New Year Gospel Resolutions

OK -

It has been awhile since I have posted, but want to say something about New Years resolutions. I really do not believe in them because they are for the most part self centered. I do want to take a different approach as we head into the New Year.

Attached I have given the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, a Reformed thinking, theologian, and pastor from the 18th Century. Read these and allow the Lord to convict you. You will come t the realization that our spirituality is small and we have so much to learn in life. Notice, too that these resolutions were written over the course of time in 1723. There goes New Years Resolutions. The lesson here is that we should always strive to grow closer to Jesus, not just for the New Year.

The reality of these Resolutions is their focus - they are not self centered but they focus on a life desiring the Cross of Jesus. May our lives also reflect Jesus Christ as we journey through 2011.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards

Spiritual Leadership

Leadership in a community of faith is a HUGE deal! Throughout the whole bible, we see God's design for leadership and how that effects the impact on God's people. Paul writes to Timothy the qualifications for spiritual leadership. He writes what the qualifications for an elder and also a deacon. These qualifications are presented so that the community of faith, or church, will maintain integrity, keep people focus on Jesus Christ, and to give maturity in the spiritual oversight of a local church. The Deacons responsibility is to serve the church in areas of stewardship, mercy, and outreach. The Elders responsibility lead the church as they oversee all matters regarding discipline, vision, and theology. These two sermons give a brief overview of Elders and Deacons within the Reformed Church of America and Grace Church specifically.

Deacons:

Notes / Acts 6: 1-7 / 1 Timothy 3: 8-13 / RCA: The Ministry of the Deacon

Elders:

Notes / 1 Peter 5: 1-5 / 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 / RCA: The Ministry of the Elder 

The Harvest is Ready

Distractions

Red Letters: Zacchaeus

Series : Red Letters

Scripture : Luke 19: 1-10

Zacchaeus sought after Jesus. In fact, he craved and strived to see Him. He did no let anything get in his way and was determined. The result was that Jesus transformed him from the inside out. We too can have this type of transformation. In fact it is God's heart that we do and also to share it with others.

 

Notes

 

Red Letters: Sinful Woman

Series : Red Letters

Scripture : Luke 7: 36-50

Do you mourn for your sin? Most of do not. The sinful woman at Simon the Pharisee's house is an account we can learn from and allow Jesus to take our burdens in life.

 

Notes

 

Red Letters: Nicodemus

Series : Red Letters

Scripture : Various

God desires for us to grow spiritually. We see in Nicodemus that he went to Jesus at night and then grew every time we see him throughout the book of John. The end result is that he risked everything for Jesus and we are to do the same. Risk our reputation for Jesus and see what the Lord will do with that.


Notes 

Inspiring Leadership

Fresh Journey

I cannot explain it, but I feel like a new chapter in my walk with Jesus is opening. One that is going to be filled with growth, discovery, fruit, and focus. I kinda feel like I am rediscovering new avenues to following Jesus. Now, some of you are thinking, "what is he talking about? Is Bruce into something off the wall and not Orthodox?" I will answer your questions and concerns with a resounding - NO!

Recently in my life, I have come to the conclusion that I really do not know that much. You are probably thinking, "It is about time Bruce, I could have told you that years ago." As funny as that may sound and how much we can joke about that - and it is funny. What I mean is this. I have served several churches in my career and have been on numerous interviews for various positions within the church. At some of these interviews, I was not true to who I was and what I believed. I tried to say what the church wanted to hear when it came to my own personal Theology. Of course I did not receive an offer to partner with those churches - a good thing! There were times, however, that I was true to my personal Theology and it did not line up with the perspective church. I did not receive and invitation to these church either - also a good thing.

I have always leaned into a Reformed or Covenant Theology personally. I have a great education path that I would not change for the world. But here is my recent personal revelation - I do not know as much as I should regarding a Reformed / Covenant Theology. I know the basics, but I am being challenged to go deeper by the Lord. So, in a way I am at a cliff ready to immerse myself in such a rich and biblical Theology.

My journey now has a new freshness about it and it is exciting. Along the path already are great organizations that have shaped me and will continue to shape me. I think of ministries such as PRMI / Ligonier / Monergism / The Gospel Coalition / RCA to name only a few. These are linked to the right. Check them out

Exciting days are ahead of me and also for Grace Church. The amazing thing is that I have been praying for this to happen. Who says that God does not answer prayers - only in His timing! So, here we go. Let the journey continue...

