INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Next week Jerry will conclude our series, WHY DO WE DO THAT? In this series we have been examining some of the things we do as both Christians and as a Church.
• Today, I want to bring everything together in our message for today, WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH?
• This message is designed for those of you who are new to FCC as well at those who have been attending FCC for a long time. For those who are new, you will get to see what drives us to do what we do, and what motivates us to make the decisions we make.
• For those who are long-time members of the FCC family, this message is meant to re-calibrate our focus and thinking as a church body.
• When one takes the time to examine the ministry of Jesus, one of the things that is apparent is the fact that for Jesus, ministry did not just happen, everything He did was planned with purpose.
• I contend that everything Jesus did was strategic in nature, from His healings to His journey to Calvary.
• If FCC is going to be successful in carrying out the mission we have been given, we too must have a plan.
• Everything we do must be grounded in what God calls us to do. Everything we do must be within the revealed will of God.
• Therefore, any plans we develop must be done prayerfully and thoughtfully.
• Our church must be driven by a Christ-centered vision, and mission. At FCC our strategic planning team has developed such a plan.
• Since we do not have the resources to be all things to all people, we need something that will keep us centered on the main thing we are called to do for God.
• There are so many good ideas out there; however, we have to evaluate everything we do based on our mission and vision.
• One HUGE mistake a church in this day and age can fall prey to is trying to simply to seek to fill everyone’s calendar with well-meaning events.
• People are not looking for the church to fill their calendar with activities; however, they are willing to be a part of an activity that is well-prayed over, and well-planned.
• People will respond to events of which they KNOW the purpose and how the event helps the church fulfil our mission and vision as a church.
• Mission and vision are a vital part of a growing church. Jesus stayed focused on His mission, He did not allow anything to sidetrack His mission. In a typical church, anything and everything can distract a church from her true calling.
• We can fill people’s calendars with events for everyday of the week and yet even if well-attended, the events could still be a failure because they do not enhance the Christ-Centered mission and vision of the church.
• Today, we are going to examine what kind of Church is FCC. I want to begin with a passage in Matthew 10. This passage comes on the heels of Jesus selecting the 12 disciples.
• Once He selects them, the first thing He does is give them a mission and vision.
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 10:5–14 (HCSB) — 5 Jesus sent out these 12 after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road leading to other nations, and don’t enter any Samaritan town. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons. You have received free of charge; give free of charge. 9 Don’t take along gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts. 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker is worthy of his food. 11 “When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 Greet a household when you enter it, 13 and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it. But if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Who are we? The mission of FCC.
• From the calling of the 12, Jesus did not just tell them to follow Him and do whatever popped into their heads, nor did He tell them to do whatever everyone else thought they should do.
• Jesus gave them a mission and vision
• He tells them where they are to go, to the lost sheep of Israel, to the house of Israel. He tells them what they are to do, ANNOUNCE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR. HE tells them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and to drive out demons.
• HE further tells them they are to not accept any money, nor are they to take anything with them.
• He then tells them to stay with those who will keep them while in a town, and if they are not welcome in town or a home, or their message is not listened to, to shake the dust off their feet and leave town.
• At this point this is all Jesus calls them to do. The 12 are not to add or subtract from that mission. One of them may think, maybe we ought to go to preach to the people in Rome. No, they are to focus on Israel FOR now.
• They are not to be distracted from their mission. Now what about FCC? What is our mission and vision? What should drive our ministry? First let us start with the mission of FCC.
• What is a mission statement and why do we need one?
• Anyone coming into contact with FCC wants to know who we are as an organization, why we exist, what we do, and who we serve?
• In a few sentences our Mission statement communicates the essence of FCC to anyone who comes into contact with us.
• SLIDE #4
• The Mission of FCC is to glorify God, to reach those without a relationship with Jesus Christ with the Gospel, to equip all to share the Gospel of Jesus with others. Our Mission includes helping Christians to achieve a mature faith in Christ.
• This statement tells everyone who we are as an organization, why we exist, to glorify God, what we do, reach people without a relationship with Jesus, and equip others to share the gospel, as well as helping people mature in their faith.
• It also tells who we serve, God! WE DO THAT THROUGH REACHING people who are without a relationship with Jesus, ALL WELL AS those who are in Christ SO THAT WE CAN help them grow.
• EVERYTHING we do should be done with an eye towards fulfilling that mission.
• We have to focus on reaching lost people, and then helping them grow to maturity in Christ.
• If we only do what makes those of us in the church happy, we will not be able to effectively reach those who are without Jesus.
• From our Mission, we have a vision. A vision is a guiding image of success. Whereas the mission is the blueprint, the vision is the artist rendition of what successfully following the blueprint will look like.
• The pursuit of this shared image of success motivates people to work together. (ALLISON & KAYE, P.100).
• The vision of what success will look like at FCC is as follows:
• SLIDE #5
• The vision of FCC is to be a consistently growing church where people from all walks of life can experience the love of Jesus. As part of our vision, we strive to be a church that challenges and encourages people to have a growing and active faith.
• When we are fulfilling our mission, we will grow, first spiritually, and then numerically. Numerical growth without spiritual growth makes us a country club, not a Church of Jesus Christ!
• So how do we wrap mission and vision into one neat slogan?
• SLIDE #6
• Changing Lives By Connecting People With Christ!
• This is what we do, we are called to bring people to Jesus, and we are called to help them grow in their faith. All we do needs to line up with our mission and vision!
• Next let us examine….
