We ARE Christ-centred & Trinitarian
Al Massira believes in a God that is communal – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who is consistently revealed through all of Scripture. The Trinitarian God revealed Himself through Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone. He is the beginning and the end; the way, the truth and the life. Al Massira seeks to be faithful to these two truths in the way it presents the message of the Bible and in the way it equips and disciples people into ministry.
All the following core values find their source in this first and most important value.
We provide a new voice
There is no other modern material, of which we are aware, that presents the Good News of Jesus from within the Middle Eastern culture. In this sense Al Massira is a “new voice”. Al Massira emerged in response to believers from Middle Eastern backgrounds wrestling with the same theological questions that the Islamic world has been wrestling with for 1400 years. When those from any background, who are created in His image, become followers of the Messiah, they will discover a distinctive, God-given role to reveal the Messiah and His work to all nations.
We work in partnership
The Trinitarian God of the Bible is an intimate and deeply interconnected partnership. From the beginning, Al Massira, has been a partnership of Christians from different ethnic, cultural and denominational backgrounds. We attempt to reflect this aspect of the nature of God in our fellowship and work. A platform of unity has been built in the task of fulfilling the ‘Great Commission’ to the most unreached peoples of the world – it is also a place where diversity is welcomed and celebrated. This platform is a place where people can contribute their time, gifts and abilities towards the vision and mission of Al Massira. Al Massira aims to encourage this pattern of partnership at every level of its operation.
We are relational & incarnational
Our Lord is Himself a relationship and has chosen, as his primary means of revelation, to come in the flesh. He has also invited us to come and be family with his family. We are called to make disciples of all nations which starts with evangelism and continues through salvation into the maturing and equipping of believers into church and into the purpose that God has created us for. We believe that relationship is the best medium for discipleship and Al Massira functions best in this context. It is important to build relationships with those we are equipping so that we can encourage one another with stories of what God is doing. We encourage people to use the Al Massira resource and methodology in the context of relationship and community as this provides a natural opportunity for relationships to grow and for groups to develop into discipleship groups which could subsequently and naturally lead to church growth and multiplication.
We build a new house
Al Massira is dedicated to revealing the message of the Bible and what Christians truly believe. We do this though the building of a new house from foundation upwards – showing the construction and consistency of God’s revelation. Al Massira uses the biblical and chronological narrative to reveal the person and work of Christ and the nature of God as revealed in Old and New Testaments. Al Massira explores the stories, signs and prophecies of the Old Testament to show the consistent nature of the message. Al Massira attempts to neither destroy other belief systems nor reinterpret the Christian faith from within another framework of belief. We therefore do not use other religious texts, nor refer to other key religious figures. Comparisons between Biblical texts/characters and other religious texts and characters are also not explored.
We create a safe and open space
Al Massira encourages the creation of a safe place where friends can share their opinions and enjoy open discussion without being put under pressure to all agree or accept a particular point of view. The telling of stories and asking of questions is encouraged as well as the exploration of the whole Bible giving space for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth and prompt any response. Al Massira group participants are also encouraged to re-tell the stories and share the materials within their own social and family groups.