We asked them if there was any message that they found helpful to re-iterate often as their church was in the formative stages. Without hesitation, Tony said "Vision." Cast the vision of who the church is and who it isn't at least every month or two.
The vision can be simply stated as "Reaching Up, Reaching In, Reaching Out." We "Reach Up" to God in Worship, "Reach In" to encourage each other, and "Reach Out" to share God's grace and love (the Gospel) with the world. Let me elaborate on each point. You might want to look up these verses to do your own Bible Study.
1. Reach Up - God seeks worshipers (John 4:23). We worship Him with our lives (Romans 12:1) and with our lips (Hebrews 13:15.) When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said we are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30.) We want to express our love to God. A key aspect of loving God is obeying God. Jesus said in John 14:21 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." In order to properly worship God with our lives, it is important that we know his commandments, which are expressed in His Word - the Bible. So we will strive to explain and unpack the treasures in the Bible with an emphasis on understanding what God requires of us in how we live. And then out of the overflow of loving and worshiping God, we will:
2. Reach In - We strive to encourage each other to love and grow in our faith (Hebrews 10:24-25.) With our busy schedules it is important that we make it a priority to meet together regularly. These gatherings need to be worth-while and leave us with the knowledge that God is really among us (1 Corinthians 14:25). A key vehicle for this will be the small group ministry - meeting in families homes throughout the week. While it is possible to encourage each other in the larger gathering on Sunday, we have found it to be much more effective to minister to each other in small groups. I have so enjoyed the fellowship and prayer times with our small group, and we want to encourage everyone to be a part of this. We will strive to not over-schedule church activities so that we crowd out vital small group ministry. Finally, out of the overflow of loving and encouraging each other, we will:
3. Reach Out - Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, he commanded his followers to go out and make other disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) who will then also follow God. And then these will reach out to others. Our mission is to be an outpost where people will share the Gospel, lives are changed, and they in turn will be used by God in reaching others. This is not "just playing Church!" Yet, I believe that this will be most authentic and effective when we reach out of the overflow of Loving God and building up His Body (the Church) first.
The Biblical pattern can be found in Acts 2:46-47: "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes...praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Notice that the early church Worshiped God together and shared fellowship in their homes. And look who was responsible for the growth - the Lord! As we reach out we do so in the confidence that He will bring our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to a saving Faith in Jesus Christ.
Well, that's the vision in short form. In future posts I will try to elaborate on some details of how we will express and execute this vision, but until then, please keep on praying!
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