It isn't just the Good News for our afterlife; the Gospel is the beginning, middle and end of our entire journey as a Christian.  If we have put our faith in Jesus, we have been saved from the penalty for our sins (justification).  We are also being saved from the power of sin in our life today (sanctification). And we will be saved from the presence of sin when Jesus returns and restores all things back to the way God originally created them (glorification). The Gospel is God's power to save us but it also gives us our purpose as a part of his family on mission.

It's a community that starts in authentic ways when we are brought into a right relationship with God through the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross.  We then grow in our relationships with God (worship, prayer, wisdom, knowledge, listening, seeking) and with others.  The Gospel unites diverse groups of people together in Christ.  The call of community isn't about finding people just like us, or excluding those who aren't.  True gospel community is the result of God making us his family as we then live out our lives of love and service to each other and the world empowered by his Spirit.

This represents God's sending of every Christ-follower to participate in his restorative work in all aspects of life.  Gospel mission reflects God's simple call to remake the world, and people's lives, back to the way he originally created them to be.  Living on God's mission helps us to remember that life is not all about me and my personal happiness.  It's about being and making disciples of Jesus who show the world what God is truly like.  We are God's missionary family sent to serve the world through displaying and declaring this Good News.