Farmdale's Mission
Our mission at Farmdale is simple: Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples. This mission is not new or innovative. In fact, it's not even something we came up with on our own. We've drawn it directly from Jesus' Great Commandment in Mark 12:30-31 and his Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. We believe that these two commandments summarize God's calling through Scripture for how the Christian is to live. You can read below in more detail how we believe God in His Word has called Farmdale to specifically live out these commands in our context with links to sermons from our Vision Series. You can also listen to Will's introductory sermon on A Biblical Vision for Farmdale Baptist Church.
Farmdale's Method
The Great Commandment - Love God. Love Others.
Heart (Conversion and Sanctification)
The heart is our central target area. It contains the well-spring of life. Without transformation of the heart, and individual cannot please God, and he or she is not freed to live for him. Listen to our Vision Series sermon on the heart: The Heart of the Matter.
Soul (Community and Counseling)
Out of the outflow of the heart come our desires and emotions. We seek to care for the souls of our members by helping them to love and be satisfied in God in both the victories and trials of life. Listen to our Vision Series sermons on the soul: Gospel Community and Speaking the Truth in Love.
Mind (Theology and Worldview)
The mind is the gateway to the heart. We believe that the mind must be renewed daily by focusing on the truth. Listen to our Vision Series sermon on the mind: Love God with All Your Mind.
Strength (Service within and outside the church)
Each believer has been equipped with a physical life and spiritual gift.Both are to be used in service to God and others. Listen to our Vision Series sermon on strength: The Picture and the Purpose.
The Great Commission - Make Disciples
We understand the Great Commission mandate from our Lord to contain three descriptors for how we are to make disciple...
GO (Every member a missionary)
The "going" of disciple-making involves both the going about of our everyday lives and the intentional sending of the church for Gospel initiatives. Listen to our Vision Series Sermon on Going: The Going of Disciple-Making.
Baptize (Evangelism & Membership)
The "baptizing" of disciple-making involves conversion and entrance into church fellowship. Listen to our Vision Series Sermon on Baptizing: The Baptizing of Disciple-Making.
Teach (Formative and corrective training)
The "teaching" of disciple-making involves the training of believers to be conformed into the image of Christ. Listen to our Vision Series Sermon on Teaching: The Teaching of Disciple-Making.
We base our strategies on Jesus' disciple-making strategies of...
Mentoring
Christ did not mass-produce disciples, but rather chose to spend time with a small group of men. This model requires time, transparency, and training in a one-on-one and one-on-few setting.
Modeling
Christ encouraged his followers to not only hear his teaching, but also to follow His example. Our lives should serve as examples for others to emulate.
Multiplication
Christ's goal was to reproduce himself in the lives of others who would in turn reproduce themselves in someone else. As reproduction occurred there was a multiplying effect on discipleship.
Listen to our Vision Series sermon on modeling, mentoring, and multiplication: Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples.
Farmdale's Measure
We understand the measure of disciple-making to be expressed in Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you , and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (local) and in all Judea and Samaria (regional), and to the ends of the earth (international)." We express this measure below...
Local
The church is not a building but a people. Therefore , discipleship should be happening wherever our members find themselves on a regular basis (homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, etc.) However, we do recognize a specific and strategic call to be salt and light in the areas of Louisville known as Farmdale, Camp Taylor, Linnview, Audobon, and Germantown.
Regional
We understand our region to begin within Metro Louisville and then extend to Kentucky and the United States. We can most closely identify with people from this region because we share a common language and culture.
International
We emphasize international missions as being any missions effort that requires the crossing of significant cultural barriers. Due to the global nature of our world, advancements in technologies, and increasing connectivity, international missions can be done both locally (aimed at migrant workers, immigrants, and refugees) and abroad (focused on countries outside the United States).
Listen to our Vision Series Sermon on Farmdale's Measure: Measuring the Mission.