Navigate 2011

Thursday evening we had a large turnout for the chili dog fundraiser and semi-annual meeting that had been billed as Navigate 2011. $800 was raised for Adventure Club from the dinner portion of the evening, and then we slipped up to the sanctuary for the meeting.

Pastor Brad opened by reading to us from one of his favorite passages, Romans 10:14-15.
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Brad then talked with us about the facets of our Mission Statement... Connect, Grow and Become.

Connect. Connecting unconnected people to our Savior Jesus Christ, the eternal focus of what God has called us to do.

Talking with people about Jesus is not about "closing the deal." Rather, it is any word or deed that brings a person closed to connectedness to God.

Grow. New birth is a beginning, not an end. As Christ followers our mission is to pursue spiritual transformation over a lifetime.

Become. We are not simply individuals consuming religious goods. Our mission is to become a community that reflects God's priorities in the world.

Brad followed this by sharing our Vision... to be a healthy, missional church that reflects our context where people are coming to personal faith. Our core values are to be Biblical, devotionasl, missional and relational.

It was apparent from the meeting that the church leadership has been quite active and there is not any sense of "business as usual" there. The building committee was identified and their mandate shared, to identify within 12 months a direction with regards to a future building project.

Pam Johnson shared New Ministry Initiatives being undertaken for 2011. They included:

1) A short term missionary trip somewhere within the U.S.

2) Community connections... meeting needs in our local community.

3) "Grow For It"... fall and spring activities to help us in finances and our marriages.
4) Small Groups... unforced. If interested in this, let Walt, Gwen or Pastor Brad know.

Chuck then presented a recommended budget for the coming year, which included over 10% to missions. The new budget had some modest increases, but when voted on was readily adopted.

In short, the meeting was valuable for orienting us toward continued growth.