Our mission here at Hillside Baptist Church is to make disciples who become mature followers of Jesus Christ, devoted to worshipping and serving Him both in the church and the world. Our mission is not one we devised, but a restatement of the mission Jesus gave us: “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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
It is by the preaching of the gospel that we make disciples or that people become followers of Christ (Acts 14:21-22). The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day from the dead. The benefits of the gospel including the forgiveness of sin, the gift of righteousness, and eternal life cannot be earned by works, but must be received as a gift (Romans 6:23). We are saved by God’s grace, through repentance and faith in Christ alone, that is, apart from works! Even repentance and faith are gifts God bestows.
People become disciples when they repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our mission is not fulfilled at this point, but includes baptizing those who become disciples and teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded, including making disciples! That is our mission! To make disciples from all the nations seems like a daunting task, but it is a mission that is possible because Jesus, Who has been given all authority, promised to be with us through His Spirit to the end of the age, and to the ends of the earth!

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 (Acts 1:8).