Kingdom Calling
We, as biblical and Reformation people, have a great sense of calling in this world. We are called to pray for and work for the growth of the kingdom of grace. God established this kingdom in the Old Testament and Christ, at his incarnation, expanded the kingdom, in the new covenant, to all nations on earth at (Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-9; Daniel 2:35, 44; Mark 1:15). The Lord Jesus has commanded us to pray “Your Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:13) and has summoned us to “seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Christ’s Kingdom is extended through the preaching of the gospel and by the establishment and ministry of healthy, gospel-driven, biblical churches which act as salt and light bringing transforming grace to this needy, confused and dark world. And Reformation Christians also have a confidence about bringing the gospel to all areas of life in this world, in this age, as the church militant carries out her God-given mission.
Kingdom Advance through Gospel Proclamation
Our calling is to extend Christ’s Kingdom in two major ways. First, the church is to engage in worldwide evangelism, church planting and missions. ARTS seeks to prepare men and women for these gospel tasks. Every person on earth is either a missionary or a mission field. ARTS seeks to equip pastors and church leaders to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning in Africa. We believe that Africa has the potential to one day become a great sending church, reaching all nations and helping the universal church to complete the great commission, especially in reaching the remaining two billion largely among the difficult-to-reach Hindus, Buddhists and Ms. We are committed to global missions and cross-cultural ministries. We encourage our students to think about reaching every people group in the vast African continent and to go beyond Africa. We do so because Christ has purchased people for God “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). Evangelism and world missions are ARTS’s passions. We seek to build healthy churches to engage in global missions through Holy Spirit-anointed preaching and ministry.
Kingdom Advance through Gospel Transformation of Culture and Society
Our Reformation calling has a second dimension. We are to give attention to what inevitably and unavoidably accompanies the building of Christ’s church and the preaching of God’s Word. The church must be taught to carry out the “cultural mandate” (Genesis 1:27-28), to rule and manage Christ’s world for Christ’s honor. We do not train our students to withdraw from the world. Nor do we encourage them to teach the members of their churches to withdraw. There is no “sacred/secular” compartmentalization of life. Christ is the Lord of every square inch of this planet and every area of life. Therefore, we seek to prepare every student to teach and preach God’s Word in order to impact every area of life and to equip believers to transform every aspect of life and culture for Christ’s glory through deeds of love, justice and mercy. Christ is the Lord of every area of culture and society. He is Lord of the family, the marketplace, the classroom, government, education, industry, business, science, entertainment and art. ARTS’s vision is “Training for biblical reformation through gospel-driven churches in Africa.” Transformation will come through Spirit-anointed and gospel-driven churches that seek to extend gospel transformation to all of life and culture in order to spread Christ’s fame and honor.
Our Confidence
Our Reformation confidence is this: though the fullness of Christ’s Kingdom will occur only at the end of the age, at Christ’s final, glorious coming, yet in the meantime, His Kingdom has come, is coming and is growing now by God’s grace. We have great confidence in the power of the Spirit, the effectiveness of the gospel, the potency of the cross and the energy of the Word of God concerning the present work of the church militant. As Christ’s church carries out her mission to preach the gospel to all people groups and to equip believers to apply the gospel to all areas of life, she can have full confidence in the Lord of the church who has said “I will build my church”; “[Because] all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” and “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 16:18; 28:18-20). Our confidence is in the power and presence of the Lord of the church and the Lord of history (Eph 1:20-22). Our trust is that Christ will build healthy, faithful, gospel-driven, biblical churches in our world, churches that will impact society. Our encouragement is that as ARTS seeks to be steadfast and immovable in the work of training pastors and church leaders for gospel-driven churches that the Lord himself will bring the gospel transformation that He has promised and that our “labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).