Notes from the Pastor: The Vision Thing

Note: The following was a letter sent to church members and friends in early June 2021.

 I hope you are enjoying this spring. The weather is starting to get warmer and as more and more of us get vaccinated against COVID, we are slowly starting to go back to “normal.” After 14 months worshipping apart, we resumed in-person worship again on May 2. I am thankful for the opportunity to worship with this church family in person after a year away.

During our time outside of the building, we used technology to create meaningful worship experiences on video. The resumption of in-person worship doesn’t mean we are stopping creating videos. We are live streaming our Sunday worship services which is a godsend to those who can’t make it to worship and it is also a vital outreach tool. 

Our Building Taskforce is starting to look into a possible sale of our property and move to another location. This process provide us with an opportunity to reassess who we are as a faith community in order to prepare for the next phase in the mission and ministry of First Christian Church of St. Paul. There are several things to evaluate and I will be sharing them over the coming months, but in this letter I’d like to talk about creating a congregational vision.

During the summer of 2018, we discerned who we are as a congregation and came up with a mission statement. It states the following:

“An inclusive family of God, creating and inspiring Christian discipleship through fellowship, community mission and love of Jesus.”

Our mission statement is our identity. If people were to ask what is First Christian all about, we can refer to the mission statement to tell them. A mission statement tells outsiders what an institution is all about.

A vision statement is different. It’s an internal statement that motivates members of a congregation. A vision statement determines how a church will fulfill its mission. Every decision is guided by this statement. It can give church members a sense of purpose that they are working towards something. If mission is about identity, vision is about destination. 

First Christian was going to start working on a vision statement last year, but this task was pushed aside during COVID. Now that we are worshipping in person, we have a chance to look at creating a vision statement again. 

Because the vision statement is different from the mission statement, it requires a different process. In this situation, the pastor is responsible for setting things in motion by helping to set a vision. That doesn’t mean they get to create whatever they want, but it does mean that by listen

ing to God, they can start the process of dreaming where the church is headed and invite others to join them in the journey of discovery.

What I am about to share is a not the definitive vision statement for us. Look at it as more of working or provisional vision statement. It becomes definitive after discernment and sharing what needs to be added or subtracted. So here is the provisional statement:

“Gathered for worship. Scattered for service.”

So what does this mean?

First Christian Church of St. Paul is a community that is gathered by God. Just as God gathered the disciples to become the church, God calls us together. When we are together we come to worship God, offer prayer for each other and the world and study Scripture. We aren’t a holy version of the Elks or Masons, but a community rooted in God and to remain rooted and ready, we come to worship. 

We worship for a reason. The gospel of Jesus isn’t just for us, but it is meant to be shared and we do that in our words, leading others to Christ and by our deeds by performing acts of charity and justice. We come together for worship to be empowered by God to scatter and serve our sisters and brothers.

That’s the vision. I will share more later, but I am looking to all of you to share your views. Spend time in prayer. Take the statement in and think about it. Please feel free to talk to me if you have questions or thoughts.

I hope the summer is a good one for all of you. God be with you in this time of beginnings. If you haven’t been to First in a while, come and visit us for worship at 10:00 AM. You can also watch us online by going to youtube.com/fccstpaul. 

I will talk to you in a few months. Godspeed.

Dennis Sanders, Pastor