At our recent Vision Evening, we re-articulated the vision we believe God has given us for our church. This vision isn’t something we’ve devised cleverly after years of consultation, or made up for ourselves quickly one rainy afternoon, or received in a dream during the night. It is simply a re-statement of what the Lord Jesus himself commanded his disciples to do in his ‘Great Commission’:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).
These words of Jesus are summarised in our three-part vision:
• REACHING OUT to the lost – that is, making disciples of those who aren’t yet.
• BUILDING UP the church – that is, making better disciples of those who are already.
• SENDING OUT workers – that is, making disciples of people in other places.
I hope you can see how every part comes directly from what Jesus commanded! In all of this, there are two essentials: the word of God and prayer to God. We must teach people to obey everything Jesus commanded, and we must ask God to grant the obedience that only he can give. And I hope you can see how every part of our church’s ministry fits in with this vision – and if it doesn’t, we’d better look at it again!