A Long Term Vision for North Church

Friends,

If you made it to the Member Meeting in early September, you heard my heart for our church -- that we would be a people who, above all things, embody a culture of "Treasuring the Gospel of Jesus Christ together." Intrinsic to that culture is believing the good news that:

·      God Loves us and sent his Son, Jesus, to free us from our sin.

Because of this

·      We Live as people freed from sin -- we now live new lives in the power of God.

Which empowers us

·      To Love one another and all people, with God’s love that abides in us.

Striving to live this out in every facet of our church means we will disciple one another by pointing each other to Jesus, as we ourselves follow him, and we will pursue his mission outside our church doors (Matt 28:19-20).

This is one area North Church lacks: an outward view towards God’s mission in his world. I know this is, in part, because North Church has been through many challenging times over the past few years. But, we as a church are beginning a new season; one where we ask God to open doors for us to share the Good News in word and deed within the city in which he placed us (Col 4:3, Jer 29:7).

We must believe, foundationally, that the Church of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.

Because of this belief, the most effective way to reach the world with this hope is through spreading his word by planting churches. While we are not currently in a position to plant a new church, by God’s grace, and by actively engaging with God in his mission over the coming years, we will be.

Over the coming years, it is my hope North Church would become a central hub for church planting in Albuquerque and surrounding cities that would train and develop church planters to plant churches throughout New Mexico and the world.

For this vision to become a reality, the Lord must move mightily in and through us. We must begin to look outside our walls and seek to share the hope that Christ Jesus has given us with others.

The paradoxical nature of treasuring the gospel is that the more you treasure it, the more you desire to give it away to those who do not. North Church, this is where we must begin to press if we desire to be a faithful church. What this looks like for you is simple: press in and press out.

Press in to the church: serve, give, support, pray, engage with both the organic and institutional aspects of the church. Move in from the fringe, or from the bench, or from apathy, and truly own this church as yours -- love it and care for it just as Jesus does.

Press out to the world around us: invite, engage, pray for, and bring friends, family, and strangers to Sunday worship, community group, or into the life of the church. We must believe in-line with the great biblical narrative that God desires to save and draw to himself a great multitude (Rev 5:11-14) and he will use you, a member of North Church, to do so.

Would you join me in this vision of redemptive transformation of Albuquerque, New Mexico and the world by Jesus Christ through his faithful people?

 

In Christ,

Pastor Ryan