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Main Idea
The mission of Ashe Alliance is the mission of the commission.
Passage
Matthew 28:16–20 ESV
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 ESV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In the Disciple’s shoes during the great commission
Imagine you are one of the eleven standing there during Jesus’ kingly command.
For three days, you mourned his death and feared for your life.
After His resurrection, you’ve spent time with Him. You’ve seen His resurrected form. You shared a meal with Him. You have no doubt in His Messiahship and Authority.
Now, He has placed a crucial mission into your hands. You are charged with bringing the gospel to the nations.
Then… He’s gone. He has ascended back into the throne room of heaven.
You and your ten fellow disciples are now standing on a mountaintop together. No one speaks. The silence lingers far too long before someone finally breaks it, saying, “What now?”
Can you feel the mixture of emotions? The thrill, excitement, and sense of purpose mingled with unworthiness, insufficiency, and uncertainty in how to move forward?
The 3-fold command
We often hear The Great Commission and rally around the word ‘GO.’ “GO and get me the nations,” and we answer, “Yes, Lord… send me!”
But then, we take a few steps forward and realize we don’t know what that actually looks like. How do I go? Where do I go? What do I do when I go?
The problem with a rally around the word ‘go’ is that it isn’t descriptive. It’s inspiring, but that wasn’t the actual command.
Yes, we are told to go, but the real imperative (command verbs in English) is given after ‘go.’ Go is just an umbrella term that encapsulates the three clear distinctives, all of which directly apply to one subject: DISCIPLES.
The Great Commission is not just an arbitrary word to evangelize the world. It is a command from our King to make disciples, baptize disciples, and teach disciples to observe his commandments.
If you think it is just about evangelism, you have missed 2/3 of the command. Make them (evangelize), baptize them (public proclamation of faith and obedience to the ordinance), teach them (help them grow in their faith).
This is the mission of the commission.
How that played out in the 1st-century
This played out in a very specific way in the 1st century.
Why? Because the gospel was literally contained in only one city in the entire world.
If disciples were to be made, baptized, and taught, then the eleven (plus Paul and Co. later on) would literally have to go to the ends of the earth, which, for them, was throughout the Roman Empire.
The gospel rippled out from Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
We look different than the 1st Century church
A lot has changed in 2,000 years.
Now, the gospel is world-wide. Mission organizations take it overseas. First, it is to the coastlands, then inland, and now, there is a concentrated effort to reach the most remote, unreached people groups.
And, by and large, when we hear the word ‘GO,’ we still think in terms of overseas missions, don’t we? But that isn’t the case. Do we still support missionaries? Of course! But God has also established another way to achieve the mission of the commission, and that is the local church.
Missions happen in neighborhoods just as much as the mission fields.
Just think about it. If there was a local church in every city on earth, and each church concentrated on reaching their city, then the gospel would go to the ends of the earth!
So, as I’ve done in the past, I want to help us see and remember that Ashe County is our primary mission field. And the mission of the commission is to look at this county and discover how we can make disciples, baptize disciples, and teach disciples here.
Our Mission
Mission Statement:
The mission of Ashe Alliance is to establish and grow a Christ-centered, biblically grounded, and servant-hearted community of believers who become and multiply committed Christ followers.
Core Values:
- Biblical Authority
- Engaging Worship
- Intentional Discipleship
- Gifted Service
- Joyful Generosity
- Relational Evangelism
- Devoted Prayer
Our primary goal is to achieve the mission of the commission in the Ashe community, and it must begin right here. Jefferson is our Jerusalem, and this church is our base of operations. Ashe Alliance is the epicenter of our efforts.
So, we must ask ourselves how we make, baptize, and teach disciples. Who do we reach, or specifically, who is God putting in front of us?
And right now, the answer is… children and young families. And as you know, we are focusing our attention and efforts on creating a space to make that happen, which leads me to the focus on our building project.
So, if I may, I’d like to briefly summarize how we got to where we are now.
What was the Process?
We were born in August of 2022.
By March of 2023, we grew so large that we multiplied into two services.
We also began our children’s ministry and were full on day one!
We started our Youth ministry shortly after, and they are packing out the room as well.
We didn’t know exactly how God wanted this church to grow, but it quickly became evident.
In a year and a half, we have gone from 0 to over 40 children & youth. God is drawing young families to us to disciple the next generation.
To help us develop a vision of space to accommodate this growth, we took on the professional services of an Architect who helped us develop the project we now have before us.
What is the project?