Disciple: Goes Out

Series : Disciple

Scripture : Matthew 10: 5-15

When Jesus looked at the crowds that were following Him - He had compassion on them. He then told His disciples that the harvest is plentiful and to seek the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. Today, a disciple of Jesus goes out and serves the community and also verbally shares the Hope found in Jesus. The two go hand in hand. When you serve and share, you will receive opposition to the message of Jesus - that is OK because we are not responsible for the results - Jesus is. All we have to do is to be faithful to the message, because there is a huge harvest field in front of us. A Christian goes on a mission trip, but a disciple is a missionary. This is how. 


Notes

Disciple: Breaks Bread

Series : Disciple

Scripture : Acts 2: 42-47

Community. Fellowship. These are not just "buzz" words around churches, they should be a way of living that penetrates every level and area of a local community of faith from the small groups, to the ministry teams, to the Sunday Morning worship and even on the Governance level. Community and fellowship is much deeper that just sharing a meal together or participating in a fun event and creating a welcoming atmosphere. It is about accountability, love, nurture, and living out the "Biblical One-Another's" A disciple of Jesus should look others and not just focus on themselves. 


Notes

The Biblical One-Another’s

Love one another (John 13: 34)

Be devoted to one another (Romans 12: 10a)

Honor one another (Romans 12: 10b)

Accept one another (Romans 15: 7)

Teach one another (Romans 15: 14)

Greet one another (Romans 16: 16)

Serve one another (Galatians 5: 13)

Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6: 2)

Be compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4: 32)

Submit to one another (Ephesians 5: 21)

Forgive one another (Colossians 3: 13)

Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5: 11)

Spur one another toward love (Hebrews 10: 24)

Live in harmony with one another (1 Peter 3: 8)

Offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4: 9)

Kingdom Contributer

Disciple: Wash Feet

Series : Disciple

Scripture : John 13:3-17

A disciple of Jesus should not think too highly of themselves. They should also not think to low of themselves either. We are to look outside of ourselves and serve one another. The world tells us we should look out for #1, but following Jesus we look at how we can serve others. We follow Jesus' example as he washed the feet of the disciples, we are to wash each others feet. 

Notes

Change of plans

You gotta love it! I created a new site to place all my sermon there. Good idea right? Well there is a change of plans -and it is a great thing! We are in the process of re-designing the Grace Church web site. With the new design, I will be able to embed the www.youtube.com/user/baldheadbruce sermon videos right to the web site. Now, this may take a while so I will continue to place the sermons here. Once we have the new Grace Church web site up and running, I will disable the new blog site and start to place my sermons directly to the Grace Church web site. Technology - you gotta love it :)

New Blog

I have really enjoyed posting my sermons here on the Baldhead Blog, but I have come to realize that it is probably going to be better if these sermons are on their own site. That is why I created http://sermonsfromgrace.blogspot.com/ designed specifically for the sermons preached and video taped at Grace Church. On this site, you will also be able to link to the audio web site for the sermons. Then the Baldhead Blog can get back on track from its original intent - "Thoughts about Leadership, Life, and God." I hope you continue to enjoy my ramblings here and visit the new site with all the sermons. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us with all this. God is really moving at Grace and He is really working on me. Praise be to HIM who doe snot give up on us, but loves us with only the love He can give.
Blessings!

Disciple: Go Fishing

eries : Disciple
Scripture : Luke 5:1-11

For a follower of Jesus, reaching out is not an option, we are commanded to do so. We do not need to do this without any tools, we have some items in our tackle box as we go and catch people - Just like Jesus told us to do.

Notes

Disciple: No Christians Allowed

Series : Disciple
Scripture : Various

God never called anybody to be a "Christian" - He did however, call us to follow Him with our whole lives. Being a Passionate Follower of Jesus means we do several things; this sermon scratches the surface to these things.

Notes

Pastor: Theologian

PDC Theology: Discipleship

PDC Theology: Evangelism

PDC Theology: Ministry

PDC Theology: Fellowship / Community

Some Links:
www.truefaced.com/blog/
www.billtell.blogspot.com
www.boscafe.com

Easy Theology

I love reformed theology. It is a theology that keeps me thinking and growing. It was RC Sproul who just quoted Spurgeon on his radio broadcast this past week that reformed theology is biblical theology. I believe this. I do not have it all figured out nor will I ever. You can tell I believe in this theology by just looking at me links to the right – most of them are from a reformed perspective. I also serve in a reformed church and am loving it. Now, I am still learning and there are things with this theology that I have a hard time believing – and that OK. I will continue to search the scriptures and grow. What I will not do is combine different theological perspectives to create my own theology that fits my needs and fancy.

