will change the world
our Mission
is to make it happen
What is Vision? Perhaps a good starting point is what could be God’s vision?
It could be to bring all creation to perfection. To restore the relationship he had with Adam and Eve at the beginning. The unfolding story at the heart of the Bible is God’s mission, with others, to bring that about, ultimately at Christ’s return.
A biblical example:
The book of Nehemiah would be a good place to start. Nehemiah, as cup bearer to the King, heard from ‘certain men from Judah’ that Jerusalem had been destroyed. Nehemiah was devastated. ‘I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.’ He then realised that God had changed him; he had a sadness about him. God had given him a vision of a rebuilt Jerusalem. The vision he had gripped him emotionally. His mission was to bring about that vision. He knew what he needed and the timescale he was working to, so with King Artaxerxes’ blessing and help Nehemiah went off to do it.
What is our ‘Vision’? Good question!
What was it?
The Vision of the people here at Christ Church was to expand the building to create usable space for the community, a church centre. A lot of physical and emotional effort went into making that vision a reality. The mission over the years was to bring about, bit by bit, that vision. That has now been achieved.
What will it be?
That remains to be discovered! Our Parochial Church Council (PCC) is going to be meeting to reflect on our ‘journey’ so far, to discover where we are now, and then to seek together where God may be leading us. These are exciting times.
It is not for us to create a vision, but to find God’s vision and mission for us, and then to plan to make that vision a reality and focus everything we do on that vision. To be a ‘Purpose Driven Church’, driven by God’s purpose, riding his wave, carried by his energy - empowered by the Holy Spirit to declare the truth of Jesus Christ in our lives.
UPDATE ......15/07/2010
Our last meeting of the PCC we again reviewed our vision.
However, it is clear God is leading us to engage more with our community and use our facilities to enable more people to share in them, not just to use them. Our new Cafe Hub is clearly an important part of this ‘sharing process’ allowing those who come to network, make friends, find help and support.. God is clearly shaping our vision for us - we need to catch up!
We have arrived at a ‘Statement of Purpose’, which you can find on the Home page of this site.
Christ Church
Still moving on with God
July 2010
Mission Statement