We are a Lutheran community committed to know Christ, pray for the advance of his kingdom, share the gospel and ourselves with those who do not know him; and encourage Christians everywhere in this global task.
Excerpts from the World Mission Prayer League Handbook ¶12 to ¶23
We are a Lutheran community …
We undertake our mission as Lutherans. We proceed from a variety of Lutheran synodical backgrounds, in which we participate gladly. We undertake our mission as a community: lay and ordained, male and female, multi-generational and multi-ethnic.
Moreover, we understand our fellowship to be part of a much larger body – the Church of Jesus Christ around the world. Wherever possible, we will advocate interrelationship, interdependence, and creative partnership in the cause of the gospel around the world.
… committed to know Christ
We are committed to the Person and the Cause of Jesus. We believe that committed lives are indispensable for authentic and compelling witness. We intend to call others to commitment as well… We understand that this commitment exacts a cost – and we purpose to bear it, by the grace of God… – whatever it takes to bring the Gospel of Jesus to as many people as possible.
… committed to pray for the advance of his kingdom
We are committed to pray, as Jesus commands his followers in Matthew 9:38 – “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Indeed, we are not primarily a sending organization. We are a praying “league,” a community of men and women who are committed to prayer as a key methodology for advancing the Gospel of Christ. Prayer is the working method of our mission.
… committed to share the gospel and ourselves with those who do not know him
We declare our passion for reaching the lost. We will share the gospel. And our sharing will involve more than our words. We propose sharing “ourselves” … our very lives (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:8).
We will focus our sharing in three areas:
- Disciple-making along the frontiers… We will apply our prayers and resources, in particular, along the frontier of the unreached – those peoples among whom an indigenous, missionizing, church-planting movement has yet to be established. We will apply ourselves further, as much as possible, along the frontier of limited access – unreached peoples among whom few global workers are serving, or traditional workers cannot go.
- Leadership development. We believe that God has equipped the church with everything needful for its basic ministries of proclamation, service and administration. We believe that God equips the church, as well, with the leadership necessary for its life and ministry… We will pray and work to encourage and develop its leadership in every way.
- Mission mobilization. We will work toward an indigenous, missional, church-planting movement, wherever God has led us. We will work under the structures of the church as it exists in hopeful partnership, that the church may be planted where it has not yet advanced.
… committed to encourage Christians everywhere in this global task
We applaud evidences of God’s mission from and to the entire world. We believe that the mission of God belongs to the whole people of God. We will encourage Christians everywhere in its pursuit. As for ourselves and our work, we intend to be mobile. We pledge ourselves to expendability. We will not ensconce our persons or our organization permanently in any of our areas of work… In all of our work, we will plan for our own dismantling, in order to help build up the church in another area.