Gravity Ministries: The Vision

The mission of Gravity Ministries is to unite local churches and ministries into a single driving force, utilizing the latest methods of outreach and discipleship to promote spiritual growth within each individual congregation. Gravity churches and ministries are dedicated to reaching out to their communities by growing deeper as one body under the renown of Jesus Christ. This goal is met through two practical aims.

For laypeople, Gravity Ministries seeks to promote an attitude of ownership in their ministry efforts. Recent studies show that the majority of church members across America are minimally involved in their local congregations and are likewise indifferent to the ministry efforts around them. This has led many pastors to take on the majority of ministry responsibilities on themselves. This is starkly different from the image painted for us in the New Testament. The 1st century church did not leave the work of the ministry to the apostles. Each member understood their call to uninhibited sacrifice. Paul continually reminds the churches that they share in the inheritance of the Kingdom. (Col. 1:12, 3:24) As members of this inheritance, the saints are owners and therefore, share in its responsibilities. When a pastor carries out ministry in place of his members, he is not only performing a disservice to himself but to his congregation as well. He is robbing them of the joy of sharing in the inheritance and responsibility of the Kingdom. In order to truly unleash the effectiveness of the church, ministry leaders and lay-people alike must embrace equal responsibility to the activity and success of the local church. We believe that if laypeople begin seeing themselves as part-owners in their local churches, they will feel a personal responsibility to be actively involved. Rather than reeping the benefits of community and expecting to be served, they will begin seeing the local church as an outlet to serve and mutually poor into others. This can partially be done by changing the way pastors communicate the goals and importance of ministry, making it clear to their congregations that the call to ministry is an essential part of the call to follow Christ. However it also requires pastors to actively disciple their church members and find places for them to creatively use their gifts in the local church setting. Before churches can unite with other congregations they must first sense their own responsibility to engage their local communities. Gravity Ministries is primarily working towards this vision through Matt's preaching ministry. We are getting the word out about this new approach to ministry and hope to put our words to action through the planning of community service projects and evangelistic outreach events which will give laypeople and ministers alike the opportunity to partner with others and take on the task of demonstrating the love of Christ to their local communities.

Just as every member in the local church has been granted certain spiritual gifts to fulfill their place in the Body, each local congregation has also been granted a specific sphere of influence. They have been gifted with a place of ministry and charged to utilize it. As Paul pleas for unity among the Ephesians, he casts a vision for the Body of Christ. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:14-16) Paul’s desire for the churches is that they would grow out of their infant state. He had a vision of growth for both the Ephesians and the many other churches that had begun sprouting across the world. As the churches would grow, Paul’s hope was that they would stand against the false teachers and their scheming which they had previously fallen to. A large part of Paul’s ministry was damage control, rooting out those who preyed on these new believers. His hope was that they would root the danger out themselves, edify each other, and continually grow towards Christ, the head of the Body. As he closes, he casts his ultimate vision. As a single body, the church would grow and build itself up in an attitude of love “as each part does its work.” Part of our mission is to break through racial, methodoligical, and denominational boundaries. In each community, local churches can use their specific gifts and ministry opportunities for a larger goal. We want each church to see their place in the bigger picture of what God is doing in their area. Rather than competing with one another, it promotes an attitude of cooperation and responsibility to one another in Christ. Although these goals may seem lofty, they are not impossible.