The 268 Declaration

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth,your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;may all the peoples praise you.May the nations be glad and sing for joy,for you rule the peoples with equityand guide the nations of the earth.May the peoples praise you, God;may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;God, our God, blesses us.May God bless us still,so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

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All the nations you have madewill come and worship before you, Lord;they will bring glory to your name.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21

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he says:“It is too small a thing for you to be my servantto restore the tribes of Jacoband bring back those of Israel I have kept.I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

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And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scrolland to open its seals,because you were slain,and with your blood you purchased for Godpersons from every tribe and language and people and nation.You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,and they will reign on the earth.”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strengthand honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lambbe praise and honor and glory and power,for ever and ever!”

The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

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Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”


Matthew 28:18-20

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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

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Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

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Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.Speak up and judge fairly;defend the rights of the poor and needy.

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Learn to do right; seek justice.Defend the oppressed.Take up the cause of the fatherless;plead the case of the widow.

Worship and Justice have always been two sides of the same coin. They are inextricably linked; where the people of God go, so goes His Spirit and His promptings. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 All over the world, God is seeking worshippers of all peoples to bring Glory to His name through the praises of their lips and the care of their hands. But how will these people bear witness to Jesus? Where will they first see and hear of His character and His sacrifice? How will the power of God move into their communities and cultures, ultimately conforming them to likeness with Jesus as the least among them are looked after and the destitute defended? He will call and listen for the ones who respond. "Here am I, Lord, send me!" We, the carriers of his name, who God's face has shone upon, we will be sent as His witnesses to the ends of the Earth. We who carry His Holy Spirit will learn to do right, to seek justice and defend the oppressed; to take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. The servants of God must not bunker down in the safety of our community and wait for His glorious return, for what will our lives have been if we do? No, it is incumbent upon those who speak the name of Jesus with fear and trembling to move out into the world and across it, a light for all, shining in our words and deeds so that every nation, tribe, and people would hear that same name and be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What will we have been willing to lay down, to surrender, to run to in order to have an impact on the crowded streets of Heaven? Our chance is here; our Father is calling.

God, kindle in me the desire to go anywhere, at any time, at any cost, to do anything to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.