Our mission
Our mission | Our history | Our people | Our theology | Our pricing
Labels are always dangerous things to use because they often mean different things in different places. So when we say that Matthias Media is “an evangelical publishing ministry”, you might not be exactly sure what we mean, since just about everyone wants to call themselves an ‘evangelical’ these days.
In the part of the world where our ministry was born (Sydney, Australia), ‘evangelical’ is a way of saying that you walk in the footsteps of the Reformers and of the evangelical movements that followed them. For us, being evangelical means that we love the four famous ‘solas’ of the Reformation: Christ alone, Scripture alone, grace alone and faith alone. It means that we are driven by the evangel of Jesus Christ: we centre our theology on it; we read the Bible through its lens; and we are compelled by its irresistible logic and love to see the name of Jesus preached and held high everywhere.
We have a mission statement that explains our goal as being:
We want to persuade all Christians of the truth of God’s purposes in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, and equip them with high-quality resources, so that by the work of the Holy Spirit they will:
• abandon their lives to the honour and service of Christ in daily holiness and decision-making
• pray constantly in Christ’s name for the fruitfulness and growth of his gospel
• speak the Bible’s life-changing word whenever and however they can—in the home, in the world and in the fellowship of his people.
This evangelical, gospel focus shapes what sort of publishing we do. We’re not the slightest bit interested in adding to the already monumental pile of Christian books churned out each year by the Christian publishing industry. The world needs more Christian books like it needs more websites.
However, we are passionate about publishing resources that fuel, promote and support ‘gospel growth’. So our publishing criteria for any project is threefold:
- Does it meet a gospel ministry need?
- Is the content faithful to the Bible?
- Is the quality of a high standard?
The growth that the gospel produces in people’s lives is also the organizing principle for Matthias Media’s ministry resources. As the word is prayerfully proclaimed, people change. They move and grow. With some grey areas and overlap, the ‘gospel growth process’ usually follows this diagram.
We make contact with non-Christians, raise Christian issues with them, and seek opportunities to proclaim the gospel to them. |
Once people respond to the gospel message and put their faith in Christ, initial follow-up is needed to establish them in the faith, and teach them the basics. |
Then follows the life-long process of growing in Christian knowledge and conviction, and in the godly character that flows from it.
This growth happens through feeding on the Scriptures. |
Godliness is also about serving others: reaching out to them, following them up, and helping them grow. We gain the motivation and maturity to serve others, and we need training in how to do this. |
[Learn more about the gospel growth process.]
This is a helpful way of thinking about pastoral ministry. Ministry is about shepherding people through these stages of growth—to evangelise them, care for them, feed them, protect them, and equip them so that they grow into mature, gospel-hearted servants of others.
Our ministry resources are designed to help you at each stage of this gospel growth process. Everything we produce is designed to support outreach, follow-up, growth and training. That's what we're about.
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