Above is the reason E.D.G.E. Student Ministries exist. The Catalyst leadership team helped developed this statement in the Fall of 2008.
I want to take a minute to walk you through this statement.
We love by...
We believe that everything we do should motivated by our love for God and our love for people. Everything that we do as a ministry should be because we take Matthew 22:34-40 seriously. At the very heart of what we do is an overwhelming desire to demonstrate our love for God above all things and our love for others above ourselves.
Reaching others for Christ...
It is our duty...our responsibility...to take the message of the Gospel to our families, our friends, our campuses, our city, and our world. Matthew 28:18-19 commissions us to be missionaries wherever we are. We seek to love God and love people through reaching others for Christ.
Serving Christ and others with humility...
Jesus gives us a beautiful example of humble service in John 13. In this passage, Jesus and the disciples are about to share the passover meal. Jesus begins to wash the feet (keep in mind they were probably pretty nasty) of the disciples. Of course there was some reluctance (Peter...poor Peter) but in verse 15 Jesus tells us that He is setting the example for us. Service should be a lifestyle...service without humility is not service. We love God and love people by following Christ's example and serving others with humility.
Building others up through Christ-centered relationships...
I love the account in Acts 2 where the early church is thriving because they were experiecing true fellowship. They were studying the Scriptures together daily...sharing their possessions...they shared meals together. The focus of their relationships was Christ. This is true fellowship...relationships centered on Christ. We love God and love people by building others up in Christ-centered relationships.
Growing in Christ through His Word...
If you are aren't growing, you are dying. If you don't eat for several days you begin to waste away. Scripture is compared to food...spiritual food. Just as our physical body needs food to survive, our spiritual body craves spiritual food (Scripture). We understand that we grow in Christ when we fill ourselves with God's word (Hebrews 5). We love God by digging in His word and growing as His disciples.
While...
All of the things listed above are actions that center on God and others. Actions truly do speak louder than words. They are all acts of worship. Worship is a lifestyle...it is not confined to choruses and hymns. So we love God and we love others by doing those things as acts of worship to the God who created us. All of these actions are summed by this last statement...
Every Day, Giving Everything for God's glory.
Romans 12:1-2 gives E.D.G.E. its battle cry. Offering our lives as living sacrifices means that we are truly giving God everything that we are...everything that have...every single day of our lives...all for God's glory!
Above is the reason E.D.G.E. Student Ministries exist. The Catalyst leadership team helped developed this statement in the Fall of 2008.
I want to take a minute to walk you through this statement.
We love by...
We believe that everything we do should motivated by our love for God and our love for people. Everything that we do as a ministry should be because we take Matthew 22:34-40 seriously. At the very heart of what we do is an overwhelming desire to demonstrate our love for God above all things and our love for others above ourselves.
Reaching others for Christ...
It is our duty...our responsibility...to take the message of the Gospel to our families, our friends, our campuses, our city, and our world. Matthew 28:18-19 commissions us to be missionaries wherever we are. We seek to love God and love people through reaching others for Christ.
Serving Christ and others with humility...
Jesus gives us a beautiful example of humble service in John 13. In this passage, Jesus and the disciples are about to share the passover meal. Jesus begins to wash the feet (keep in mind they were probably pretty nasty) of the disciples. Of course there was some reluctance (Peter...poor Peter) but in verse 15 Jesus tells us that He is setting the example for us. Service should be a lifestyle...service without humility is not service. We love God and love people by following Christ's example and serving others with humility.
Building others up through Christ-centered relationships...
I love the account in Acts 2 where the early church is thriving because they were experiecing true fellowship. They were studying the Scriptures together daily...sharing their possessions...they shared meals together. The focus of their relationships was Christ. This is true fellowship...relationships centered on Christ. We love God and love people by building others up in Christ-centered relationships.
Growing in Christ through His Word...
If you are aren't growing, you are dying. If you don't eat for several days you begin to waste away. Scripture is compared to food...spiritual food. Just as our physical body needs food to survive, our spiritual body craves spiritual food (Scripture). We understand that we grow in Christ when we fill ourselves with God's word (Hebrews 5). We love God by digging in His word and growing as His disciples.
While...
All of the things listed above are actions that center on God and others. Actions truly do speak louder than words. They are all acts of worship. Worship is a lifestyle...it is not confined to choruses and hymns. So we love God and we love others by doing those things as acts of worship to the God who created us. All of these actions are summed by this last statement...
Every Day, Giving Everything for God's glory.
Romans 12:1-2 gives E.D.G.E. its battle cry. Offering our lives as living sacrifices means that we are truly giving God everything that we are...everything that have...every single day of our lives...all for God's glory!