A Church of Vision: Part 3

Good news is always better than bad news. It is a general truth that we all love to hear and experience. Is it better to be the recipient or the giver of such news? It’s like the old phrase, “It is better to give than receive.” I know that this is debatable depending on who you talk to but most people prefer to receive than to give.

Now, I love to give gifts. I also love to receive gifts. I think we can all agree we enjoy both, but who doesn’t love receiving gifts? It is just in our nature, especially when we know the person and the meaning behind the gift. I reflect on the idea of good news and live with the fact that I am in the giving business. I am in the giving of the good news business. I think about the supreme calling all Christians have been given and the urgency in that calling. We are flawed sinners, prone to wander like sheep, but it is by God’s wisdom he uses us to bear witness to the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ and to tell others about the gift given to the world.

Part 3: The Gospel-Focused Church

The gospel-focused church is one that is serious about its mission. It is one that addresses the overwhelming reality of sin in our lives. A gospel-focused church faces the hurts and pains of this life and provides relief by focusing itself on and around the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Throughout my life, I have had the privilege to serve in several churches. I have learned and grown through the helpful guidance of many godly people and pastors. I have watched pastors from a distance, those that lead the large churches with the skills and resources all young pastors wish for but are usually out of reach. To acquire those it often takes a lifetime of faithfulness, work, and ultimately God’s grace.  But often pastors and churches lose sight of their mission and the vision that they set themselves on at the beginning of their ministry. We do not want to be a church that loses sight of the vision God has set before us. 

We have a goal and a vision. It is not complicated nor hard to achieve. We wish to be a church worthy of our Savior. To be Christ-centered and gospel-focused means to take seriously the message that truly is good news. We have to be givers of the good news. We have to tell people about the good news. We have to be clear about sin, not beating around the bush like so many churches do today.  Sin is bad, and no matter what shape or form it comes in, it leads to death and hell. It leads to an eternity separated from the God of the universe. We have to tell people about Jesus and his death and his atoning work for all who would believe in him. And we have to call people to live in obedience with that good news. The Gospel is not a “get out of jail free” card message. It requires actual life-changing actions. A gospel-focused church focuses on those things. 

My vision for us, and I believe it to be God’s as well, is to grow into a church that is saturated with gospel-truth. We teach and preach the gospel that was “ once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).  I know if we run with endurance towards the prize of Jesus, striving to look like Jesus always, we will surely finish the race. Pray that God will aid us in our vision and the days ahead. Pray that God would send leaders to lead his people. Pray that God would send out gospel messengers from among us, for his glory and honor. Pray that we will grow to be a gospel-focused church. 

Bro. Jesse

A Church of Vision: Part 1

Earlier this year, I set in motion a Vision for this church. I saw the love our church family had for our community and the desire for us to grow into a healthy church that was committed to reaching the lost for Christ. In our vision for Trinity, I set us on a path to grow into a healthy church by the means of six marks. This series, I wish to expound these six marks and show how they will help us grow into a healthy church that magnifies the Lord Jesus in all that we do. 

Mark 1: A Church Founded on the Word of God

The first mark is one that looks at the Bible as the foundation for our church vision. I like to think of our vision as a roadmap. On the map, there are all kinds of destinations and places we could go. Looking through the lenses of our vision, we can see all kinds of exciting possibilities. But if we move along with our vision, recklessly doing all these exciting things, we run the danger of falling off the map. If we don’t have a compass leading us on the correct heading, we can easily get lost, and even forget where we came from.  That’s where God’s Word comes in—the compass to our map.

It is intentional that God’s Word is key to the first mark in our vision. Apart from God’s Word, we are lost, roaming aimlessly in a world that is constantly trying to find its way. God foresaw our need for a proper heading and he gave us the Bible to help us keep the right direction. The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Church is working in a world of darkness, and the Bible is the lamp to help us not misstep, and alight to keep us on the correct path. Like a compass, the Bible keeps us going in the right direction. Whether it is a church vision, or how to raise our children, or how we treat one another—the Bible is there to instruct us along the way. In fact, it tells us the way to our destination. In order to grow into a healthy church, it takes a body of believers, day-in and day-out, building on the foundation of God’s Word. 

Because it is essential that we always look to the Bible for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16), we saturate ourselves with God’s Word each week. Sunday Mornings, we are walking together, verse by verse through the Book of Mark. Each week we look at Mark’s gospel, and the authority Jesus has as King of the Kingdom of God. By walking through books of the Bible, we allow the Bible to teach us and instruct us—we allow the Bible to direct us on the path that leads us to Christ. On top of that, we are studying Sound Doctrine. This is an intense study of God’s Word and what it teaches us about God, Scripture itself, ourselves and so much more. We study each week, in a more comprehensive way, these six marks, drawn from Scripture to help us grow into disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

All of this is intentional. We want to be a church that grows in numbers. We want to be a church that is respected in our community. But most of all, we want to be a church that glorifies our Savior. As we go forward with our vision, think about your commitment to God’s Word. Is it the foundation for your life, or do you use it only as a crutch when times get hard?

Hopefully, we can all come to the point where we see it as not just a crutch but the always present lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. May the Word of God always be the foundation to our Church and its vision. 

Bro. Jesse

Why a Church Website?

Today we live in a world dominated by the exchanged of information. News agencies make or break based on their ability to effectively communicate information to their readers. Our entire economy depends on a stock market where information informs investors and traders to acquire more shares to increase the value of their companies. This ultimately affects everything from the clothes we wear to the burger you bought for lunch today. Presidential administrations can safely bet whether a second term is in the future based on its ability to communicate to the nation.

In church life, the idea is still very much the same. We are in the information business, even though the word “business” is a terrible word. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has been saved and called with a purpose in mind—to Glorify our God and enjoy him forever. This idea is central in everything we do. To glorify our God, and bring others into the understanding of enjoyment, we communicate to them in whatever ways we can the message of the Gospel.

A church website is just one many ways we can communicate the gospel to our community. It tells the community who we are. It tells our neighbors what we believe, and what to expect when they visit us. It relates to whoever might cross our pages, the vision of Trinity Baptist Church and our love for all.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I would think that a church website would fit into the “do all” category. So as we go forward together as a body of believers at Trinity, the website is just a baby step in the right direction. To some of us, it might be a great leap into the 21st Century. To others, it is just part of our vision of glorifying God in all that we do. Pray that small things like a church website would lead to seeds planted, growing fruit, and an eventual harvest.