What would you expect the wisest man besides Jesus who ever lived (Solomon) to identify as the thing needful to stay alive; to keep from perishing? Anyone not familiar with the Bible would never guess it. He didn’t mention love, food, shelter – any of the things we KNOW are necessary. He spoke of something God created us to know and experience, and we are lifeless without it: VISION. Certainly not what we would expect to hear. But if we give it some thought, we can agree.
Another way of saying that people perish without vision is that without vision people run unrestrained. They have no direction; no purpose, and therefore their lives are chaotic and ineffective, even destructive. That’s not simply true for individuals, it is true for organizations and more importantly for churches. It is true for NewPointe.
This past Sunday you heard from your campus pastors their vision for reaching your county for Christ. Vision ultimately is seeing things as they are, and then as they could be, fueled by the conviction that they must be that way. From our vision, we develop a strategy to intentionally work with God to bring those things to pass.
The first part of the vision strategy is EXPERIENCE. We want our communities to know we are there. We want them to know why we are there. We want them to be glad we are there. We want to endear them to us.
Why do we want that to be the case? Not for us. It is because Jesus said that is the pathway to knowing God. Jesus told us that if they accept us, they will accept Him, and if they accept Him, they will accept the Father (Matthew 10:40-42). Therefore, we want to intentionally design experiences in our neighborhoods and communities by doing good works, letting our lights shine, and leading them to the Father (Matthew 5:16).
The second part is ENGAGE. We want them to attend NewPointe events that will engage their hearts, emotions, imaginations, and they will say, “I can’t wait to come back!” Of course, there are special events, but most consistently is our weekend service. We work for that in every age group.
The third part is EQUIP. Everyone is necessary. God has given each one of gifts and abilities and opportunities to reach people no one else will reach quite as effectively. We want to equip every single person at NewPointe to lead, serve, give, and share their story. Not only will this grow God’s kingdom in others, but it will also grow the one who is equipped.
Leonard Ravenhill so profoundly said, “The opportunity of a lifetime needs to be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.” That means opportunities don’t last forever. We believe that 2024 will be filled with many opportunities personally for each of us, as well as collectively as a church. We are already seeing them!
Ephesians 5:15-16 NAB urges, “Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” We need to be alert and wise. This is an election year, and it can get our attention and distract us from the only real hope that our world needs.
The local church is the hope of the world living and teaching the truth of Jesus Christ. Seize the opportunity! Carpe Diem! Seize the day!
Today take your next step and become part of the most significant vision and journey known to mankind.
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