I am starting to see this more and more with church leaders and pastors today. They are copying programs and calling it a philosophy of ministry, they are committing pulpit plagiarism and feeding their flock from somebody else’s table (more about this in a future post), and they are wishy-washy when it comes to theology. I do not think the Lord wants us to have everything figured out – but He does desire us to grow, learn, lead, and become the theologians in our respected ministry contexts.

To illustrate this I want to share a story. I was traveling with some pastors a few years ago when the topic of Dispensationalism and Covenant theology came up. The Senior Pastor of a church said that neither was right and neither was wrong, but proper theology is a combination of the two. Specifically he believed in a covenant theology right up to the point about various spiritual gifts being available in the 21^st Century. Then he switched to a dispensationalist theology saying that only a select few are available.  I sat there thinking that you cannot cherry pick from different theological camps and create your own theological melting pot. At that moment I really felt sad for the congregation he leads because he really does not know what he believes theologically and all of spiritual leadership is born out of this. The by-product of this or what this leads to is cheap grace and easy believism, something that is plaguing the American Church.

This happening more and more in the North American Church and you see it with all theological views and standpoints. I am not sitting here telling you that I have it all figured out, because I don’t! In fact I am the least to tell someone that they are wrong because I have such long way to go. I am just writing down some thoughts and observations I have seen in the North American Church, and putting out this challenge – know what you believe, why you believe it, and lead out of the Lord teaching you and shaping you.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 18-20

Yummy to my tummy!

This picture was taken at our last mini-vacation as a family to Frankenmuth, MI. There they have a world fampus resturant called Zenders which has the best chicken you will ever taste. I have lived in Michigan my whole life but have never had Zenders chicken until we went a few weeks ago. This picture tells you what I think of the chicken!

Remember: Baptism

Series : Remember
Scripture : 1 Peter 3:18-22

The infant baptism and believer baptism debate has been going on for hundreds of years. What has been lost in recent years is the theology of baptism into the family of God. Baptism does point in three directions that we can reflect on no matter what your theology is. Because baptism is a sign of this, we need to be good stewards of God's Grace. 

Notes

PDC Theology: Worship

Theology: Purpose Driven Church

More about the Purpose Drive Church 

Tim Keller: Preaching the Gospel

This is good stuff


Tim Keller Feb'09: Preaching the Gospel from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.

Remember: Fasting

Series : Remember
Scripture : Isaiah 58

Fasting is a discipline that has lost its impact in the church today. What does it mean? How do you do it? What is the purpose? God in His sovereignty places an outline in scripture. Check this out and learn about fasting.

Notes 

Remember: Communion

Series : Remember
Scripture : Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

Taking Communion has become routine in the church today. We need to remember the deeper meaning of this practice each time we take it. When we do; we grow, we become more obedient, and we celebrate what the Lord has done in our lives. We do so by looking inward, looking back, and looking ahead.
Notes

Bringing People to the Cross

Leadership Community

The Baldhead Blog Future

As I look at my blog, I realized that I have not posted regular thoughts and ponderings. There is a lot of my sermons and I am excited to post these and will continue to do so. I had a thought yesterday as I was driving to a meeting with other pastors that are in the process of making "adjustments" in their communities of Faith to become more effective with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The thought was this - I will be posting more thoughts about a wide variety of things, but will do so via video. So The Baldhead Blog will have video's of random thoughts, my sermons, and written thoughts as well. Of course all these will be linked to facebook and twitter (you can check them out on the links below). I am extremely excited and have already started a log of idea's to video and write. My prayer is that these will make us think, seek the Lord more, become better leaders, and become more committed and passionate followers of Jesus Christ. Look out future - here we come.

www.twitter.com/baldheadbruce
www.facebook.com/baldheadbruce
www.youtube.com/user/baldheadbruce

The Kingdom

Series : God Is Closer Than You Think (sermon #6)
Scripture : Various

As followers of Jesus, we often think that the Kingdom of Heaven is on our future as we pass from this life to the next. The reality is that the Kingdom of Heaven is right here and now and we have to live our lives accordingly. 

