Unity and Vision

Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.

Jesus, in His prayer for the believers (John 17), spent a great deal of time asking for unity. Nothing empowers a church like unity, and nothing destroys a church as quickly as like disunity. On December 23 I wrote about love, love is the unifying factor of our church. Obviously the two, love and unity, go hand in hand. But what ties the two together is a vision: knowing what we are here to do, what draws us together. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off all restraint.” Here is the vision (or mission) of the church:

To reach our neighborhood with the good news of Jesus Christ by doing what Jesus did: healing, serving and loving people into Christ’s Kingdom.

The statement is very simple, and it has governed all that we have done and will do. That statement unifies and defines us. We, as a church, are in our neighborhood to love those around us into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of our growth in the last year has come from the neighborhood, and those who have come in have either never come to church or have not been in years. There are a few coming from other churches, but very few. Our growth in attendance has come from new or recommitted Christians. And new Christians bring in a lot of excitement! They’re excited about the new relationship they have in Christ, and that enthusiasm is contagious, which spills over into our worship on Sunday and all else that we do. Church becomes very fun! A unifying vision works.