This is adapted from the ministry information packet we send to churches as we seek support. Since few read this, I wanted to share it on a broader stage.

We want to have Bible goals, and our goals directly grow out of our philosophy. Here is a summary of our philosophy and strategy for taking the gospel to Slovenia.

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Power

We need the Lord. Without His power and provision, our labor will be in vain in Slovenia. We must commit ourselves to pray and surrender to Him. This does not diminish the need for hard work. The lives of the apostles are testament to that, but our work is only effective if we are going under Christ’s authority and ability.

Gospel

The gospel changes everything. We will seek to evangelize through the clear preaching of the gospel in Slovenia. We reject any contextualization that changes the propositional or narrative truth of the gospel recorded authoritatively in the Bible. Rather the gospel preached in another culture must identify the deeply seated sins of that culture, confront them, and present Christ as the only solution to our ultimate problem–sin deservedly bringing the wrath of God.

Identification

The heart of baptism is our identification with Christ and His people, the local church. Every person who has been saved ought be baptized and become an identifiable member of the local church. The local church is the Christian’s source of accountability, encouragement, exhortation, and true community. This by necessity leads to our next tenet.

Church Planting

What else can we do but plant churches that must become self- propagating, self-supporting, and self- governing? We may accomplish many other things, but if we have not planted churches and trained men to pastor and plant churches (see the next point), then it is likely that we have failed to do anything to make a lasting impact in Slovenia. God loves churches, Christ gave Himself for the church, and we desire to plant vibrant, soul- winning, church-planting churches in this unchurched land.

Discipleship

Strong churches do not come from strong programs–although they certainly do not hurt. Strong churches spring from strong Christians. Strong Christians are built up one at a time through one-on-one discipleship. Discipleship is not easy, but neither is it optional.