“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18
The vision in the church isn’t about accomplishing the dreams of one person. The vision of the church is a description of next steps in fulfilling our mission. The mission of this church is to glorify God by preaching the good news so that lives are transformed. In other words, the mission is to make disciples. Our vision is how we’re going to get better at that and the ways that God is uniquely preparing us to do it.
Our short term vision is renewal. Renew hunger, hope, heart, and hospitality. Those are the four areas of focus that God placed in front of me when I began to pray four years ago about what we needed to do. Renew hunger – a desperation and dependence on God, particularly through prayer, and a desire for the work and gifts of the Spirit. Renew hope – a collective spirit that is leaning forward toward the future with faith and expectation that the best is yet to come. Renew heart – an increased focus on the mission of God abroad through missions giving and short term trips and an increased focus on evangelism in our own region. And Renew hospitality by caring for the needs of one another, particularly through Connect Groups, and to those who come in from the outside.
The vision is to ready our hearts, lives, and church, for a move of God and to seek Him for it. But the vision also encompasses reformation. Reformation that will lead us to new engagement with the surrounding world. That’s the vision: revival and reformation = renewal.
You are welcome to become a part of this vision at Bethany.