Mercy Hill is a Christian community that exists to “reach the lost for Jesus through authentic Christian living.” Each of these terms is significant.
Reach
We are called to intentionally enter into the lives of others. This other-orientation mirrors what Jesus has done for us in the Incarnation. He didn’t wait for us to come to him; He reached out to us as a dying and rising Servant.
Likewise, we’re called to sacrifice what is familiar, comfortable, and even blessed, for the sake of those who do not yet know him.
We call this living “sent” lives, or helping others to see Jesus in us, as we seek to see Jesus in them.
In this day of widespread skepticism about the church, we accept the responsibility and the calling that “reach” and “mission” imply: we are to go to where others are, meet them on their terms, and engage their questions and concerns.
Lost
We believe that lostness is part of what defines the human race. As the old children’s nursery rhyme goes, “In Adam’s fall sinned we all.” This sin—which is rebellion against God—caused humanity to become fundamentally lost.
We do not believe that every person is as lost as he or she could be; but that in some primary way we all are lost and separated from our Creator God.
This concept of “lostness” touches on no insignificant matter. We believe eternal life and eternal death are at stake in the ministry of the Church.
Knowing our lostness, and seeking to make progress in our salvation, becomes a primary way of relating to Jesus and to others.
Jesus
There is one name under heaven whereby we must be saved: that name is Jesus. There are plenty of “salvation programs” under other names, but none can ultimately redeem a fallen person from his or her lostness, his or her sin.
As we relate to others in our various communities, we are unembarrassed about Jesus. We preach Jesus: bloody, crucified, and dying; and powerful, miraculously rising from the dead.
We “confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.”
We honor Jesus in our behavior, in our attitudes, in our words. We follow Jesus to our own “crosses” that He, as a dying Savior, has taken up first, not only enabling us through His saving work, but setting an example for us to follow.
Authentic Christian Living
The earliest followers of Jesus didn’t merely gather on one day a week for “fellowship” and a sermon. They were in each other’s homes, not by appointment, but by virtue of the rhythms of their lives together.
Much has changed in the world since the first century. Many of the advances in society have been beneficial. But the basic human need for authentic relationships has not changed.
Our goal is that we form small groups (“crowded houses”) throughout the Gloucester and Camden County areas as primary places in which people from all points on the spectrum of spiritual development can experience what a Gospel-shaped community is really like.
Conclusion
Our mission is a merely a reflection of the Great Commandments and Great Commission of Jesus.
In this way, we are doing our part to be shaped by Jesus and the Gospel, and to summon others to join us in this journey of discipleship: living lives as servants and students of Jesus, to the end that the earth may be filled with the knowledge of God “as the waters cover the sea.”
(A fuller version of this document can be found on this website under "Launch Team Docs/Our Mission.")