VISION

Oxford Baptist Church exists to glorify God by making disciples of the

Lord Jesus Christ

 
Oxford takes the Great Commission seriously. After Christ had paid the penalty of Sin by His death on the Cross, and after conquering death through His resurrection, His final instructions to His Twelve Disciples was to make disciples. Here is what He said:
 
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
 
This command is central to the New Testament and is found in all four Gospels, the book of Acts and is the basis for the rest of the New Testament books.
  • Matthew 28:18-20 (Read above)
  • Mark 16:15 – “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
  • Luke 24:46-48 – “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things…”
  • John 20:21 – Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
  • Acts 1:8 – “…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
 

It is a command that has its beginnings in the plan of God as revealed in the Old Testament and is by no means something that was added to the plan of God. Instead, we understand missions to be the plan of God from the beginning.

  • Genesis 3:15 – I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
  • Genesis 12:3 – 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.
  • Exodus 19:6 – and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
  • 2 Samuel 7:19 – And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O LORD God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction (a charter) for mankind, O LORD God!
  • Isaiah 49:6b – “…I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
  • Jonah
  • Psalm 67
 
What kind of disciples do we want?
  • Passionate Worshipers
  • Engaging in Discipleship
  • Fulfilling the Great Commission