A Vision For the Church 

👤 Geoff

I found the following 'Vision for the Church' years ago. (I have forgotten where I got it from, so apologies to whoever originally wrote it). I've slightly adapted the original.

I want to belong to a church . . .

• which judges itself by the difference it makes in the world, not by how many members it has.
• where God has no grandchildren, where everyone is wrestling with the call to be committed to Jesus and a life of radical discipleship.
• where people take Jesus-style life very seriously. Where people go expecting the Gospel to challenge and change them and are not just spectators at Sunday services.
• where people are more afraid of God than they are of one another.
• where people have fun, where laughter and applause are heard and life is celebrated. It would be a place where the chosen no longer look frozen.
• where people can be open, honest and vulnerable. Masks could be left at the door and people would be free to be themselves. It would be a place where you didn't have to fake it.
• that is good news to hurting people, where confessing your sins, forgiving one another and praying for one another are not something odd or out of place.
• where people decide to err on the side of grace, where acceptance, encouragement and affirmation are vital characteristics. It would be a place where people were extremely reluctant to cast the first stone.
• that despite any fears or failures has the confidence to really believe in God. A church that is creative, compassionate, courageous, alive to the power of love and, like Jesus, willing to take risks.

What kind of church do you want to build?

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15