2005 State of the Church
Pastor Jim May
In a few days the TV, radio and newspaper networks across the nation will be broadcasting the State of Union address of President George W. Bush. I wanted to seize the moment and give you a “State of the Church” address as well.
Today I would like to address the members of our church concerning the Vision, the Mission and the “Spiritual Health” of this church. I think that it is imperative that we, as a local body of Christ, should know what God had called us to do, and why He has ordained that Victory Temple should be established and flourish in Ascension Parish. This church is not here by some freak accident of nature, and each of you here according to the will of God.
From time to time I hear the question, “Pastor, how can I know what the will of God is?” The answer is always the same every time I hear it. If you will just keep walking by faith, trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide your steps as is promised in the Word of God, and then commit yourself to the work of the Kingdom of God through a local church, in God’s time, and in God’s manner, His will for your life will be revealed and will be accomplished. It won’t always be easily recognizable as God’s plan for your life, but trust me, and trust God on this; in due time you will know that everything you do for the church, for your fellowman and for the gospel’s sake, will all work together to make you into the man or woman of God that God intends for you to be.
The only real limiting factor that will determine just how close to God’s will you will walk is your faithfulness and dedication to work where God puts you.
Having said that, let me say that I want to try to present to you what I believe is the vision, mission and condition of this church.
Vision:
Vision is such a very important factor in life. With the natural eye we see how to move about without stumbling and falling over every obstacle. We can into our future, at least as far as the horizon around us and in many ways we can see far in advance what we are going to face.
Let me give you a few simple examples:
If you are one those who are blessed as I am to have a job where you have to travel into the city and contend with the traffic every day, you will relate to this example for sure. How many times have I started out on my journey and then I notice a mile or two in front of me nothing but red tail lights and flashing blue lights. It isn’t hard to understand then that I have some choices to make. I can either slow down and prepare to be a part of the parking lot and add my tail lights to the mix, or I can keep traveling at the same speed I am now and start my own new parking lot with my own personal set of flashing blue lights, or just maybe, if I position my self just right, I can avoid the parking lot and take a different route. With that kind of vision I can change the course of my day, and perhaps my life, by simply having a clear vision of what lies in my near future.
As a second example let me say that if I walk out the door of the church and I see the dark clouds gathering, and the wind blowing and windshield wipers working on every passing vehicle, then I know that rain is surely coming even though it’s not here right now. With this kind of vision, I can protect myself from harm and seek the proper equipment, by simply seeing what may happen at any moment.
In a natural sense then, our vision with the eye, is an important part of our body that keeps us out of so many dangerous and troublesome situations.
Of course a second side of our “natural vision” is what we see with our mind along with the eye. Let me explain what I mean.
Our brain tends to absorb every sight, sound and feeling that we have. Every emotion is remembered, every reaction to a problem is stored, and every though that we have is kept in our memory banks, at least for a while until more important thoughts crowd the former ones out and they are forgotten. The amazing thing is that when we need to remember something it is always there if we don’t suffer from some debilitating disease like dementia or Alshiemer’s Disease.
We may have a hard time coaxing the right memories to the surface but they are always there somewhere and quite often what we try to remember will just come to us after we stop trying to remember it so hard.
With this same power of the mind we can “see” into the future as well, at least for a time.
How many of you have “foreseen” future events in your family that came to pass, or that perhaps you were able to avoid by taking steps in the present?
Let me give you an example:
One evening you are sitting around eating dinner when you hear one of the kids say, “I think I’m going to get a job so I can buy me a car and move out on my own so I have some freedom to go where I want to go.” Now those are welcome words if that kid is 25 years old and still living at home and driving your car. Your mind begins to react to that statement and one of the first things you think is, “Great, wonderful! Can I help you to the door, Son? Do you need me to help you find that job?” What can I do to speed up this process?”
You see, you are already picturing less money that you will pay for gas; lower insurance rates if you can take them off your policy; less grocery bills if they get their own place; less wear and tear on everything in your home; and maybe just time to enjoy your home in privacy for a while.
Then your mind begins to go in a different direction. You begin to think of the fact that you won’t know where your son is, or what he is doing like you do now. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? You think of the time that will surely come when you have to help him get that car repaired and the cost of doing so. You think of whether he will go hungry, or whether he can really make it on his own. You will wind up with mixed feelings. For some it will be relief and worry at the same time. For some it will be mixed feelings of joy and happiness.
But I have another scenario for you. What if that son who said, “I think I’m going to get a job so I can buy me a car and move out on my own so I have some freedom to go where I want to go”, is only 13 years old. Does your mind suddenly see a whole different picture and a whole new set of future problems that are going to arise?
I know that your reaction is different for each scenario. But the “vision of your mind” of what is coming, or what may lie in the future under each set of circumstances will determine your course of action and alter what happens for the lives of all concerned and even the lives of people you may have encountered had each course of life been taken.
