New Year, Same God
May God encourage us to unite around the vision, strategy, and goal of MPI church for the glory of God.
NAME
Metro Praise International
Jeremiah 33:9, “Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.”
The meaning behind our name is simple and yet profound. Simple because it basically means God’s people (the church) are forming a city of praise throughout the nations. However, it is profound in the sense that until God establishes New Jerusalem (His capitol city) upon the new earth in the Kingdom of God the church is literally His city.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
Therefore, today the church as the Body and Bride of Christ, is where God dwells with His people and brings them prosperity and peace. As a result, Metro Praise International means, “God’s city of praise for the nations!”
VISION
Loving God & People!
Jesus said in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” So we believe we should love God by:
- Worshipping Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23).
- By obeying all of His commands (John 14:15).
He then went on to say in Mark 12:31, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus, we believe we should love people by:
- Helping them in their time of need (1 John 3:17).
- By proclaiming the Gospel to them (Romans 1:16).
DISCIPLESHIP STRATEGY
Connect, Mentor, & Send
CONNECT
First, Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Therefore, we believe all people should be connected to God by the following three ways:
- Being born again (John 3:3).
- Remaining connected to Jesus (John 15:4).
- Being connected to a good church (Acts 2:46).
We believe the best way to do this is by regularly attending our services and joining one of our life groups.
MENTOR
Second, Jesus then said in Matthew 28:19-20, “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Therefore, we believe all people should be mentored by God and made disciples in the following four ways:
- Being teachable (2 Timothy 2:2).
- Staying accountable (James 5:16).
- Acting as a servant (Matthew 23:11).
- Always hungering for God and His righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
We believe the best way to do this is by finding a mentor and joining our discipleship classes (101 & 201).
SEND
Lastly, the Bible records in Mark 16:20, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Therefore, we believe all people should be sent by God as ordained elders and deacons to preach the gospel by always doing the following four things:
- Seeing the Lord (Matthew 28:20).
- Seeing the harvest (John 4:35).
- Seeing the need (Romans 10:14-15).
- Seeing your personal ministry (1 Corinthians 12:27).
We believe the best way to be sent out to preach is to do street evangelism and make a new disciple.
GOAL
100,000 Disciples in Chicago, with 50 churches and 500 Around the World!
God said in Psalm 2:8, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”
Therefore, we believe God has promised a great harvest both in Chicago and in the nations. Chicagoland has over 9 million residents and needs a strong discipleship church in each of its fifty wards and beyond. Also, today with almost 3 billion unreached people around the globe living mostly in the “10/40″ window we sense God calling us to partner with the locals to plant churches that make disciples! Please prayerfully consider joining with us on this exciting mission to fulfill our goal!
