Together
Loving Our Community . . . Transforming Lives . . . Serving Christ

We’ve had a great start to the sermon series that is introducing our new vision statement. “Together” is a word that characterizes our approach to ministry, to outreach, to the care and love we extend to each other, and to our worship of almighty God. I want to say thank you to everyone who came forward on Sunday, September 28th in response to the call to make a bold statement regarding your desire to seek unity within the Body of Christ. What a blessing it was to see so many people coming forward to make their contribution to the vase of sand. And now we have a beautiful remembrance of the commitment you made! It will remain on the communion table throughout the series as a reminder of the way so many joined together their scoop of sand, essentially saying, “I am making myself accountable for the unity of our church, so that we can fulfill the mission God has for us in this community.”

As I looked at the vase I was able to think of so many spiritual applications to our ministry. Here are just a few:
- Even after so many poured in their scoops of sand, each person’s contribution remained very distinct and unique.
- The inseparable nature of the grains of sand. Now that they are united, there is no way to pull them apart.
- The multi-colored vase is very much representative of all the many different people, personalities, backgrounds and gifts that God has brought to us. It also makes me remember the multi-cultured community that surrounds us, and who we are called to reach.
- Even when you turn the vase, you get a different perspective and design from the other side. Our church family is very much the same way. We don’t always see all the ways people have an impact on our church life, but contributions are still being made every day that touch people’s lives.
These are just a few. Take a look at the picture for yourself, and let me know the ways you feel this represents who we are as a church, or how it represents our ministry in the days to come. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Vision of Transformation

What a beautiful time of the year this is. Change is in the air. Some of the trees are already beginning to show some change of color. I really think this year’s colors are going to be beautiful because of the good rain we’ve had recently. It really makes me think about the up-coming sermon series that has been bouncing around in my head and my heart. If you’re part of Christ Wesleyan, and you’ve been paying attention – I haven’t preached in three weeks. For some that might be a relief, but for me has been a time to devote a lot of prayer and thought to what this series should look like. During this time I have felt a deep sense that this next series should be a time to take a good look at our mission and vision.

We want our vision to accurately describe where it is that God is leading us as a church, but we also want it to be something that everyone in the congregation can easily grasp, and easily state to anyone who asks. Finally I am ready to lay before you guys a statement that is about as simple, and yet meaningful as it can be stated. Our Vision is as follows:

Together
Loving Our Community . . . Transforming Lives . . . Through Christ

Together . . .
The fact that God has placed us all together in this ministry, at this time, in this community is all part of God’s design. There are many things that we will do, but unless we are unified in purpose and heart we will never really accomplish all that God desires for us. The emphasis is not on uniformity, but unity as the Body of Christ. Unity is the thread that weaves its way throughout the rest of our vision.

We Are Loving Our Community . . .
God is calling us outside of the walls of our church, and into our community. Throughout our community there is a continual sense of need that calls out to us. We are responding to God’s call, “If you will love this community, I’ll bless your church.” This community needs a strong church, so why not us.

We See Lives Transformed . . .
Transformation is what God wants to do in the heart of every person on the face of this earth today. There is not a person you will lock eyes with today that God does not deeply love and desire to make something very special from his or her life. Believe it or not, that includes the person you locked eyes with this morning in the mirror.

We Serve Christ
Jesus Christ is the central message that makes all of this possible. In reality there is no real transformation unless it is motivated by a deep desire to be more like Jesus Christ.

Check out our web site to see the 8 week sermon series that will cast this vision to the congregation.