Now I want you to think about this. We have a natural vision with the eye, and then that vision is added to and enhanced by the vision of our mind, but there is a third vision that we must have. That vision is a “spiritual vision”, and I believe that this spiritual vision is more important for your life, both here on this earth and eternally, than your natural vision.
The question is, “What you see for your future with your “spiritual vision”?
Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
Your spiritual vision for your life may be that you see yourself building a stronger and closer relationship with Jesus Christ and becoming more and more involved in some type of ministry such as being a prayer warrior for the church, an educated teacher of Bible subjects in either a church or a Bible College, as a missionary on a foreign field, as a member of a worship team or a worship band; as a preacher, pastor, evangelist, or whatever field of ministry you choose. Your vision may include your own desires coupled with where you believe that God is leading you to go.
In any case you need to have a spiritual vision of what lies ahead just as surely as you need a natural vision to avoid many of the obstacles that would stop your vision from coming to pass. Without a spiritual vision, we will end up crashing and burning. Without a spiritual vision we will end up where we don’t want to be because the natural course of events never leads upward. You have to plan, to work and to persevere if you are going to accomplish anything worthwhile. I don’t think that anyone could argue against that statement.
The natural course of events is to be lazy. Just ask any parent that is trying to raise a child and teach them a good work ethic. The very act of “teaching a work ethic” denotes work and that goes against the grain and requires action.
The natural course of events is to let other people take care of you. There are multitudes across the country that have followed this course of nature and stand in lines every month waiting for their government handout when they could go to work and get off the welfare wagon. Some have to seek help but many don’t. If you want to have a better life and not depend upon handouts it means doing the uncomfortable thing, and doing what others will not. It means getting out of bed early, getting out into the rat-race of life, and earning your way.
The natural course of events is to veg-out in front of the TV. But we know that this only creates a head full of mush because it’s easier to watch others struggle through life and forget our own struggle for a while. We wonder why we are raising a generation of over-weight, under educated and dependent youth. Just turn off the TV, read a good book, especially the Bible, get outside and mow the grass, paint the house, or do something to stimulate your thinking. But that requires action or work and too many are afraid of it.
The natural course of events for the things of the Spirit is to simply ignore them.
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
Have you found, like I have, that “thinking on these things” requires work? But thinking on these things are what will build your spiritual vision and give you hope for the future and cause the plan of God to come alive in your heart and life.
So now let me tell you a little of what I believe is the “Spiritual Vision” for Victory Temple.
God is taking us to a new place in Him. In our near future, I not only see the re-establishment of our Sunday School Program, but with God’s help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I see new teachers, and whole different type of curriculum for the class. We may begin with only one or two classes but I believe that more are needed for the different groups that will need to be taught from God’s Word.
I see a class in the sanctuary that is geared toward those who want to learn the deeper things of God’s Word. I’ll probably be teaching this class, and believe me, I will have to learn right along with you. I am now searching for the right course to present to you.
I see a youth program that is going to grow. Our youth needs more of the Word of God than ever. It will require a lot of hard work, planning of a lot of activities, and prayer will be a big part of that effort. I want to see our youth grow in Christ, and I want us all to pray that God will provide for our youth leaders the skills, the energy, the desire and the love for youth that they will need.
I see a nursery where the TV is not used to entertain but where our little kids who are old enough to understand simple Bible Stories will be taught about the Bible and about Jesus and not just attended to by a baby sitter. I don’t want us to waste one minute of the short time that we have to influence their lives to go wasted. We have to start young and so I will begin to search, along with others, for teaching tools that will reach our babies and toddlers in the nursery.
Sis. Marlene is doing a wonderful job as our Children’s Church pastor, but I want to see her program extended and improved. I know that she would welcome anything we can do to help her make it better. I see us re-instituting the use of puppets as a teaching tool. I want us to put our minds together, under the leading of the Holy Ghost, to come up with new ways to decorate, new ways to present Jesus and new workers who will be willing to step up and be a part of the children’s ministries.
I see a Women’s Ministry that is second to none. Sis. Stephanie is doing a good job as the leader of this ministry but I want to see it grow and improve even more and I will be meeting with her and the ladies to see what we can do to make it better. The ladies of our church are so very special and they have so much to offer to our church. I want them to have free reign to think of ways to make our church building more attractive. We have an excellent location and a good building for our size so let’s make it the best we can. I know it’s a rental building but it’s still our church until God moves us on. In the past I have been reluctant to spend much money on the building but I think that this is wrong. It’s still our church and we need to do whatever we can to make it the best we can within reason and trust in God to provide for the next building that we hope will be our own building.
But people will not stay if they aren’t comfortable, so we have to do what we can. We will be repainting some walls, replacing some floors, patching some things that need it, replacing the church sign with one that will be far better.