Notes

The People

Series : God Is Closer Than You Think
Scripture : 1 Thessalonians 5:11-24

We need each other as we grow in Jesus. The Christian life was not meant to live out alone. No man is an island or a lone ranger - we need each other in this journey. 

Notes

The Voice

Series : God Is Closer Than You Think (sermon #4)
Scripture : Luke 8:9-21

We can look at the parable of the sower and see that each type of ground represents parts of our heart today. God is speaking, but we need to listen with our hearts so we can shine God's light into every area so our whole heart can be a willing heart. 

Notes

The Presence

Series : God Is Closer Than You Think (sermon #3)
Scripture : John 16:5-15

Before Jesus went to the cross for you and me, He had a conversation with His disciples. As a part of this discussion, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to them and what the Holy Spirit will do in their lives. Today we have this same promise that we should not resist, but allow the Holy Spirit to; help us, convicts us, and teach us. 

Notes and BaldheadBruce YouTube Channel  

The Creed

This series is based on the Apostles Creed and gives some basic tenants of the Christian Faith. The prayer behind this series is that this would not just be a series about knowing what you believe, but living life with passion rooted in Jesus. 


February 21, 2010 "Living What You Believe" (notes)
February 28, 2010 "Living With God As Father" (notes)
March 7, 2010 "Living With Jesus As Savior" (notes)
March 14, 2010 "Living With The Holy Spirit" (notes)
March 21, 2010 "Living With God's People" (notes)
March 28, 2010 "Living With Eternity in Mind" (notes) (video)

My You Tube Channel is here

Easter: The Promise

Series : God Is Closer Than You Think (sermon #1)
Scripture : Various

Easter: No matter where you find yourself, Jesus is there for you! He is there to guide you into and throughout life. He showed that He is there by; The Cross, Giving us access to God, The Empty Tomb, and being our Compass.

Notes and Baldheadbruce You Tube Channel 

Living With Eternity In Mind

Well - here is my first sermon on YouTube! I am really excited and you will see more and more sermons uploaded here, on Facebook, and also on the Grace Church web site when that is up and running. So, in the meantime - I pray that you will touched, challenged, and your life will be changed by the Power of Jesus through these sermons.

Here are the notes to this sermon

Facebook Fasting

OK - so a couple of weeks ago I decided to take a break from Facebook until Easter. During this time, I am focusing more on my prayer life and even memorizing the Apostles Creed. I am still working on Facebook for the church. I have created a Grace Church Fan Page so communication and advertising for the church will be a little bit easier. I have also started to use twitter more. You can click here to follow me. So that leaves the question of what is the reason for placing facebook on the shelf for a time being? That is a really good question and I will answer right now. Here is what I am not doing on Facebook: reading my friends profiles, reading and responding to updates on my phone, searching for new friends, playing any games (I really did not do this to begin with), sending any messages unless it absolutely necessary and is related to the church, and  organizing my profile. I am completely amazed at the time that has been freed up by taking this step.

So, you may be thinking about fasting from something the last half of Lent. I think that is a good thing but I challenge you do take it a step further - for that what you eliminated, replace it with a spiritual discipline like; reading the Bible, extended prayer, memorizing, or even solitude. I still struggle with memorization so that is what I decided to do: memorize the Apostles Creed and also memorize a scripture each week. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to work on my heart. That is my prayer for you right now.

Bo's Cafe book comments

Well, I just finished reading “Bo’s Café” this weekend. What a great book that challenged me in more ways that I can write here.

Some people will say this book is about grace, forgiveness, healing, friendship, accountability, or even about a 1970 Buick Electra. This book is about all of these and even bigger than all these things. It is about community in its truest form. Real community. Real fellowship that God intends for us to have so that we can grow in Him.

We can get together with church people friends; air out our dirty laundry and call this accountability. Bo’s Café takes this a step further. It about letting people in so that they have the opportunity to protect us and for us to trust and protect them. When we allow people in to see our true selves, then there is no need to air out our dirty laundry – these people will see it anyway. Then they can come alongside us and journey with us as we seek out the Lord together. This is true community where healing is taking place, growth is being established, and forgiveness is being offered. With all that said, we have to remember that a safe place is not always a soft place.

In today’s church’s we are more concerned about how we look to other people instead of being true to ourselves. When we place on our fake masks, then we create these soft places where growth and healing does not really take place. Then we tell ourselves that Jesus is all about Love and not making people feel bad. The reality is that God disciplines those He loves. Disciple is not fun and it hurts – but we grow from it and have a better understanding of the character of God.

