The Identity of The Hollywood Church, Part 4
“Mission”

August, 2008

by: Chriss Barksdale

• Hollywood Church

We planted this church with the mission of God in mind. And that mission is no better seen than in the incarnation of the Son of God. We see in Luke where the Spirit comes down to empower Jesus for the mission at His baptism. Then in Acts we see the church empowered by the Spirit and sent off on mission. Jesus made our mission very clear in the Gospel of John. Over 33 times He uses the phrases “sent Me” referring to His mission. Then the final time He uses it, He says in John 20:21, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” As Christians we are “sent ones” and as a church we gather in order to scatter with the Gospel in hand! In the Bible we see God always meeting and sending people out! When someone came to God, he received them and then sent them out:

• Abraham

  Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”

• Moses

  Exodus 3:1-2 “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.”

  Exodus 3:9-10 “And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

• Joshua

  Joshua 1:1-2 “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.’”

• Isaiah

  Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”

  Isaiah 6:7-9 “And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ And he said, ‘Go, and say to this people:’”

• Jeremiah

  Jeremiah 1:4-8 “Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a youth”; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.’”

• Peter

  Luke 5:5-10 “And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’”

God saves you to send you out—if you are not on a mission, if you don’t see yourself as a missionary, it is not just that you are not obeying Jesus, it is because you are not like Jesus! At the Hollywood Church we constantly set the mission of God on the front burner! We strive to meet people where they are and engage them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what makes a church plant so exciting, for without the mission being carried out we will die a quick and painful death! Praise God for the many who have already come to know Jesus through this church. Please continue to pray for us as we’ve just had three professions of faith in the past few weeks and many more asking questions!