• SLIDE #7
II. What we are about? The values of FCC.
• The reason we have prayerfully developed our mission and vision statements because they flow the heart of what we value at FCC.
• In our strategic plan, we list nine things we value, and believe me there are more, but we felt these nine things cut to the heart of who we are at FCC and what we believe.
• I will go through them quickly, and if you want this list for yourself, get a copy of our strategic plan or go to our web site.
• We believe that God desires a relationship with all people; therefore, we will strive to connect people with Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:4)
• We believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven, the only name by which one can be saved; therefore, we need to be intentional in our outreach efforts since we know that without Jesus people will be lost for eternity. (John 14:6)
• We believe that Jesus loves everyone, although not everyone will go to heaven. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Rom 3:23; therefore, one must accept Jesus to be saved. FAITH< CONFESSION< REPENTANCE, BAPTISM! FCC will show the love of Jesus with whom we come in contact. (Acts 2:38-ff; Romans 3:23)
• We believe fellowship is an important part of the growth process for the Christian; therefore, we will provide many fellowship opportunities for people at FCC. (Acts 2:42-ff)
• We believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God; therefore, we will preach and teach the Word of God with passion, looking to be accurate to the text. We strive to preach and teach the Word with the passion, and in the spirit that it was meant to be presented. We will not force man’s traditions to become God’s Word. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 4)
• We believe the Bible is relevant to all times and cultures; therefore, we will strive to teach the Word in a way that connects with people of today.
• We believe knowing and understanding God’s Word is important for those who want to mature in their faith; therefore, we will provide relevant, biblically-centered educational opportunities at FCC. (2 Timothy 3:16)
• We believe our church polity (Leadership structure) and structure to follow the New Testament model; therefore, we will not give up said structure or model for the sake of any denomination. (1 Timothy 3; Titus 2; Colossians 1:18)
• We believe that it is exciting to serve Jesus; therefore, we will show our excitement in all we do for Jesus. (Galatians 5:13)
• Because of conviction derived from scripture, we do what we do. We know if we fail, eternities are at stake for people. Failure is not an option!
• Next let us examine….
• SLIDE #8
III. What we do? The priorities of FCC.
• This will be short and sweet; we do what we do to reach people with the gospel. We seek to offer a balanced approach to ministry. We do what we can to reach out and we do what we can to help those who are here to grow.
• Sometimes churches go one of two directions, they ignore those outside of the church or they ignore those inside of the church.
• Put another way, some put so much focus on bringing people in, that they forget once they are here our job begins, the work of discipleship.
• The church that focuses on only those in the building are inwardly focused. You can tell this by a few things.
• First, they are dying. As those in the church pass on to be with the Lord, there are no new people. Plus, all the program they do are for those already in the church. It matters not if the programs are effective or not, as long as we like them. THINK ABOUT HOW MANY HAVE DIED AT FCC OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS!
• So that we can reach new people, we will strive to put emphasis on increasing guest volume and on guest retention. If new people are not coming through the doors, we cannot fulfill an important part of our mission.
• At the Great Commission, and in Acts 1, Jesus expanded His mission and vision when He told His followers to go into ALL OF THE WORLD!
• SLIDE #9
• Matthew 28:18–20 (HCSB) — 18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• WE are called to go into the WORLD!
• This is one of the reasons we do the Family Night At The Movies, the Pancake Breakfast and why we decided to add a new electronic sign out front. WE are trying to do things to attract new people.
• We offer thing within the church to help those who come, grow in Christ. Life Groups, Worship Service, Bible Studies, etc…
• We will do what we need to do outside of changing what we teach to be a more attractive church for people to make it easier for someone to walk through our doors the first time, and hopefully give them a place to call home!
• I will keep this brief, but let us look at…
• SLIDE #10
IV. Where are we headed? What is the direction of FCC?
• We are going to strive to stay with our mission and vision. We want to continue to be a church that makes an impact. WE are seeking ways in which we can reach into the community to have a greater impact for Jesus.
• In 2017 we will begin the process of evaluating on an ongoing basis everything we do at FCC. We will evaluate EVERYTHING WE ARE doing AS WELL AS ALL WE WILL DO IN THE FUTURE by THREE CRITERIA,
• Is the program effective, is it doing what we want it to do?
• Is the program efficient, are we getting the most bang for our buck both from a financial resource aspect as well as a human resource aspect?
• Is the program making an impact? IS THE PROGRAM MAKING a difference? If we did not do the program, would what would happen?
• We want what we do to be impactful, we do not want to fill your calendar with stuff, we want to do what we do so well that it impacts your life for Jesus!
• As we grow, we have a vision of doing something major with our old annex building. WE would love to replace it with a facility with a gym so the youth can thrive. Jerrys group grows to a certain level, then it drops off because of space issues.
• One day we hope to add another worship service because once we hit 80% capacity in this building KINGDOM growth will be hampered.
• When we can, we will look TO add a Worship Leader to help craft our services to have an even deeper impact then they do even now!
• I have always seen FCC as a church that can reach over 500 people in our current facility.
• I believe we have not even scratched the surface of what God will do with FCC if we are willing to let Him!
CONCLUSION
• There you have it. I am SO EXCITED about both the present and future of FCC. I pray that we will ALL do our part to fulfill the mission and vision of FCC.
• The stakes are high, eternities are up for grabs, the question is will we stayed focused on our calling or will we allow ourselves to succumb to the temptation to think only of ourselves?
• If you are not a part of the Family of God, or if you are and are seeking a church home, we would love to help you this morning!
