Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 3

Our Core Activities: Prayer, Proclamation [& Application], People

Prayer:

God himself calls, sends, equips, empowers, transforms. . . loves, plans, calls, justifies, glorifies . . . In short, God himself is the agent of change & growth.

Proclamation [& Application]:

. . . of the gospel of Jesus Christ because salvation is in the Son.

Important note: our worship (singing, giving, serving, etc) is a form of proclaiming & applying the gospel.

People:

God converts & transforms individuals, forming us into a new community/humanity

And God uses people (his servants) to teach Christ & his way of life.

Listen to and reach new people (part. 20-40)

Key Questions (not in any order)

• What do we do well?
• What are the needs of the community around us?
• Where are the people at and how do we reach them? (inside, out approach)
• What do we need to stop doing, start doing, or rework/refocus in order to be a healthy, growing church?
• Are you willing to change? Insanity is doing the same thing & expecting different results
• DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?

Core activities from "Growth Groups" from Mathias Media

Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 2

Our Goal: To Be a Healthy, Growing Church Centered on the Gospel

Healthy

What is a healthy church? (key question that we need to answer)

Here’s two thoughts:

1). What is a healthy church?: Matt 22:35-40

• Love God
• Love each other
• Love our neighbors in the city and around the world

Measures the health of our church as well as our small groups, student & children ministry, etc. How?

• Love God: prayer, Bible Study, worship
• Love each other: prayer, e & discipleship, confession, hanging out together, meeting needs
• Love neighbors & world: evangelism, missions, community events, service projects.

2) What is a healthy church?

• I think here is where the marks of a church come into play: e.g., worship, prayer, evangelism & discipleship, fellowship, ministry (Look @ Dever, 9 Marks, for lists)
• Six signs of a “healthy church”: Study, community, worship, mission, service, prayer (McKinion)

Growing

Spiritual & Numerical

Important: Growth is measured by the rule of the Gospel not numbers, activities, programs, etc.

Yet numerical growth can be a valid goal: 210 in 2010 is our numerical goal, but our focus is on healthy, Gospel growth.

• Jesus said follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17)
• Matt 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (ESV).
• Acts …look at the numerical growth.

Bottom line: We live in a growing city . . . we should be growing numerically.

Centered on the Gospel

How does everything we do connect, flow, center on the gospel?

• If it does not, should we/will we stop, change, rework? REFOCUS?

Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 1

These are my notes from Sunday Night.

Our Purpose: To Learn Christ & Live His Way of Life Together

Learning Christ

a disciple is a learner (background is theme of learning all that Christ is and all that he has done for us….as well as how to live in light of this good news from the Gospel of Matthew. Summarized in Matt 28:19-20 (Make disciples, baptizing and teaching them )

• Also Eph 4 contrasts the old life without Christ and the new life in Christ (4:17ff). Point is that learning Christ leads to transformation and re-formation & renewal in God’s likeness . . . true righteousness and holiness

• Also Col 1 & 2 with 2:6-7 being key.
• “Receive” has to do with being taught: applying the teaching to their lives.

Point: learning & embracing who Christ is & what he has done for us (all that he is & all that he has done for us)

• Key: Learning does not end when you become a Christ-follower, it’s just beginning.
• Note: evangelism/discipleship are not necessary linear nor are they separated

Living His Way of Life

• remaining faithful to & applying the Gospel to every sphere of life/relationship in life
• asking how does who Christ is and all that he has done for us shape, direct, and restrain the way I do marriage, family, work, sports & recreation, politics, money . . . all areas of life.

Together

• community commitment:
• 1 John and fellowship: partnership, sharing in the life, love, and truth of God