Toward the end of the book, there is a discussion about why church’s should become places like on the deck of Bo’s Café, and the reality that they are furthest from this. This book challenges us to really live for Jesus and to experience the biblical community that we all desire and are meant to live.

What's The Difference

There is a tendency to "cherry pick" the things we like from other religions and then add Jesus and call this Christianity. Also, many people claim that all paths lead to God. Are all "religions" basically the same? At what points do they differ? Do the differences really matter? In the series "What's the Difference?" you will get an overview of the differences between the Bible and other world-wide teachings. This series will help equip you to reach out to other people armed with knowledge and full of the love of Jesus Christ.

January 24, 2010: "Catholicism" (notes)

January 31, 2010: "Mormonism" (notes)

February 7, 2010: "Islam" (notes)

February 14, 2010: "Judaism" (notes)

I Wish

 

Somebody gave this to me, what were they trying to say? 

I couldn't resist

 

I know my hairs can be counted pretty easy :) 

Grace Church Beliefs

Apostles Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, 
creator of heaven and earth. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, 
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 
born of the Virgin Mary, 
suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
was crucified, died, and was buried; 
he descended to the dead. 
On the third day he rose again; 
he ascended into heaven, 
he is seated at the right hand of the Father, 
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
the holy catholic church, 
the communion of saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body, 
and the life everlasting. AMEN.

 

Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
 
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

Grace Church is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) 

Grace Church Ministry Structure

Vision

//defines us

Purpose

//directs us

Strategy

//designs us

Values

//drives us

Grace Church's Values

VALUES //drives us

Prayer We acknowledge the primacy and priority of prayer both individually and corporately, constantly seeking God’s will and the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything. (Colossians 4: 2; Philippians 4: 6) 

Spiritual Gifts We believe that the Holy Spirit gives followers of Jesus gifts to accomplish His purpose here on earth and that all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the bible are available today. (Acts 2: 1-4; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12 and 14; Ephesians 4: 11-16; 1 Peter 4: 10-11)

Grace We accept everyone no matter what this journey in life has brought their way and we encourage everyone to live a life that is honest, real, and authentic. We also believe that we are called to obey the “one another” statements in the Bible. When this happens people are drawn to Jesus and the church becomes a true family. (Romans 12: 3; Philippians 2: 1-4; Colossians 3: 12-16; John 13: 34-35)

Leadership Development We are committed to the development of godly leaders and believe in submission to the spiritual leadership of God has appointed over us in the body of Christ to equip for the works of service. We also believe the church should be led by the men and women who are deeply committed to God, practice servant leadership, and have embraced the vision, values, and purpose of the church. (Hebrews 13: 17; Ephesians 4: 11-16; 1 Peter 5: 2-3; Matthew 23: 11-12)

Biblical Stewardship We believe that God is the owner of who we are and all we possess; we embrace His mandate to consistently honor Him with finances, time, and personal gifts of service (Psalm 104: 24; Matthew 5: 14-16; Acts 2: 42-47)

Transformed Lives The measure of effective discipleship is whether or not people’s lives are being changed from the inside out. We believe that when people enter into a relationship with Jesus, we will begin to see them surrender area’s of their lives to Christ from their families, their careers, their finances, and much more (2 Corinthians 3: 17-18; Acts 2: 42-47; Acts 19: 18-20)

The Bible and Creativity God’s Word is always our authority in matters of doctrine and practice. It is powerful and fundamental in transforming lives. To be culturally relevant, we strive to communicate the life changing Gospel with sensitivity, effectiveness, and creativity. Our message will never change, but our methods will. (Romans 1: 16; Hebrews 4: 12; 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23; Acts 17: 19-23)

Kingdom Impact We believe that God’s heart is filled with love for those who are far from Him, and that God desires a dynamic relationship with everyone He created. The church is God’s primary conduit for offering the message of His hope to the world. He desires for our lives to be focused on loving those who have yet to follow Him (Luke 14: 23-24; Luke 19: 10; 2 Peter 3: 9)

Unity We believe that we cannot follow Jesus alone and that we are dependant on each other to fulfill God’s mission. Every person is needed, valuable and gifted by God and we handle our conflicts as the bible directs (John 17: 20-23; 1 Corinthians 12: 12; Ephesians 4: 1-6; Matthew 18: 15-22; Psalm 133)

