Most of us are familiar with the words of Proverbs 29:18 - Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish

Vision is vital. Life coach Miami Philips says “Vision brings inspiration. Stopping at the end of the day is hard, and you will want to begin as soon as possible in the morning. Procrastination disappears, fear falls away and challenges melt like butter!”

Such quotes help us to understand the truth of what God says in Proverbs. That is, if we have no vision we will perish or, as other Bible versions put it, cast off restraint. Our vision, particularly viewed as a redemptive revelation of and from God, keeps us on track to fulfil His plan for us personally and for the combined thrust of the local congregation. A God-given vision connects us with such visionaries as Abraham, Nehemiah, Ruth, Esther, Paul and so many others who followed the call of God and achieved things that the majority believed to be impossible.

Mission also needs to be big enough for us to have to exercise faith and cause our strategies to bolster the effectiveness of all we do.

The foundation though is the values we live by. Ballarat City Church has seven values that help define our vision and mission – in short, who we are as a local church. Those values are: commitment, compassion, empowerment, generosity, integrity, respect & team. Among other things, values determine personal involvement, communicate what is important, embrace positive change, inspire us to action and influence our overall behaviour.

Over the next month, we will take time to embrace our church values, vision and mission in the context of our expectation of a full and effective year ahead.

Don & Julie
With you on the journey