vision
Read the Vision guiding our future and ministry
To think about where we are going, it is important to look at where we are. One of the greatest things about New Life is our Sunday morning worship time. We come together in unity, singing our praises to God and lifting one another up in prayer. We listen to God’s Word and apply it to our lives and eat a meal together that honors not only Jesus’ death but for what he was dying. This is a moment where everyone is welcome, we are safe, and the love and mercy of God reigns. On Sundays, this is a place of grace.
"We learn what it means to be disciples by following Jesus."
The dreams we share and the vision God gives us is more than Sunday morning. We are called to follow Jesus: to be salt and light in our community, to be disciples, to go where Jesus goes and do what Jesus does. The vision is to follow Jesus into our community. We want and are willing to help anyone, but we find ourselves in a particular neighborhood. We are and can be a beacon of hope and grace to those living right around our building.
When we follow Jesus into the community we do the things Jesus does. We serve, help, comfort, protect and love. We teach and heal. We do not simply say we have the answer; we let God use us to provide answers. We do not simply say, “Come to church,” but we take the church to our neighbors. Here are a couple of ideas to illustrate. We don’t have a food pantry, but there are two within a few blocks. They are understaffed and not open at helpful hours. What if New Life decided to take an evening and provide workers so our community can get the help they need? What if we worked to improve our neighborhood by providing the resources and know-how so people can help themselves? There may be houses that need new roofs. Instead of roofing the house, what if we discovered some out-of-work roofers in our neighborhood. Working with others to get the necessary money, we hire these roofers to fix their neighbor’s roof. A roof gets fixed, much needed jobs are provided, and neighbors become friends. It all happens in the name of Jesus
We learn what it means to be disciples by following Jesus. Jesus did not say, “Come listen to years of lectures and then we will decide if you are ready to do something.” He said, “Come, follow me.” He was on the move. He was doing. This does not mean Bible class and teaching do not have a place here, but the vision is to learn to be disciples by going out and serving. We will learn on the move, and we will have times of quiet retreat to think and pray just like Jesus and the twelve.
We disciple each other. We must find others to follow Jesus on this journey. However, we are not inviting them to sit in a pew and hear someone talk. It is an adventure—an attempt to love our neighbors as ourselves. We teach and learn while we serve. When the love of God is seen in what we do, we invite others to join us in this place of grace.