The expansion will include three main sections: Children, Youth, and Parking (new additions in brown).
Currently, we have 653 sq. ft. of space for nursery through 6th grade and 168 sq. ft. for Youth.
This expansion would provide:
Children’s Ministry
- 2,679 sq. ft. of additional children’s ministry space (to put that into perspective, the square footage of the lobby through the classrooms is 2,512 sq. ft.!). That is 4x our current space!
- 21×17 (357 sq. ft.) worship space for the kids that does not yet exist.
- That will live beside another 21×17 space for the 4th-6th graders (existing sq. ft. is 168).
- An additional 21×17 space for K-3rd grade
- A back-to-back space for toddlers that is 15×17 and 12×17
- A preschool room that does not yet exist that is 23×17
- Plus, bathrooms and a dedicated check-in space.
Youth Ministry
- Increase from 168 sq. ft. to 672 sq. ft.
- That’s 4x the space!
Parking
- Expanding the parking lot by 3,500 sq. ft. and re-orienting the spots
- Will increase from 40 spots to 57 spots
The renovations will include:
- Remove one classroom to create an entryway to the new section.
- Removing the back wall behind the pulpit to maximize the worship space.
Additional enhancements will include:
- Relocating the Pastor’s office and office supply room
- Adding a dumpster on-site
- Re-purposing two of the existing classrooms for adult Sunday school space.
- Possibility of adding two more toilets to the women’s bathroom if we raise above and beyond.
Why this project and why now?
• Right now, we are beyond capacity in all classrooms, and our present facilities are inadequate to minister to our growing families.
• The last thing we want is to turn children away from hearing the gospel on their level and belonging to a like-minded community.
• Creating a space for children and youth to gather and form a community together will allow us to more effectively fulfill the mission of the commission: namely, to make and teach disciples and sow gospel seeds into the next generation. We have two services that allow room for Sunday morning worship. Now, we need our ‘Jerusalem’ capacity to reach our children with the gospel.
• This is not about growing for the glory of Ashe Alliance Church. It is purposeful growth for God’s glory and the proclamation of His gospel.
How much does it cost?
Total estimated costs for the plans submitted are $1.1 million:
• Children’s Ministry space – $684,775
• Youth Room – $134,400
• Renovations – $45,000
• Parking Lot – $130,000
• Landscaping / Furnishings – $35,825
• Sanctuary Expansion – $70,000
These are preliminary estimates, and of course, the final cost will depend on material selections, market conditions at the time of construction, and various factors. Still, we are confident in this financial target.
This might seem like a lofty goal, and it is! But let me also remind you that we serve a great God who owns everything and can do far more than we could ever dream of.
And, let me also encourage you that we are not starting from $0. In fact, between gifts already given and existing funds, we are beginning the venture today with $300,000, which nearly puts us at 1/3 of the way funded!
Isn’t that amazing?!
How will we pay for it?
We have engaged the professional services of CGS (Church Growth Services) to lead us through this process.
The Elders have discussed many different scenarios and recommend the following:
• Use the services of CGS to investigate the pursuit of a $750,000 Capital Campaign.
• The standard time frame for raising funds is three years, so we have a plan for that, but we are praying for sooner.
• Our goal is to raise these funds within that timeframe and build the expansion debt-free.
• If we don’t raise the total amount, we have a financial analysis that outlines a conservative loan of $300,000 that would be more than reasonable for a church our size, so we will consider a small amount of debt if it comes to that.
• But, again, we believe that God will provide abundantly and want to pursue this project, trusting God for 100% or more.
Where do we go from here?
Continue to ask questions. We want to hear from you!
The first phase of the capital campaign will be to gather information from our church to discover if $750,00 is a feasible goal. This means that CGS will be conducting a few surveys. This information is anonymous, and no one from this church will see your answers, so please be as truthful and transparent as you can. This will help us gauge the feasibility of a campaign.
The surveys will come in two parts.
Part 1 – On Monday, a selected portion of our Volunteer Leadership will receive a poll via email. Please keep an eye on your inbox and fill it out as soon as possible. It will take you less than 10 minutes.
Part 2 – Congregational Survey. Next Sunday, the 17th, we will hand out a survey in this room at the end of the service, and we will ask you to fill out the survey before you leave. There is no place for your name so that it will be anonymous. We will collect those from you and submit them to CGS to process all the information. We will not see or consolidate any of it.
After CGS has processed the information, they will provide the Elders with a Pre-Campaign Assessment Report, which will dictate how we move forward.