Nothing Begins Without a Dream
Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph, and Martin Luther King Jr. had dreams! Even Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin had dreams. The whole point is that, for good or for evil, nothing big happens until someone first has a dream of the future. We need more God inspired dreams! Consider the following dream for God’s local church.
A Dream for a Biblically Functioning Community
Maintain a healthy spiritual environment where we have many “magnifying, multiplying, ministering, and maturing” believers who are making an impact for Christ in neighborhoods and around the world. These four “M’s” describe core values that are used to evaluate everything in the church.
Magnifying -
God desires worship, and we seek to honor Him by magnifying His name in everything we do, from the way we worship in our Sunday services, to the way we care for our children, gather in community for the community, and lead our lives during the week.
Multiplying -
We reach out to others, inviting them to join us in the ride of faith in Christ. We are here to share the blessings of God with others, and we are sensitive to communicate in a manner that is relevant to the needs of people in our community.
Ministering -
We express our love for God by loving our neighbor. This means that we are ministering, serving the community by participating in community projects.
Maturing -
We see every believer as “lifelong” learners who are capable of growing to maturity in Christ for a lifetime. It has been said that growth in the Christian life is “like an airplane, when you stop you drop.”
We exist to obey Jesus’ clear command to communicate the good news of the abundant and fulfilling life that is available in Christ. We then equip every believer for ministry and send them into the world to build the kingdom of God until Jesus returns for His own. We gather on Sundays to worship the God of the Universe, and we gather in small groups that meet in homes and offices during the week for mutual support, Bible study and encouragement. Then we scatter throughout the community to be a blessing to this lost and dieing world. We want to live out what we see in the New Testament Church. People loving one another to within an inch of their lives, while learning, growing, and serving in the context of authentic Christian community.
Wise mountain climbers choose to climb with a small team of people they trust (we are a church “of” small groups). They tie ropes to one another, and if one falls, the others are there to prevent a fatality. Groups are led by an experienced leader. This leader is someone who has been to the mountain top before (a mature believer), and can lead the group in the safest and most appropriate way up the mountain, while highlighting obstacles to avoid. Each group sticks together, going only as fast as the slowest member. Ministry is a community experience, where we travel together.
Our Vision:
Connecting people to God, to community and to Divine purpose.
A church organized according to the Biblical statement that each believer is a minister who has been set apart for special use. A church that is “spiritual gift” based and passion driven. Believing that God has given each believer at least one spiritual gift to be used to serve and build His church. The Pastoral Staff’s role is to equip every believer to use those spiritual gifts to carry out the ministry in which God has given a passion and heart.
Our Purpose:
Cooperating with God in helping all people connect with Him through…
Corporate Celebration (Hebrews 10:24–25).
We gather to worship God as an entire congregation. These services are designed for believers to praise, worship, and discover the power and majesty of God.
Contemporary music:
Cultivating a heart of worship Informal and relaxed: In dress and style
Celebration of life:
Gratefully enjoying our Lord
Small groups (Acts 20:20)
Believing that life transformation best takes place in small groups, these small communities are where we learn to love one another as God has directed from house to house. This is where we reach outside of the walls of the church to bring the un-churched to Christ.
Our Strategy (Building People)
Building Bridges to All People:
God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18 “All these new things are from God who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him.” (LB)
We reach out in love to our neighbors, relatives, and fellow workers.
Building and Multiplying Leaders
Ephesians 4:11–12 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
Building and Multiplying Groups
Building and multiplying life-giving churches by calling a team together. We believe that the bigger our dream, the bigger our team! God has yet to show what He is capable of doing through a band of people wholly devoted to Him.
“The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him” ―Dwight Lyman Moody
