D. WHY WE HAVE A MISSIONS POLICY MANUAL
B. PURPOSE OF CPC AND THE MISSIONS COMMITTEE
Purpose of Covenant Presbyterian Church
Our stated purpose for existence is as follows:
"Covenant Presbyterian Church exists to encourage the application of God's Word in the lives of our people, to disciple one another, and to win our community and world for Christ."
Purpose of the Missions Committee
The role of the missions committee is to help implement our Covenant's objectives outside of our own local congregation through overseeing the support (financial, prayer, and otherwise) of people and ministries who will extend these same concerns beyond our local horizons to the entire world. We also desire to concurrently maintain a ministry of educating the members of CPC to this task and equipping them to take part in this ministry by the utilization of their God‑given gifts and abilities.
We have a four‑fold plan for involvement in missions. This plan involves:
1. Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ (as set forth in the Scriptures) to every individual on earth. Each person needs the opportunity to hear and understand this message in terms which are culturally meaningful.
2. Making Disciples within every people group and/or culture on earth. These are people who will obediently follow Christ as Lord and who as a result are maturing and bearing fruit in all aspects of their lives.
3. Planting Churches in every people group and/or culture on earth that are healthy, indigenous, and deeply rooted in the Scriptures.
4. Mobilizing Our People to play a vital role, using their gifts and abilities, in assisting in the fulfillment of these plans.
C. OUR DEFINITION OF "MISSIONS"
The Missions Committee is involved exclusively in "Missions".
We define "Missions" as follows:
Any endeavor, under the direction of an organization outside of our local congregation, to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ by proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, making disciples, and relating to the whole need of mankind ‑ spiritual, emotional, and physical.
D. WHY WE HAVE A MISSIONS POLICY MANUAL
1. To provide a clear sense of direction.
2. To build confidence in the missions program and promote cohesion in the total ministry of the church.
3. To promote thoughtful evaluation of crucial issues in accordance with our policy, and thus avoid making important decisions on a subjective basis.
4. To define the relationship of Covenant Church to both the missionary and the mission agency.
5. To insure optimum stewardship of human and financial resources.
6. To bring new missions committee members up to date quickly, helping them to become familiar with issues inherent in directing the missions program.
7. To inform church members, pastoral staff, session, deacons, and other committees of the church, missionaries, and missions agencies of the principals by which the missions program functions.
8. To insure accountability in the missions program.