Declining vs Thriving Churches

Good food for thought...

Declining Congregational Members are:	Thriving Congregational Participants are:
Committed to the church	Committed to Christ
Managing committees	Deploying mission
Holding offices	Doing hands-on ministries
Making decisions	Making disciples
Trained for membership	On a life long development track
Serving at the church	Serving in the world
Preoccupied with raising money	Preoccupied with rescuing people
Retiring from church work	Finding personal fulfillment
Surveying internal needs	Pursuing constant personal growth
Eager to know everyone	Sensitized to community
Loyal to each other	Eager for everyone to know God
Building faith on information	Building faith on transformation
Perpetuating a heritage	Building faith on experience w/ Christ
Hanging on	Visioning a future

Acts 9: The Conversion of a Terrorist

This Sunday we will be looking at Acts 9. The graphic below is a "word cloud" compilation of Acts 9. (Check out Wordle.)

Read up and I will see you Sunday.

MPVCC Values, Mission, & Vision Statements

1. Core Values

A. The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God
“And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23

B. Experiencing God
“…That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…” Philippians 3:10

C. Reconciling Community
“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

D. Compassionate Ministry
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

E. Culturally Relevant Mission
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15

2. Mission Statement (the what) -- Bringing heaven to earth (Matthew 6:10)

3. Vision Statement (the how) -- Learning how to love – “So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Mark 12:29 (MSG)

• God
• Others
• Ourselves