Dreams for the Future

With humility and gratitude before our God, we believe God is calling us to strengthen the following realities over the next ten years.

Emphasis on God and Not Us.
Our first priority in our corporate life is not to meet human need. Our first priority is recognizing, honoring, worshipping, loving and serving God. When we worship, we think first about honoring God. When we teach, we teach from God’s Word. When we serve, we serve not just out of human compassion, but because we are aware we are serving God as we do so. It’s all about God. We will benefit and find blessing, but it is all about God.

Commitment to Giving God Our Very Best

In the beginning of all creation, God was more pleased with Abel’s sacrificial offering over Cain’s mediocre offering. Since that time, God has continually asked the people of God to show him respect by giving the best of our time, energy, money and attention. God doesn’t deserve our mediocre gifts or leftovers; God deserves our best and “firstfruits.” We will give God the best.

Commitment to Intelligent, Passionate Evangelicalism

This marries the Great Commandment to love God with all we’ve got, including our minds, and the Great Commission charging us to make new and mature disciples. Our message as a church will neither be academic treatises nor drippy “me and Jesus” talk. Head and heart will be engaged in ways that inspire mission. Intelligence and passion in faith will both be developed leading us to serve and reach out to others.

Open Conversations on Mystical Encounters

We will create spaces such as time in class, meetings, retreats or personal sharing in which people who have personally encountered the mystery and wonder of God can tell their stories. Passion breeds passion.

Emphasis on Empowerment vs. Influence

We will emphasize empowering individuals of the church in their God-given ministries over creating a “culture of personality” in which an individual exerts influence and asks people to join in his or her vision. Leadership by influence is important, but it is secondary to the empowerment model. Empowerment style of leadership creates a more creative and transforming environment.

Extremely High “Love Quotient”

We will demonstrate a measurably higher capacity for caring about and for each other. The success of this is directly linked to the ability to establish and sustain small group ministry, develop highly functioning caregiving and outreach ministries and leverage greeting ministries for weekend services.

A Clear Path to Maturity

We will show people a clear path toward becoming an “extraordinary” Christian. Each month, we will hold five discipleship seminars which outline and embody the path to maturity in this church. These seminars provide concentrated periods of attention on each of the five core ministries and what they mean in our church.

For more information or to comment contact Pastor John by email or call the church office at (727) 734-5493.