I see us re-establishing a Kingsmen Fellowship. In fact, the first meeting of the Kingsmen Fellowship is scheduled for Tuesday night, February 15th, at 7:00 PM, and thereafter unless we change it, the meeting will be every third Tuesday of each month. That’s the men’s ministry of our church in case some of you don’t know. I will begin to lead it myself, but I am believing God for a man to step forward, either someone who is here now, or someone who will come in the future, and take the reigns of leadership for our men of the church. The Kingsmen Fellowship will be in charge of setting up church workdays, planning events for men only, and preparing devotions for men only. I believe that God is going to send us more men and we want to minister to them.
Next I see that we need to establish a new Outreach Ministry to reach the un-churched and the lost. I am praying for God to open doors of ministry in this area such as He did for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the giving of food baskets and gifts to the needy. If we can reach out to these people in practical ways, showing them the love of God, then some of them will get saved and some of those will become a part of this church body as well. I thank Sis Gretchen Tullier for her hard work, and maybe Sis. Gretchen will be the one to lead this effort when the time comes.
I want to speak concerning our Worship Team. There is no part of the ministry at this church that carries a heavier responsibility and has any greater impact upon those who come to our church than our Worship Team. My wife does a great job as its leader but she is trying to carry the load alone and she could use some help. She will lead it until God directs otherwise but she needs back-up singers who will work with her and harmonize, but not try to take over the leader’s position. The team needs your prayer and your support. Every one of them, Bro. James on sound, all of the musicians and the singers need your prayer. I want them to seek out new songs to learn and to teach to us. I want them to have better and more planned practices. I want them to be a Worship Team that doesn’t just play and sing, but a Worship Team that worships and knows how to lead the congregation in worship.
The very first thing we are going to do within the next 30 days is to purchase a new piano or keyboard. It will cost us around $1000 or more to get one but we have to get it. How can we depend upon our Worship Team to lead us if we don’t have good instruments at the foundation? This piano was donated to us over 5 years ago but it is old and continues to give us problems so its days are at an end.
One last thing is that I want all music practice to end at least 10 minutes before each service. If you want to play music before service it must be as a group and I ask that you play softly as a group. Loud banging on the drums, or last minute tuning is a hindrance to greeting of new people and to creating the proper mood for the service. Get the instruments tuned early and the practices done early.
One other thing that I want to talk about this morning is the establishment of a pre-service prayer meeting for every service. 30 minutes before church, in the “Blue Room” off the back of the platform, there will be a prayer meeting time for all who want to come. There will be chairs to sit or kneel. I am only asking for 15 minutes because at 15 minutes before church time we need to be in the auditorium to greet new people who will be coming in. Prayer is the key to the successful fulfillment of the vision of this church and we have to have more of it. Music practice can go on as usual but we may want to consider moving the music practices a little earlier too so you can join us in the prayer room.
I have read and heard many times that we need to have a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement for our church. Well, I’ve given it some thought and prayer and these are the statements I have for now. Our Vision Statement is something that can and will change as God renews our vision and allows us to see more in the future, but our Mission Statement should remain fixed and unmovable because it states our purpose, and if we lose our purpose as a church, then we lose it all.
What is our Vision Statement?
We are watching and preparing for the soon coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are expecting God to increase our church in the knowledge of Him and of His Word through prayer and hearing of the Word. We are expecting our church to grow in numbers of people who Love the Lord; in financial resources through tithes and offerings; in a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and in the manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit in our midst. We are expecting a mighty move of God to make Victory Temple into a powerful force for the Kingdom of God.
What is our Mission Statement?
Victory Temple exists for the purpose of worshipping God; reaching the lost for Christ at home and around the world; bringing the whole family into a closer relationship with Jesus; teaching and preaching the Word of God; and for the support of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
What is the Condition of our church?
Today, Victory Temple is stronger than ever. God has been so good to us. He has brought us people who love the Lord and who are willing to put their hands to work in God’s House. He has brought us the talent we need to build and to grow, and to meet the needs of all who come. He has blessed us financially, and physically.
None of these things happen by accident. They happen because of several things. First, God’s will is that we should prosper in Him. Secondly, we have people who pray and search the Word of God for God’s will to be done. Thirdly, it’s because we have people who are faithful and committed to Christ and who have sold out to Jesus. And lastly, it’s because we have people who care and who love one another with a pure love and a pure heart before God.
In closing, I see a bright future for Victory Temple. I am more excited today than I have ever been before. I feel a sense of purpose as never before. And I believe that all of you can sense the same thing. As we continue to believe God for big things, and trust in Him for the small things as well; as we continue to pray for one another; and reach out to the lost world around us, let’s not forget to praise God for all of His blessings and for the church that He has given to us. Today is the smallest this church will ever be and the poorest it will ever be. God is taking us to a better church and the journey begins now.
