The Great Ends of the Church (Reverend Scott Black Johnston)

I'm stealing a couple of lines from the senior pastor at FAPC (http://www.fapc.org/), Reverend Scott Black Johnston. This quote from his Friday email says a lot.

In the Presbyterian Church, our Book of Order expresses six basic convictions called "The Great Ends of the Church." We exist, Presbyterians say, to fulfill these ends, these goals, these great purposes. The six Great Ends are:

• the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind
• the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God
• the maintenance of divine worship
• the preservation of the truth
• the promotion of social righteousness
• the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

http://www.pcusa.org/oga/publications/boo07-09.pdf