Manifesto Value: Kingdom Mission
When the KC Underground launched in 2019, part of our formation was to adopt the Underground Manifesto created by the Tampa Underground. The Manifesto is comprised of eighteen values that reflect our theological convictions. These values bind us together as a diverse and creative network. This prayer guide will cover one of those values.
Read: Spend some time slowly reading and rereading this value:
Kingdom Mission
We will do mission because we are sent people. We believe that the church is not the church until it is engaged in the mission for which God has called it into His marvelous light. We crave healing, discipleship, and intimacy with God. But we believe that all of these things come in large part through obedience to the mission. We believe that healing comes through offering healing to others, that discipleship does not primarily take place in a lecture but through doing. We believe that intimacy with God comes from being in his presence and through submission to His will, by doing what He is doing. Since we believe that the life of Jesus and the early church demonstrate that God Himself is with the lost and the poor of the earth, proclaiming the Good News of His Kingdom, we also believe that when we co-labor with Him as workers in that harvest field, we not only bring the Kingdom into that place but that we also experience the deepest and truest intimacy with God.
Retell: As a practice to embrace what you are reading, grab a journal and write the value out in your own words.
Read: Choose at least 3 - 5 of the following supporting passages and read through them.
Biblical Foundation
Psalms 51:10-13, Isaiah 58:6-8, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 1:14-15, 38, Luke 4:18-21, John 4:34, 35, John 6:27, John 9:4, John 12:26, John 15:9-10, John 17:18, Acts 1:8, Romans 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Ephesians 2:10, Philemon 2:3, Colossians 3:17, 23, 1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 2:9
Consider: As you read and rewrote this value, what stood out to you the most? What did the Spirit highlight as you read the supporting passages from Scripture? What do you sense the Spirit is saying to you? Take a few minutes to journal your thoughts.
Pray: Now that you have had a few minutes to consider what the Spirit might be saying to you, turn these thoughts into prayers.
Perhaps it is a prayer of repentance: Jesus, I repent for the times I have been complacent or inward-focused, seeking comfort over obedience to Your mission. Forgive me for neglecting the call to bring Your light to the lost, the poor, and the brokenhearted. Jesus, I confess that I have sometimes pursued healing, discipleship, and intimacy with You on my own terms rather than through the mission You have set before me. Renew my heart and align my will with Yours. Teach me to co-labor with You in the harvest field.
Perhaps it is a prayer of invitation: Holy Spirit, I invite You to send me wherever You are working. Open my eyes to the harvest around me, and fill me with the courage and compassion to proclaim the Good News of Your Kingdom. Let me experience the joy of partnering with You, offering healing and hope to those in need. Lord, draw me closer to You through my obedience to Your mission. Shape me as a disciple through the work of serving others, and deepen my intimacy with You as I join in what You are doing in the world.
Perhaps it is a prayer for boldness and compassion: Father, I pray for boldness and compassion as I step into the mission You have called me to. Let me see the lost, the poor, and the broken as You see them, and give me a heart that burns with love for them. Equip me to bring healing and hope through Your Spirit, and remind me that my own transformation comes as I serve others. May I never lose sight of Your presence with me in the work, and may Your kingdom come through every act of obedience.
Each of these simple prayers can be a springboard into more. Use the thoughts you journaled above to help guide your prayers. Take some extra time today to pray for the disciple-makers and microchurches across our network, that we would embrace our identity as sent people, experiencing intimacy with Jesus and transformation through co-laboring in His mission to bring healing, discipleship, and the Good News to the world.
Respond: If Jesus highlighted a particular way for you to respond in obedience to Him today in light of this value from the Manifesto, consider sharing this response with another disciple-maker.