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As a new church plant, nothing outside of the gospel is going to be more important to us than our vision for ourselves and our church.
Our vision is not only a detailed explanation of where we (as individual Christians and as a church) are going, but it is also the roadmap for how we will get there.
A clear vision will help us as a church stay on task and on track as we endeavor to see the lost come to know Jesus, grow in their faith, and begin to share Jesus with others.
It is how we are going to grow individually and corporately! It is the lens through which the elders and leaders will make every decision.
With this in mind, I am making it my mission to ensure that the vision and mission of The Crossings Community Church are crystal clear to every single one of you in the congregation—so clear that you could share them at a moment’s notice with anyone who may ask.
In fact, the goal is to make our vision so clear that it becomes evident even to outsiders through our actions and our words. The goal is to make our vision our culture.
So, what is our vision at The Crossings Community Church? In short, you should see it clearly displayed on almost all of our materials. It’s the phrase: "Guiding people to find and follow Jesus."
It’s all over our website, on our connection cards, and on postcards we send out to people. Soon, you will start seeing it on church signage, shirts, and on-screen displays before and after church.
"But Pastor Justin, how is that a roadmap to anything?" Let me show you. To understand our vision fully, we have to ask and answer four important questions.
Question #1: What are we doing?
Answer: Guiding people to find and follow Jesus. In other words, we (the church and its members) position ourselves as guides who can help direct the lost and questioning to the answer to life’s great questions (Jesus).
Question #2: Why do we do it?
Answer: Every human being is made in Gods image and loved by him. God desires to have a relationship with all of his creation. Knowing that, we feel a burning desire to see EVERYONE come to know Jesus as their lord and Savior. This means not just our friends and family but also our neighbors, our coworkers, and even those we disagree with politically or morally!
Question #3: How are we doing it?
Answer:
· Establish genuine relationships with the people and organizations within our domains. Be out in the community. Do not be “insulated” Christians.
· Show genuine concern and compassion for those people in these new relationships thus building trust and a “right” to speak into their lives.
· Model the Christian life to these people in these new relationships. Show them by “deed” and not just by “word”.
· Actively seek opportunities to have gospel centered conversations with these folks and invite them to know Christ. Live out the great commission!
· Invite these new friends to church services and events.
Question #4: When are we successful?
Answer:
· As an individual you are successful when you start multiplying yourself. That is to say when the people you have established relationships with come to know Christ, grow in their faith and begin to multiply themselves by following your lead and doing the same.
· As a church we are successful when our people and ministries expand to the point where we can begin to multiply by planting new churches out of our overgrowth (around 200 members).
With this in mind can we endeavor (individually and as a church) to pray about and inspect how we live our lives and how we do church?
Will you take this journey with me as I strive to live out, and lead this church, by this vision?
As always if you have any questions or if what you read here is not clear please come see me. I would love a chance to share our vision with you in person.
With all love,
Pastor Justin |
