theological Vision for Ministry.
The whole series can be browsed here.
This final section of the Theological Vision for Ministry adapts the original TGC USA document with some Australian emphases.
Weekly Gatherings of God’s People
We are brought near to God through his Son, our Saviour and high priest, and through his substitutionary sacrifice for our sin. We joyfully gather as God’s people to meet in his presence, to hear and receive God’s word as the Bible is read and preached; to pray for ourselves, our church, our nation, and our world; to confess our sins and be assured of God’s forgiveness through the death of Christ; to proclaim the gospel; to encourage each other; and to praise our God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The ministry of the word is of crucial importance in our gatherings. The Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, should be read and preached. Preaching should be expository (explaining the text of Scripture) and Christ-centred (expounding all biblical themes as climaxing in Christ and his work of salvation). Its ultimate goal, however, is not simply to teach, but to lead the hearers to worship in every part of their lives.
Evangelistic Effectiveness
Under God we pray and strive for evangelistic effectiveness in ministry as we preach, teach and explain the biblical gospel message of the atoning death of Christ and his victorious resurrection to enquirers and unbelievers. For effective communication of the gospel, we who speak must love those to whom we minister, must embody the message of God’s grace, and must pray for God to act to open blind eyes and soften hard hearts. Christians and churches will work hard at taking the gospel to their communities, workplaces, and neighbourhoods. In short, we will seek to become all things to all people so that by all possible means we may save some.
A truly gospel-preaching church should be filled with members who winsomely address people’s hopes and aspirations, and challenge their sins and sinfulness with Christ and his saving work.
We have a vision for a church that sees conversions of rich and poor, from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, men and women, old and young, married and single, and all races. Because of the attractiveness of its community and the humility of its people, a gospel-centred church should have people in its midst who are exploring and trying to understand Christianity. It must welcome them in hundreds of ways. It will seek to be inclusive but always on God’s terms. It will exercise a costly flexibility in the hospitality that it shows to outsiders, aiming to eliminate every unnecessary barrier that might prevent men and women from encountering God in the gospel.
Gospel ministry will be done by churches, individuals, and para-church ministries.
We encourage the planting of new churches as an effective means of evangelism, as well as the revitalisation and energising of existing churches for evangelism, encouraging those with special gifts of evangelism, and training and equipping all Christians for personal evangelism in their families, with their friends and associates, at work, and in their local communities.
Our aim is to reach our nation and our world with the gospel of Christ.
Trust in and Use of the Bible
We receive and trust the sixty-six books of the Bible as the Spirit-inspired word of God; true, trustworthy, authoritative, powerful, sufficient, and universally applicable to all people. The Bible is the revealed mind of God expressed through the words of God. We use the Bible as the chief instrument of gospel ministry in teaching, preaching, counselling, discipling, training, mutual exhortation and encouragement, and evangelism.
We read each part of the Bible in its God-given human context, and find in it a transcendent message for all people in every age. We evaluate all claims for truth by the Bible, both within the church and in our society. We interpret every aspect of human life and society in the light of the Bible.
We support the translation and publication of the Bible. We encourage teaching elders and ministers of church in expository preaching of the Bible; we encourage evangelists to preach the word; we encourage all believers to read and study the Bible and to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, that the word of Christ may dwell richly among us.
Countercultural Community
Because Christ through his death and resurrection created one new humanity, and because through Jesus we all have access to the Father by one Spirit, we are called together to be God’s people. Because we have been made holy through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once for all, the people of God live in loving bonds of mutual accountability and discipline. Thus Christ creates a human community radically different from any society around it.
Regarding sex, the church avoids the idolisation of sex or fear of it. It is a community which so loves and cares practically for its members that biblical chastity makes sense. It teaches its members to exercise abstinence outside marriage and fidelity and joy within.
Regarding the family, the church affirms the goodness of marriage between a man and a woman, calling them to serve God by reflecting his covenant love in lifelong loyalty, and by teaching his ways to their children. It also affirms the goodness of serving Christ as singles, whether for a time or for life and provides a compassionate community and family for all its members.
Regarding money, the church’s members should share with one another, doing good to all, especially those of the household of faith, with a particular concern for those most vulnerable and the poor (Gal 6:10; 1 Tim 5:3–16; Jas 1:27). We are committed to relieving suffering in this world and even more so in the world to come.
Our churches should embrace people of all races and cultures.