Team Ministry We believe that ministry is best accomplished in teams (1 Corinthians 13; Nehemiah 3; Luke 10: 1; John 13: 34-35)

Vision We believe that vision plays a vital role in the life of an individual as well as a church. We strongly encourage people to be people of vision, learning to see things how could be instead of how they are. God has called us to be difference makers and we are committed to that cause (Proverbs 29: 18)

Grace Church's Strategy

STRATEGY //designs us

Every ministry is driven by something. There is always some guiding force that determines the direction and goals for the individual or the group. Unless the driving force behind a church is biblical, the health and growth of the church will never be what God intended. Strong churches are not build on programs, personalities, or gimmicks. They are built on the eternal purposes of God, and that is the foundation of our ministry as well. We strive to balance the five biblical purposes of:

Fellowship is connecting believers to one another with meaningful relationships for strength and support. At Grace we call this GATHERING

Worship is celebrating God’s presence and honoring Him with our lifestyle. At Grace we call this GLORIFYING
 

Discipleship is the personal discovery of God’s truth, the process by which one becomes more like His Son. At Grace we call this GROWING

Ministry is meeting the needs of others in love with our spiritual gifts, abilities, and treasures. At Grace we call this GIVING

Evangelism is sharing the Good News of Jesus with those who don’t have a personal relationship with Him. At Grace we call this GOING

Grace Church's Purpose

PURPOSE //directs us

Purpose statement:

As passionate followers of Jesus we will Gather to:

…Glorify God,

…Grow into His image,

…Give of our talents, as we

…Go with His power into the world

From this statement we will

-Organize our ministry structure.

 -Formulate goals and objectives.

-Achieve our vision.

-Organize our budget

-Add staff.

Grace Church's Vision

VISION //defines us

Main statement:

Reproducing passionate followers of Jesus throughout the Downriver Community and beyond!

Supporting statements:

It is the vision to be a church where marriages are strong and growing stronger; where spouses are deeply in love with each other and even more deeply in love with Jesus Christ as He is the center of their marriage covenant.

It is the vision to be a church made up of individuals who are being healed and made whole body, soul, and spirit. Where people can come and find healing from addictions, divorce, past hurt, and sin with Jesus Christ at the center of their lives.

It is the vision to be a church where families are thriving with joy and healthy relationships with Jesus Christ at the center of their home. 

It is the vision to be a church that is multi-generational that minister to every member of the family through dynamic and creative ministries for children, youth, college, men, woman, and adults.

It is the vision to be a church that expands the Kingdom of Christ through multiple worship sites and / or planting new churches throughout the downriver community and beyond.

It is the vision to be a mentor church where we provide training and support for churches in and outside of the Detroit Metro area and Reformed Church of America.

It is the vision to be a church that influences the community by being the pacesetter in the spiritual, moral, and cultural arenas, pointing all to the Cross of Jesus.  

It is the vision to be a church where every person belongs to a small group of other followers of Jesus; experiencing true community through love, care, encouragement, and accountability.

It is the vision to be a church where we continue to strive to become a House of Prayer.

It is the vision to be a church where every member is striving to live a missional life by reaching out to those in their sphere of influence.

It is the vision to be a church that has a global impact by sending and supporting career missionaries locally nationally and globally, and sending out short term teams to work along side of these missionaries,

It is the vision to be a church that is accessible and compelling to those who have given up on church, but have not given up on God.

It is the vision to be a church that allows God to be God, not placing Him in a box by setting attendance goals and/or attendance limits, but allows His Spirit to flow in and through the whole church family.

It is the vision to be a church that has our hands to the plow, accomplishing her vision and purpose ready to meet Jesus the moment He returns.

It is the vision to be a church with little or zero capital debt.

Vision 2010

Without a vision, people cast of restraint Proverbs tells us. Vision gives us a laser focus on what the Lord wants us to do and become. After months and even years of prayer and seeking the Lord, this talk is the unveiling of the vision the Lord has placed before Grace Church for 2010 and beyond. 

"Reproducing passionate followers of Jesus throughout the Downriver Community and beyond!" 

As passionate followers of Jesus we will GATHER to:

        ...GLORIFY God 

        ...GROW into His image 

        ...GIVE of our talents as we 

        ...GO with His power into the world.

January 17, 2010 "State of the Church: Vision 2010" (notes)