Pastor’s Column in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter) – published September 2007
Do we know what we’re about as a church? In my May newsletter column this year, I mentioned that I’ve recruited a team of church leaders to begin discussing and discerning our church’s identity, core values, and mission. We met many times over the summer, and using Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger’s book, Simple Church as a launching point, we are beginning to identify the major things that Farmville Baptist Church should be about. Following Jesus’ “Great Commandment” (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27) and his “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:19-20), we believe that God is leading Farmville Baptist to be a church that makes disciples by focusing on three things: 1) Worshipping God, 2) Growing Together, and 3) Serving Others.
As the “temple of God” (2 Cor. 6:16), we aim to encourage and facilitate people to worship God corporately and individually every day of the week. As a “body of believers” (1 Cor. 12:12-26), we aim to grow together in the knowledge of our Lord through Bible study and the sharing of our lives within a community of care and trust. And as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), we aim to serve others as a channel of God’s blessing to our community and the world.
There’s nothing “magical” about these three things, nor are they what we should be about from now to eternity. But in the coming years, these three things will hopefully provide us with some clarity regarding our mission. We hope these three things will provide the process of moving us to become more mature disciples of Jesus. We hope these three things will help us align our ministries so that we may be focused in our mission.
Practically speaking, what does this mean for our church? In terms of pastoral leadership, it means that while I have the responsibility to oversee and lead the whole congregation, I will pay special attention to the “worshipping God” aspect of our church. Amanda Johnston, our new Associate Pastor for Congregational Care and Growth, will focus on the “growing together” aspect, especially in facilitating small groups, age-graded ministries, and Bible studies. Finally, our Deacons, with their newly formed Ministry Teams, will (together with the staff) provide leadership in the “serving others” aspect of the church. In terms of the congregation, it means that we want to challenge and encourage each member of Farmville Baptist to set aside time each week to worship God, to be a part of a small group growing together in community, and to serve others. Let us all take the first steps in becoming the church and the disciples that God wants us to be!
Yours in Christ, Michael
