Friday, October 11, 2013

Elders' Vision Statement - Evangelism

The kingdom expands through church multiplication. Local churches are the only divinely authorized agents for missionary work[1].

Our vision is to be a church dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world[2]. Our aim is to make disciples of the nations and establish worshipping communities like our own[3]. Our evangelism is joyous proclamation: we announce the victory of Christ over His enemies and the rescue of His people[4]. By this means, we seek to bring every area of life under the Lordship of Christ[5]. We proclaim that His victory will be complete when the nations bow before Him and every sphere of life demonstrates His Lordship[6]. This will happen before the resurrection of our physical bodies[7]. We desire to evangelize with this assurance of success, an assurance based on Jesus’ statement of His possession of all authority and His continued presence with us[8].

[1] Acts 13:1-3

[2] Mark 16:15-16

[3] Matthew 28:18-20

[4] I John 3:5,8, Colossians 2:13-15, Ephesians 3:10

[5] Genesis 1:28-30, Matthew 5:5

[6] Psalm 72:4-14, Isaiah 11:1-9,

[7] I Corinthians 15:20-28

[8] Matthew 28:18, John 3:16-17

Elders' Vision Statement - Worship

The coming of the kingdom transformed the public worship of God from a flesh-based to a Spirit-based orientation[i]. The church is now the temple where saints gather to worship their Lord[ii].

Our vision is to be a congregation of saints who offer their bodies as living sacrifices unto God, ordering our services in accordance to His revealed word[iii]. We will practice family-integrated worship as we offer these spiritual sacrifices[iv]. This is our reasonable worship and means that we submit to His will (as found in His word)[v]. We desire to display this by setting apart the first day of the week to worship the Lord with fellow saints. We do not view the Lord’s Day worship as drudgery, but as an occasion to celebrate His victorious work on our behalf and rejoice in the rest He has provided for us[vi]. Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day[vii].

Our vision is to be a church that enters the worship service with awe towards God[viii]. We will view ourselves as ascending unto His presence with all other saints, both in heaven and on earth[ix]. We desire to actively worship God, not passively go through prescribed motions[x]. This will include activities such as: confession of sin; reading of Scripture: public prayers; singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; giving; praise; the proclamation of the word; and partaking of the Lord’s Supper[xi].

[i] Hebrews 8

[ii] Ephesians 2:19-22

[iii] Romans 12:1

[iv] Deuteronomy 31:11-13, Psalm 54:6

[v] Romans 12:2

[vi] Psalm 95, 96:9-13, 122, Hebrews 4,

[vii] I Samuel 7:3, II Chronicles 35:6, Job 11:13-15

[viii] Leviticus 19:30, Psalm 89:7, Hebrews 12:28

[ix] Hebrews 12:22-24

[x] Psalm 29:2

[xi] James 5:16, Deuteronomy 31:11, I Timothy 4:13, Eph. 5:19, 6:18, Acts 2:42, I Cor. 11:23-33

Elders' Vision Statement - Community

The local church is the vehicle for the expansion of God’s kingdom. Jesus established the kingdom with the promise that it would grow[ii]. We read in Acts how kingdom expansion occurs through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom[iii]. This results in the conversion of sinners and the establishment of communities of believers.

Our vision is for our church to be a group of covenanted believers, a community of saints. We desire to display God’s love to one another through encouragement, accountability, exhortation and discipline[iv]. We want to support one another and seek to alleviate each other’s needs whenever possible[v].

Our vision is to be a community of discipleship[vi]. We will practice discipleship primarily through older men teaching younger men and older women teaching younger women how to fulfill their callings. We desire to support parents as they raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We will seek to serve God’s people within our community and in the kingdom of God at large with the spiritual gifts God has given us[vii]. We want to be known for our warm and hospitable fellowship, both as a church and as families[viii]. We will seek to be a community who can disagree with one another on non-essentials (meaning things that do not define one as a Christian) without dividing[ix]. Our vision is multi-generational[x]. We realize that the advancement of God’s kingdom is a long-term process, therefore we desire to be examples of faithfulness that future generations would desire to follow.

[i] Matthew 16:18

[ii] Matthew 13:31-33

[iii] Acts 1:3, 8:12, 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 28:31

[iv] I Thessalonians 5:14, Hebrews 3:13, Matthew 18:15-17

[v] Acts 2:45, 4:35

[vi] Titus 2:1-6

[vii] Ephesians 4:8-13

[viii] I Peter 4:9

[ix] Ephesians 4:15, Romans 14:3

[x] Deuteronomy 7:9

Elders' Vision Statement - The Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is a central concept in God’s word. Prophecies of its coming, details of its establishment by our Lord Jesus Christ, and descriptions of its future form a large and important part of God’s revelation to us[i].

Our vision is for our church to reflect the centrality of the kingdom in every area of life. We desire that our decisions and activities revolve around the fact that we are part of the kingdom God has established. We want to recognize that this kingdom is God’s instrument for His reclamation of the world[ii]. Therefore, we desire to be a church with a vision for Christ’s growing kingdom[iii]. We rejoice in the events that brought about the kingdom of God (the incarnation of Jesus Christ, His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father) and seek to be an active part of its growth, primarily through preaching the gospel[iv].

Our vision for the kingdom of God is not dependent, however, on us acting on our own. This kingdom is the project of the Almighty Lord. He has revealed to us that it will be overwhelmingly successful in history—in this church-age dispensation—and in human culture[v]. God has ordained that it transform the world. We desire, therefore, to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that His power working through us will advance kingdom purposes[vi].

Our vision is to reflect our kingdom orientation in our relationships with other churches. We desire to make common cause with all whom we believe show allegiance to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection[vii]. While maintaining our Baptist heritage, we want to engage our brethren from other denominations in charitable dialogue and mission[viii]. We hope to remove unnecessary walls between ourselves and our brethren.

[i] Psalm 145:11-13, Isaiah 9:7, Daniel 2:44, 7:14,18,22, Obadiah 1:21, Micah 4:8

[ii] Isaiah 35:1-7, 62:7-12

[iii] Acts 8:12

[iv] I Corinthians 2:3-7, I John 1:1-4

[v] Psalm 72:7-8,10-11, Ps. 110, Isaiah 45:14, I Corinthians 15:24-25, I Timothy 6:15

[vi] Romans 14:17

[vii] Romans 16:1-15,23,

[viii] Acts 11:27-30