VISION OF A HEALTHY CHURCH

 

 

Who will we be and what will we treasure in our life together?

 

·         Biblical authority: Since God?s written Word is our standard for faith and practice, all decisions, actions, attitudes, values and activities will be measured by that Word.   (Is. 40:8, Ps. 19:7-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Heb. 4:12-13)

 

·         Ministry-based evangelism:  All people matter to God, and as we meet the real-life needs of unbelievers in various life circumstances, we will have opportunity to share the answer to their greatest need?a relationship with Jesus Christ.  (Matt.25:31-46, Luke 10:29-37,Col. 4:5-6)

 

·         Servant ministry:  Every believer has a unique role to play in God?s Kingdom, so we will be intentional about helping Jesus-followers discover, develop and deploy their God-given gifts in Kingdom service.  This includes a firm commitment to develop future leaders for the emerging church. (Matt. 20:28, 1 Cor. 12:4-28, Eph. 4:11-16, 1 Peter 4:10-11)

 

·         Kingdom perspective ? God?s supremacy over all things means that His eternal purposes must prevail, so we will maintain the priority of a God-saturated worldview and labor to advance the borders of His kingdom. This means we will keep the global picture in mind, using our resources to encourage the whole Body of Christ and impact the institutions, communities and nations (including ours) where Christ is not yet known. (Matt.6:10, Matt.13:44-45, Ps. 99:1-5, Rev. 11:15) 

 

·         Cultural engagement: Effective ministry must lovingly engage the people of our generation by intelligently articulating and presenting the gospel in ways they understand. Like good missionaries, we will adapt our methods to reach people, while firmly maintaining doctrinal purity.  At the same time, we will courageously act to oppose cultural values and God-dishonoring issues when necessary.  (Acts 13:36, Acts 17:16-34, 1 Cor.9:19-27)

 

·         Authenticity - We want our church to be real, honest and genuine in our life together, so we will stifle hypocrisy by taking Christ, His cross and His grace more seriously than our outward religious activities and self-defined spirituality.  We believe that a claim to a whole-hearted devotion to Christ will show up in practical ways in our lives. Therefore, we will grow in humility, press past mediocrity into God-honoring excellence, battle legalism, pursue holiness and strive towards our fullest potential as children of the Father.   (Matt.23:1ff, Luke 9:46-48, Rom.12:3, 1 Cor. 15:10, 2 Cor. 4:7-11, Gal. 5:1,13-26, Phil. 3:12, 1 Cor. 10:31, James 1:22)

 

·         Integrity:  Since we treasure Christ and his reputation, we want our beliefs, words and actions to be seamlessly consistent as we pursue moral, financial and relational integrity. One testimony of that integrity will be the wise and faithful use of God?s resources given our church (funds, buildings, etc.) for Kingdom purposes. (1 Chron.29:17, 2 Chron. 16:9, Ps. 15, Ps. 25:21, Prov. 2:7, 2 Cor. 8:1-7) 

 

·         Grace-filled relationships:  The entire Christian experience is about relationships: God graciously pursues a personal relationship with us even when we do not deserve it  and designs relationships as a primary channel for life and ministry.  We will build authentic relationships to give grace to those who have not yet trusted Christ and nurture deep, generous, courteous, respectful, encouraging, forgiving relationships of grace with those in our family of faith.  (Eph. 2:3-4, 4:29-32, Col. 3:12-15, 4:5-6, 1Thess. 5:14)

 

 

·         Community impact: Since God has placed us here to accomplish His eternal purposes and to clearly communicate Christ's gospel, we will immerse ourselves in our community's joys and sorrows, and partner with others to address needs and opportunities. We intend to be a unifying agent for the diverse ethnic, economic, and social elements of our community. (Matt.5:13-16, 9:9-12, Acts 10:34-48, Eph. 2:11-18)

 

·         Meaningful church membership:  Church is not a building, a set of shared religious activities or a paper list of names. Tt is a faith community of Jesus-followers bound together for mission.  Church membership means that those committed to a common mission and to each other embrace both the privileges and responsibilities of being the Body of Christ.  (Matt.18:15-16, Eph.4:3-6, Col. 1:3-6,1 Peter 4:10)

 

·         Faith & Risk:  We will never be satisfied to do what can be explained by good organization and hard religious work.  We long to be a part of something that can only be explained as a "God-thing", so we will saturate our lives with prayer that God?s power will mark our ministry. We will plan and dream, be creative and innovative, live with end-times urgency, and risk living on the edge beyond our experience and comfort as we trust God for an impact that is beyond us.  (Matt.10:17-39, John 14:22-32, Eph. 3:20-21, Heb. 11:6)

 

 

GOD-CENTERED...The church is designed to help us exalt God as the center of our lives.  When we are God-centered, we worship Him daily, listen to Him attentively, and follow His leadership exclusively.  Our goal is to magnify Him, not ourselves.

PEOPLE-FOCUSED...God cares about people.  When we are centered on Him, we begin to see the deep needs of those around us and are driven to serve them and bring them to Christ and to His church.

GRACE-FILLED...The church is to be filled with God's love which accepts people unconditionally, gives to people sacrificially, treats others with honor and grace, and maintains a passion for unity.

TRUTH-DRIVEN...Truth matters.  What you believe makes all the difference.  God has graciously given us the truth in His Word, the Bible, which is the final authority for our lives and our greatest means of growth and live-change.

 

All of the above must find application in the five functions of a church

• Worship
• Discipleship
• Fellowship
• Ministry
• Evangelism / Missions