Vision clarity: a focus on families

It's been awhile since my last post.  And there are reasons for it, as I have intentionally tried to use this blog for a place to gain feedback and generated dialogue with people in our church over the future.  There have been a couple entries that were simply generated out of my devotional times with God, but for the most part, I've been reflecting on all the new learning I've been gaining through this process.  I'm happy to say, at this point, something has become very clear to me as I look at how our church might grow healthier and stronger.  It has to do with vision.  I've heard leaders in my life talk about the simplicity on the other side of complexity.  Well, this is one example of that.  And it's this:  In terms of vision, I am convinced more than ever that our church is best equipped for reaching families.  That's one undeniable aspect of who we are.  We are a church of mostly young families with children and some youth. 

In the past months, I've been trying to name this "community" we are called to reach with terms like "unchurched" or "overchurched", but it just seemed too out of reach for people in our congregation to grasp.  Not because they didn't understand what those terms meant, but perhaps because the terminology just didn't grip their hearts and compel them toward a sense of agreement.  But the minute I started talking to individuals in our church, asking them to answer the question, almost all of them said, "our church is best prepared to reach families".

So, I think during this long somewhat reflective blog-pause, I've come to accept that God has called New Life Center to touch families with the power of the Gospel.  This, to me, is more than just a generality.  Because for us to embrace this as our vision as a church means that we will need to organize around it.  Anyone can say they want to reach families.  But churches that are actually doing it have intentionally planned, organized, and implemented around that focus.

So, here's the question of the day.  If our church were to take this vision to reach and minister to families within our church and within the larger region seriously, what kinds of needs would we have to address?  What kinds of ministries/programs would need to be improved, created, and sustained?  What kinds of events would we need to plan?  How would our services need to change?  How would our focus on families impact how we renovate our facility?

I don't expect you to answer all of these questions...welcome to the inside of my head.  Take a moment if you have it, and swim around.  Your thoughts, feedback, questions, and opinions are welcome.