Life with Purpose
What do we mean by Connecting to a Real Life with Purpose?
Life is not about you.
If our goal is to be like Jesus then we must ask ourselves how did Jesus live? What did He say and do so that we can emulate them in our Real Lives. We know that Jesus' purpose here was not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus said in this idea of service that He came to "seek and save those who were lost." So with that in mind we want to challenge you both personally and communally in this approach.
Personally, how are we serving people on a daily basis with no strings attached? Remember our prayer, God, how do you want to love me and whom do you want to love through me? So personally, each day we want to see opportunities to love others in real and practical ways.
We also know that God has created and wired you a certain way. The goal is to discover how we can use our time, talents and treasures to benefit and expand His Kingdom. That could be in our business if you are a businessperson or a teacher in a classroom or a stay at home parent, etc. How can God use your time, talents and treasures to expand His Kingdom (we call this generous living).
Communally, as a group of people (the church) we are encouraging people to be engaged in two ways. One is locally and the second is globally. Locally could mean serving in our children's ministry or as a life group leader. However, we really don't want to see you serving until you are committed to a life group. We believe this is very important. It could also mean serving at a local homeless shelter or another area that our community might have a need. Our vision is that if our church (the people) were ever to disappear one day that our local community would not only notice but also grieve because we were active in supporting and loving those around us.
Globally is the second facet. We take Jesus' words seriously when he says in Matt. 28 to go (not just stay put and comfortable) into all the world making disciples of all nations. Our vision is to see every person at the very least go on a short-term mission trip sometime in his or her first few years as part of our church. There are a couple of trips planned that you could learn about and get involved with. You will see opportunities on Sunday and in your life group to be involved in some direct or indirect way on a regular basis. Our goal is to serve the unreached (people who don't yet know Jesus) and the poor. Sometimes that will be the same place, sometimes not.
Let me say lastly that we are a church that desires to have a community dedicated to generous living. We know that Jesus spent more time talking about material possessions and money almost more than any other topic. Now don't shut off your computer. I am not asking for you to give our church all your money and if you act now you will also receive a gold plated prayer cloth. I just know that one of the things that holds us back from being fully devoted followers of Christ is our financial situation. It is our goal that we create a community that has a spirit of generosity in a number of different areas. We, of course, will take an offering every week but we will also give opportunities through our life groups and in other capacities to meet the needs of those around you and around the world. In America this is something that can hold us back in our desire to be like Jesus. (click here for more information on generous living)
Together may we continue to learn and submit ourselves to becoming more like Jesus today than we were yesterday? None of us are perfect and I am excited about being on this journey with you.