It is time to take stock. As the Book Of Order says, "truth is in order to goodness." (G-1.0304) What will the truth about God's intentions for us convince us to be and to do in coming years?

Statements about God's intentions are woven throughout Gathering For God's Future and can be summarized with reference to the title itself.

Gathering for God's Future

God's saving intention is "to gather up all things" in Christ, in the "fullness of time." This is the grand vision painted in the first chapters of Ephesians. The whole of scripture is about God's tirelessness in this gathering work, and God's call to us to join in it. To have a biblical faith is to be committed to participating in God's mission.

Witness

We are first of all aware of God as the witness of our lives and history. God expects much from us. We are expected to be witnesses to the truth of God known in Jesus Christ. We are expected to be witnesses everywhere and in every aspect of our lives.

Discipleship

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ involves everything stated and implied in the Great Commission — going, making other disciples, baptizing, and teaching about "everything I have commanded you." We ourselves have to be transformed to be such disciples.

Community

The church is part of God's plan. We are called into the community of the church, and we call new disciples into that community. With Christ as our head, the church community exists for the sake of God's mission. We learn to serve in mission in a way that is faithful to the triune God. We are to model the kind of community God intends for all humanity. To be the church is to be one large mission society.