Vision Sunday 2023
Making Space For Increase
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
Isa 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
John 3:30 (NKJV) He must increase, but I must decrease.
1 Corinthians 3:6 (NKJV) I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
1. Prayerfully believing God to both discover areas in need and to have areas of increase this year.
1.1. There is always the idea of needing to move forward and press ahead.
1.2. We are not suppose to allow our selves to get complacent because inevitably when we stop pushing froward we will either plateau and or start rolling back.
1.3. 2022 was a good yet plateau sort of year.
1.4. Thank you to each one of you and your families who made a decision to become a member of Reach Community in 2022!!!
1.5. After two years in 2020 and 2021 with alot of growth and getting situated in our new building and many new people and families this past year was one of just doing things well.
1.6. And to that goal we had a really good year.
1.7. We were able to make good progress on:
1.7.1. our calendar planning,
1.7.2. not overloading our schedule,
1.7.3. focusing on our core programs,
1.7.4. and figuring out outreach to our community.
1.7.5. Another highlight was getting our new and revised intern program off the ground. Providing an opportunity for career people to engage and be trained for the calling upon their life. Stay tuned for September 2023 new batch.
2. Let’s talk about the REACH mission.
2.1. Our aim is to be a mission-minded, intentional community of Believers REVIVING and EQUIPPING people with the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ and presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
2.2. Then to ACTIVATE the giftings within each person in the body of Christ while working at being a house of CARE and HEALING in our community.
2.3. Our hope is for each person who comes into community to become a committed follower of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit and become committed to journeying in Christian community.
You can learn more about our leadership structure and ministry model by coming to Get Activated today or ABM on the 29th.
3. Different from 2022 this year will be a year of stretching and believing God for growth.
Isa 54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
4. Many opportunities to grow.
1 Cor. 9:22 … I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
4.1. Becoming all things to all people.
4.2. The goal is the gospel and making disciples
4.3. The first step is winning people to Jesus.
4.4. And sometimes this means getting them into the House of God first.
Though many of us were found by Jesus many places other than the House of God.
5. Stretching out in the Church Worship services opportunities we are offering.
5.1. With each new service or ministry added is an opportunity for a new team and people to get engaged.
5.2. Our primary goal with all these opportunities is to first fill the house with Jesus and the right people will come.
5.3. We are adding some new opportunities for worship and prayer and care this year:
Titus 1:5 (NKJV) For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—
6. Men’s & Women Monthly Service:
Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
6.1.The men’s and women’s services and groups have been a powerful platform.
6.2.We have been real pleased with the participation in the bimonthly men and women’s service.
6.3.We truly love this platform for engaging people in ministry and sharing their story.
6.4.So much so we need to increase the opportunities.
6.5.So the 2nd Wednesday of each month will be Mensday @ 630pm. 6.6.The 4th Wednesday will be Womensday @ 630pm.
7. New Saturday Ministry Service Time:
James 5:14-15 (NKJV) 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
7.1. Who likes to pray?
7.2.Who likes Saturday worship time?
7.3.Saturday will have a slightly different purpose but still be considered a service for weekends when you cannot make it to Sunday.
7.4.The time will be 630pm to 730pm unless for ministry reasons it goes longer.
7.5.The purpose is to provide a weekly platform where people can pray, worship and receive prayer for healing, deliverance and any needs. 7.6.This will likely be a small gathering each week but will provide some very intentional opportunities to prayer for people.
7.7. Also, this will be a time for more intimate access to our Pastoral and ministry team.
7.8.We would like to have existing leaders on some kind of rotation, not mandatory, as well as get new people engaged in supporting this ministry platform.
7.9.It will be a type of healing rooms platform believing God to work miracles in people’s lives. Also give people a weekly opportunity to receive hands laid on them and intentional prayer.
8. New Sunday 9am Service:
8.1.Our Sunday morning service each week, though there are still some seats remaining, is having a full parking lot problem. Who would agree with this?
8.2.Problem #1: Our parking lot has 80 slots. We have consistently been having 75 cars and a time or two over 80 cars on Sunday. This is one problem.
8.3.Problem #2: Is helping people transition into our culture, which is hard for many. I won’t ask you to raise your hand but anyone trying to bring new people or you yourself coming from a much quicker or no church background understand what I am talking about. I want to provide many ministry platforms that you can more easily bring friends and family into this environment. For those of use who can be in Church for hours on in we will have those opportunities. For those who because of schedule or newest need something other options we will have those as well.
8.4.Problem #3: Is all our special events and holiday services are already full in both capacities seats and parking.
8.5.Problem #4: We would be stretching our existing team too much to ask them to take on this new service alone. Soo we need to rasie up and engage new team members to spread the joy.
8.6.Problem #5: Providing room for growth without altering or changing the precious culture that we have grown in the past 5 years. We believe it to be special and really sets a part who we are as a community.
So these are all good problems but ones that we have to address and make some room for growth and stretching.
9. Our Sunday plan:
9.1.At some point soon, likely March, we are planning to launch a new 9am service.
9.2.Begin to recruit and raise up a team of people who would like to embrace this service as a sort of church plant within a Church.
9.3.We will always continue community lunch afterward.
9.4.To accomplish this, when we launch, we will need to move the 10am to 1045 and lunch will begin at 1230pm with continuing in worship or ministry time as per usual.
9.5.The 9am service will be shorter and allow people to attend who need to get about Sunday schedules or just need a shorter service but all the same content and ministry philosophy, prayer time, worship, ect…
10. Get Activated in your gifting within the body of Christ.
Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
10.1.Each member has their function within the body.
10.2.Growth Journey is a first step here for people to know us, what we believe, and become known.
10.3.We can use our giftings out of the body.
10.4.As important once someone is planted, getting healthy, demonstrating faithfulness, with a growing relationship with Jesus their giftings should also be used with the body.
10.5.Serving is not the first priority when someone comes into the Body of Christ.
10.6.But serving is an overflow of ministry of one’s life after being planted in the body.