Making the vision plain

Pastors Denis and Lorna set out the mission, purpose and vision for Micah at the Heartbeat Centre

It's been nine months now since we celebrated the coming together of two congregations as one: Heartbeat and Micah. That's enough time to carry a child to full term.

Enough time to experience the shock of being out in the world and to discover the joys (and challenges!) in working out how each new joint, organ and limb will work together.

Enough time to prayerfully seek God as a leadership team to birth one vision for one church, going in one direction.

As we prepared for our first Church Vision Day on 24 April, we reflected on God's words to Habakkuk:

Write down the vision. Make it plain upon tablets, so that the one who reads it may run.
- Habakkuk 2:2

In clearly setting out the purpose, mission and vision for the church, we are responding to God's command so that we may run with it as a church family.

Our purpose and mission

Our purpose as a church is to fulfil the mandate given to us to go and make disciples of all nations. This is the Great Commission that Jesus gave His disciples as He ascended into heaven (Matthew 28:18-20).

The mission is what we've been created to do: Equipping and empowering people to communicate and apply the love of God and the gospel of Christ. Matthew 28:says, 'Go and make disciples', not churchgoers or bench-warmers. Micah's job as a church is to make disciples. We're not here to get on TV and radio. We're here to help you to grow in maturity so that you can go and make disciples. There's an exponential multiplication.

Our vision

There are five 'values' in our vision that we want to define us in this season as a local church in the heart of Camberwell. We met last year with the leadership team to prayerfully consider and set our churchwide aims in relation to these values. This is what God has laid on our hearts.

We are vibrant

To boldly create and inspire a fresh energy in Christ by actively serving with passion.

We are active, creative and energetic, inspired and motivated by the vibrant love of Christ.

We are diverse

To embrace and value all people, and to nurture their skills, gifts and talents through the love of Christ.

We are called to make disciples of all nations, not just our own. We can't just be a mono-cultural church. We need to represent a diverse community because we live in a diverse community.

The church is also a training ground for people's gifts, talents and confidence - whether it's baking cakes, design, business etc. Our confidence is in God, knowing how he created us and who He's called us to be. We want to create an environment where we can nurture those gifts and talents; where our children can be the people of tomorrow who are bold and who are courageous, confident in themselves, knowing who they are.

We are multi-generational

To celebrate all generations and encourage inter-generational collaboration within the church and the community.

We seek to be multi-generational and inter-generational, where everyone can come and feel that they can contribute here. We want this place to become a magnet for young people, as it has been in the past.

We are family

Intentionally creating a place where you are valued, loved, honoured and important.

God uses families. Just as He used Aaron's family as Levites. But the family of God trumps our blood family. In a spiritual context, we lay down our allegiance to our personal family to become part of God's family - just as the two congregations of Heartbeat and Micah have come together to form a new family.

Jesus modelled this when He was on earth that His blood runs through our veins and that's the family that we are today. When people came to Him to tell Him his mother and brothers were outside as He was teaching, He said 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters? For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matt 12:46-50)

God has empowered and enabled us with giftings and creativity to contribute. That's the beauty of what God does. He doesn't give us everything. Unless we come together we won't be able to get the amazing whole. That's the beauty of God.

We are continuously growing

To cultivate spiritual, relational, mental, and numerical growth, whilst developing skills and resources.

We don't just want to grow in number, we want to mature spiritually. Part of this involves demonstrating the character of a servant

We want to cultivate an environment where we see the Word of God as everything to us. It's our foundation, it's our frame of reference, it's our backdrop - it's everything that we stand for. That's why we encourage people to join Grace City Bible School.

Relationally, you can't grow spiritually on your own. We need difficulties and challenges in relationships because it sharpens us and helps us to get over ourselves. When you get up with the people where extra grace is required it helps you to grow in character as well.

We want to grow emotionally as people, where they can be real and we can learn to accept one another as we are. We don't have to hide and pretend. Somebody can walk alongside you through that situation. In Christ, there is no condemnation. The church can be a judgmental place sometimes, but If you've fallen, we need to help each other up and walk alongside.

How do we do this?

We do it through our services, LIfe Groups, teams and prayer meetings, for a start. We do life together and 'rub it smooth like butter', when we come up against conflict.

We want to be one church with one vision going in one direction, together. We're planning a Micah One Vision day to move the vision together. Our aims have been made deliberately broad in order for us as a church body to flesh out what it looks like in practice over the next year. Stay tuned for details of Micah One Vision Day in the next few months.

How can you get plugged in more to this new family?

Here are 3 ways you can get involved right now, whether you're new or a seasoned veteran.

Join us on Sunday at 11am at the Heartbeat Centre
Join a Life Group and do life together
?Let us know about your skills, talents and interests.

If you want to know more about any of these, email info@micah.org.uk and we'll get in touch with details of next steps.

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