In History

Telos is an old, Greek word (τελος) used throughout history, primarily in the Greek and Roman period of time, which is around the same time of Jesus and the Bible's New Testament. The old word carries several different and helpful meanings such as completed, finished, aim and goal. The word mainly refers to something planned then completed with ongoing effects as in water's ripple effects.

In the Bible

We read in the Bible's New Testament letter of John's Gospel 19:30 about Jesus in his dying breath on the cross saying, "It is finished (telos)." The Bible's entire Old Testament revealed a plan for Jesus' coming to the world as a fully human and divine sacrifice. Jesus finished that plan, and in a few words, revealed that there is ongoing and lasting effects, especially in people's hearts and lives.

The word appears throughout the Bible's New Testament as in 1 Timothy 1:5, where Paul trains the young pastor Timothy to follow Christ and love people, saying, "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." Paul is basically saying for Timothy to pastor people to Christ out of love that seeks to bless and not use people. Truth-filled love leads to the source, which is for any person to be affected by the historical, God-finished good news of Jesus the Christ.

We learn throughout the Bible that God is three persons as one being or nature, much like marriage, where their are two of the same nature though different while officially as one working together with the same goal in mind. God declares himself as God the Father, Son and Spirit (c.f. Genesis 1:26; Matthew 28:18-20), and always revealing to the world who he is and what's necessary to be in relationship to him. Jesus' sacrifice of dying and resurrecting completes the work that reconciles humanity to God upon trusting him.

In Our Life

The word telos is a helpful and loving way to begin and provoke conversation as well as become a teaching aide about Christ and Christianity. Using the word helps us utilize history and scripture to explain who God is, especially God the Son - Christ Jesus. Our focal point in life is Christ with hopes and efforts for him to become the epicenter of people's lives, including area local churches.

Christ, Christianity and churches can become confusing to all of us and anyone. We believe as he becomes clearer, more people can become certain of him. Certainty cements trust in who he is and what he has done to love the world with his life, death and resurrection to affect all of us in any generation. Humility, love and unity centers on him and are results of him at work in, around and beyond us.

In Telos Church

Many times, he continues to work even in spite of us and our brokenness, but God is gracious when we are undeserving and even ill-deserving. We want people to come to know and follow Christ, and we believe as the Bible states that this is God building his church. He builds trust in people of who he is as well as what he does. And part of what he does is by transforming people to love him and one another.

This encouragement comes from countless examples in our own lives and in history, and we want people to either accept or reject God for who he says he is vs. who we are or are not. We trust that all truth leads back to him as the epicenter of life, and we work to love one another in all of life. Therefore, he centers and aims our life to him to love, and we want more people to recognize and be transformed by him.

In Telos Center

We use the phrase 'telos center' to capture and explain what God does in us and in the world, making him the epicenter of life and especially Christianity. We use the phrase as a ministry name of Telos Center to teach and train people in truth and love. Our hopes with this is to share the biblical heart beyond our Telos Church community.

We are building a website and prayerfully making plans to see people inspired as we have been as well as trained in truth and love to live life following him. Currently the websites front page artistically tells the Bible story of the first man, the fall of mankind, man building the world, and many times too busy to trust God. No matter what man does, God continues to work in hearts and in this world with truth and love to magnetize humanity to himself.