Engaging Our Neighbors and the Nations with the Gospel

“...making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for that which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:18-20)

As Paul fulfilled his ministry through the proclamation of the gospel, he understood the necessity of prayer and how dependent his ministry was on God, so he asked the Ephesians to pray for him to have boldness as he preached Christ. If Paul needed prayer for boldness in gospel proclamation, how much more do we?

The proclamation of the Gospel is central to what we do as a church and to our lives as Christians. We proclaim the gospel when we gather on Sundays, when we meet in life groups, when we meet one on one, and when we have gospel conversations with unbelievers. As a church, we want Christ to be proclaimed in everything we do.

As we think outside of our church, our desire is to proclaim the gospel to the community around High Pointe, to the communities we live in, to our nation, and to the ends of the earth. If we are going to faithfully proclaim the gospel, we will need boldness, and if we are going to have boldness, we will need God’s help. So, the elders are making 2 requests of you as we enter into 2021: (1) Will you join us in praying that, as the Lord gives us opportunities to declare his goodness in our city, our nation, and throughout the world, we would take every opportunity to proclaim the gospel? And (2) Will you depend on the strength God supplies and open your mouth to boldly proclaim the gospel when opportunities arise?

In 2020, our theme was Preparing for Growth. Though 2020 was a challenge, our Lord blessed us mightily. And as we begin 2021 together, we hope for even better things! That’s why this year our theme is Engaging our Neighbors and the Nations with the Gospel.

This year, we are asking the Lord to grant us a greater focus and fruitfulness as we engage our neighbors with the gospel, support the spread of the gospel in strategic parts of the U.S., and engage the nations with the gospel. As you will see from our 2021 budget, we have allocated funds to help us reach our neighbors through ESL and other outreach events. We will support Scott Cope’s church plant in a very strategic location (Boston). And as we seek to engage the nations, we are planning to send a HPBC team to Mexico City for a Vision Trip, a team to the Middle East to support our Gospel Partners, and another team to Uganda to train pastors. We have also been able to lay the foundation for future efforts in international missions. And we have been working to rebuild our missions mobilization strategy. Pray with us that the Lord would allow us to see members of High Pointe mobilized for missions this year.

With the increased budget for 2021, we ask that you let it challenge you and lead you to self-examination. Ask yourself if you are giving joyfully, sacrificially, and generously. If you do, we praise God for your generosity. May the Lord remind us that our giving is a reflection of our hearts and may our hearts be filled with a passion for Christ and for proclaiming His Gospel. After all, that’s what the mission of HPBC is all about – seeing all peoples become wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ.

We cannot wait to see what the Lord will do in us and through us in 2021. No matter what happens this year, we know that our God is sovereign, and he is good. Therefore, we will trust him. May our Lord grant us much fruitfulness as we engage our neighbors and the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ in 2021. And may that fruit be a strong foundation for High Pointe in the years to come.

Grace and peace,

HPBC Elders