Intimacy to Mission Many will know that the core values of Time Out Mission are intimacy, unity, bride, empower, and mission. These are not random in any way, but all serve together to bring an holistic approach to the work of TOM. The journey begins with intimacy in Christ. As in our Lord's own words in John 15 “apart from me you can do nothing”. A strong warning indeed, but this is not a rebuke from the Lord but an encouragement to understand that fruitfulness comes as a direct result of abiding in Him. And so we set ourselves as a movement and ministry to encourage all believers everywhere to pursue God with every ounce of passion and determination, to go deeper and deeper into never ending joy, experience and understanding of all that He is. It is here, in the inner sanctuary of our lives, where the presence of God dwells and brings healing and power. But this pursuit of God himself, is not a one-time endeavour, but a lifestyle of living in His Presence, and seeking Him for who He is and not what He can do, or in other words not His hands but His face.

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Ps 27:8

In such a place of Divine experience we are changed at the core, not a work of man but of God himself. Such a connection with the author of all life is in itself life changing, in such a way that we are changed to be more like Him. And if we are more like Him, then this will have a direct influence on the determination of our hearts towards mission, because God is missional. This mission will be motivated through a Godly power and love that compels us in our efforts to run the race marked out ahead.

And so mission comes from intimacy. Without mission, we must question the validity of our experience. For example, we read in the Gospels that Jesus called to Him, those that He wanted that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach.Mark 3:14 Here is intimacy and mission working together. First of all that they might be with Him (intimacy) and the reason being that He might send them out (mission). Furthermore, we see the same principle in John 15, our timeless passage on the “True Vine”. In verse 16 we read “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to GO and bear fruit--fruit that will last” Notice the verb to go used in this passage. Yes we must remain in Him, but we must also go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.

To conclude, we are ill-equipped for fruitful mission unless we are first in a place of intimacy and abiding with the Lord, but also to believe that we are in a place of abiding without a desire or evidence for mission is contradictory, for mission flows out of intimacy, more than that, responsibility comes from intimacy, in that we are entrusted with the very Word of God active and living on the inside which must be put to good use. There is much more to say on this, but I will close for now and continue our discussions in my next blog. May the Lord bless you always in your eagerness to know Him more. Mike Founder and Co-Director