|Up Coming Sermon Subjects|“Helping people Encounter God,
Grow in Faith, and Change the World”
Hopefully you recognize that this is our new mission statement. It was announced on Sunday, November 27 after six-weeks of prayerful consideration and voting. In early November, from the nearly forty suggestions, the choices were narrowed to the top eight. After two weeks of balloting those eight, “Helping people Encounter God, Grow in Faith, and Change the World” emerged as the statement receiving the most votes.
I’m extremely grateful to all those who offered mission statement suggestions, and to all who prayerfully considered how to faithfully express our mission, through their voting. I am very pleased with our results and I believe this mission statement succinctly states what we are about as a church. It focuses on what we feel we are called by God to do, and it will be uniquely lived-out by what we value. Our mission statement will also provide shape to the way we do ministry as we seek to align our church activities with our mission, and provide a process by which we grow as disciples of Jesus.
But more than that, I believe our new mission statement offers guidance and direction to our personal lives as well.
As we begin to live into our mission, our statement invites each of us to consider how we are doing, personally, with regards to each of the three aspects of the statement. It causes us to ask ourselves three questions “Am I Encountering God?” “Am I Growing in Faith?” “Am I Changing the World?” If we find that we answer any of these questions with a “No” then it would be good to discover why and how we might change the situation.
After reflecting on how we are personally living out the mission, the statement invites us to explore how we are personally helping others to Encounter God, Grow in Faith, and Change the World. Again the mission statement causes us to ask ourselves “Who am I helping to Encounter God?” “Who am I helping to Grow in Faith?” and “Who am I helping to Change the World?” If we truly understand our lives as Disciples of Jesus, then we know God calls each disciple to reach-out and bring others into a life of discipleship.
Within the community of faith, our mission statement compels us to consider how we, as a church, are helping others into a life of Christian Discipleship that Encounters God, Grows in Faith, and Changes the World. In examining the things we are doing as a church, we use our mission statement as the benchmark to determine if we are being as effective as we possibly can in living out our mission.
I look forward to where God is leading us to go in 2012, and I am excited to join with you in “Helping people Encounter God, Grow in Faith, and Change the World.”
Leaning into God’s Mission,
Jon
"Things That Make You Go Hmmm..."
January Scriptures, Sermon Titles & Focus Verses
| 1/1/2012 | Revelation 21:1-6 | The Gift of a New Day | v. 5 - see I am making all things new |
| 1/8/2012 | Matthew 3:13-17 | Why Was Jesus Baptized? | V. 15 - Let it be so…in this way to fulfill all righteousness |
| 1/15/2012 | Luke 4:1-13 | Why Was Jesus Tempted? | V. 8 - Worship the Lord You God and serve him only |
| 1/22/2012 | Luke 10:1-9 | Why Did Jesus Call Disciples? | V. 9 - say to them "the Kingdom of God has come near" |
| 1/29/2012 | Matthew 21:10-14 | Why Did Jesus Get Angry? | V. 13- My house shall be a house of prayer |