Word for Today, Tue, 21 Mar 2006: "A Vision for My Church and Yours"
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
"Each one reach one". That has been the theme of our young church, which had a
humble beginning just over two years ago when we were went out from a church in
Hooksett, NH. At first, we met in the living room of a home until we could get
out and knock on enough doors to "bring them in". Our first "convert" came
from that initial set of visits. That person, a teenager, now desires to go
into missions work.
The message of the Gospel is one of love. It is about God's amazing love for
us. He gave us both a will and a choice, desiring that many of us would
respond to His love for us by returning that love and honoring Him by bringing
others to a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
It is Jesus Christ who came to seek and save the lost (us), and it is Christ
who, out of love, not only came, but bore our sin and our shame, and wore it
all the way to the Cross of Calvary.
My vision is that each and every person who reads this note would understand
and know the Christ who saves and embrace Him as their own personal Savior, and
that they would then reach at least one other person for the honor of Jesus
Christ, that all people would at least have the chance to respond to Jesus.
What will YOU do about Jesus Christ? Will you love Him, will you respond to
Him, will you call Him your personal Savior, and will you share your personal
story with someone else?
Larry Davies also has a vision for his church and for yours. Again, what will
you do with Jesus Christ?
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Sowing Seeds of Faith...
"A Vision for My Church and Yours" Larry Davies
Recently our staff grappled with agreeing on a vision and goals that could
unite and excite us for this year and for many years to come. I only planned to
spend one meeting on the whole thing, thinking we already knew this stuff. We
just needed to write it down and get to work. Ouch! I was so wrong. We were
struggling and arguing. Why? I soon realized we were disagreeing for the best
of reasons. We have so many wonderful mission and ministry opportunities that
it was difficult to focus on only a few areas. Maybe our struggle with a
unified vision symbolizes what is happening throughout the church.
Our mission statement pictures a lighthouse and enclosed within its protective
glow is: "A Light to Guide You Safely Home." For our vision, we were looking
for something simple to explain our mission statement in a fresh new way. One
staff member suggested, "If we're going to be a light to guide you safely home
we must learn how to actually live the light." Live the light? That's it! "Live
the L.I.G.H.T."
Live the L.I.G.H.T. or Love our Lord as we Invite, Grow and Help others To live
like Christ:
L Love our Lord as we
I Invite,
G Grow and
H Help others
T To live like Christ.
Okay but what does that mean?
* Love our Lord as we... the Lord is our cornerstone.
* Invite... intentionally include others within God's love.
* Grow and... deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ.
* Help others... respond to the needs within our community and world.
* To live like Christ... We model Christ's example.
The Scripture which guides our vision come from the words of Jesus in the
Gospel of Matthew: "You are the light of the world-like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your
good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly
Father." (5:14-16)
We turned our church vision into the following new goals for 2006:
1. Expand our small groups. We've learned that small groups offer the best
way to help each of us connect with God and each other. Every person in our
church needs that opportunity.
2. Communicate our vision. If we're going to be a church that makes a
difference we have to clearly explain our vision from the pulpit and from the
rest of our communication resources.
3. Seek, guide and encourage newcomers. As a church, we are called by God to
be a witness for the community and world. Every newcomer is a gift from God we
should handle with care.
4. Recruit, develop and strengthen leaders. Everybody knows we are an active
church but we must constantly develop new leadership in order to continue
providing ministry and missions.
5. Strengthen our team ministry. Team ministry signifies action but to be
successful every player must feel necessary. Good teams help us move from pew
sitters to mission seekers?
As a church, we will always place primary emphasis on prayer, our fundamental
link with God. We also know we have a solid reputation for outreach as
demonstrated by continued work in Katrina ravaged Mississippi as well as
Jamaica, Sri Lanka and our many projects throughout the local community. This
important work will continue and even expand as our church grows. We know one
of our strongest ministries is with children and youth. We plan to continue
offering stimulating worship combined with small group study and fellowship to
arouse spiritual growth and promote active ministry.
We are privileged to represent God's holy church and earnestly strive to be: "A
Light to Guide You Safely Home!" We seek God's guidance as we "Live the
L.I.G.H.T." "Love our Lord as we Invite, Grow and Help others To live like
Christ." Wow! No wonder our church puts so much emphasis on prayer.
Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm
Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our prayer team
today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm
How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds Ministry
partner. Click here: http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm
Jesus said: "You are the light of the worldu2014like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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