Building Our Vision

Making a difference

First steps

Building on what has gone before, we had a challenging ‘Vision Day’ in November led by Peter Brierley. With his help we have shaped & presented our ‘Vision’ for the future of Christ Church to the Church Council which unanimously endorsed it as the way ahead for us.

Christ Church exists:

to worship God & to engage with the spiritual needs of the community.

Our vision is: to double the church community in the next 5 years.

To help us achieve this vision, we will:

1)      Develop the use of our premises

2)      Reach out in evangelism & mission, especially

i)         to the fringe to enable them to be brought into the church

ii)      to young people and families

iii)   by identifying & nurturing the needs of the community

3)      Develop worship styles & times

In order to achieve and sustain this vision we need to:

1)      create a climate for change

2)      renew confidence in the faith of existing members

3)      Learn to listen – to God, to each other, to the community

4)      Look at how we communicate

This vision could be summed up: New Christians, Growing Christians, Together making a difference in our world. For us, our immediate world is our local community but as someone once remarked we must learn to ‘think globally and act locally.’ This is the challenge for us as we seek to reach out with the love and grace of God, and seek the transformation of the church and society in Jesus’ name.

This is not simply a challenge for the Church Council or for any one group of people, rather it is a challenge to the whole church – it is a challenge to every single person who calls Christ Church their spiritual home. Will you rise to the challenge as together we seek to fulfil our calling as the people of God where He has placed us?

I believe it is a very exciting time for us all. If we take this seriously – and not as an academic exercise – it could mark a new beginning for Christ Church. It is about risk & challenge which can also be a scary place to be. But if God has a future for Christ Church at all then it’s a challenge that we need to rise to together.

As a first step in fulfilling the vision we are embarking on a journey together. This journey is called ‘Emmaus.’ Emmaus: The Way of Faith is a course designed to welcome people into the Christian faith and the life of the church. It aims to involve the whole church in evangelism, the nurture of new believers and ongoing Christian discipleship. It is rooted in an understanding of evangelism, nurture and discipleship modelled on the example of Jesus in the story of the Emmaus Road. (Read the story in Luke 24:13-35) We hope that you will feel able to join a group & journey in this way together with others. The groups will be open to all – whether you are new to Christ Church or to the Christian faith, or whether you have been at Christ Church for many years. This is the first step in renewing confidence in our own faith before reaching out to others.

Why not take a risk & get involved - be a part of all that God is doing among us & all that God will do through us as we seek the way of faith together.

Rachel Deigh