Missions
One of the ways we’re fulfilling our vision to develop disciples who impact the world with the good news of Jesus Christ is through our Acts 1:8 missions strategy. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says to his disciples “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 other words, Jesus was saying that his disciples would take the good news here, there and everywhere.
We hope that every believer at 22nd Street will be a missionary. Some will go around the world and some will go across the street. Some will go for a short time while others may commit to a lifetime of missions service. What matters is that each of us go where God wants, when he wants, doing what he wants whether that is here, there, or everywhere.
Here, There, & Wherever
Our “here” is Tucson and Southern Arizona. We believe the best way to reach this area is to start new churches aimed at reaching people in the communities where they are planted. In 2015 we helped launch Authentic Life Church at Kolb and I-10. We are currently exploring the possibility of a church plant in the area of Valencia and I-10 and we’re very excited that Authentic Life Church is going to be a part of this.
In addition to church planting, we have numerous partnerships with local and state mission organizations reaching Tucson, Pima County, and beyond. By working with and supporting such ministries as Arizona Baptist Children’s Services, Christian Challenge at the University of Arizona, Caring Ministries, Gospel Rescue Mission, Tucson Refugee Ministry, and Worship Catalyst, we can accomplish a great deal more than we could on our own.
Our “everywhere” is our global strategy. There are an estimated 4.5 billion people in the world who are lost and need Jesus. 1.5 billion of those have little to no access to the gospel. We know we can’t reach everyone but we know we can reach some. Working wth the International Mission Board (IMB) we’ve identified an unreached people group in South Asia and have embraced the call to bring the good news to them. We’re sending teams over every year and are working to enlist other churches so that people will have multiple mission trip opportunities each year.