My Vision of a Local Church

My Vision for the Local Church that I pastor...

1. To be a church that holds true to those doctrines that characterized the Protestant Reformation. 
2. To be a church that unashamedly preaches the 'true gospel', the gospel of sovereign grace, and not the man-centered, free-will, gospel that is so prevalent in our current day.
3. To be a church that is willing to say and do what must be said and done, without any fear of consequence.
4. To be a church that is not afraid to be different, or 'peculiar'.
5. To be a church that is so 'other-worldly', that we cannot help but appear to be different or peculiar.
6. To be a church where the Worship of God is Biblical, devoid of human inventions and techniques.
7. To be a church where people of all ages, all ethnicities, and all economic backgrounds would feel welcome.
8. To be a church that does ministry in a way that is Biblical, not in a way that is contemporary or popular.
9. To be a church that is not afraid to talk about the hot-topic, political issues of the day.
10.  To be a church that has a holy fear of God.
11. To be a church that totally rejects the philosophy of 'fun and games' as a way of winning children to Christ.
12. To be a church that actually has high expectations of the children, and is grieved if they end up simply being like the rest of the world.
13. To be a church were maturity is esteemed, and immaturity and silliness is mourned over.
14. To be a church that can actually recognize the difference between solid biblical teaching, and that which is more shallow, worldly, or unbiblical.
15. To be the kind of church that will attract the more solid and mature believer, while at the same time, disappointing those who desire a more shallow, entertainment-driven church.
16. To be a church that has strong leaders, who take their role as leaders seriously.
17. To be a church that truly loves people.
18. To be a church that esteems the God-given design and differences that exist within manhood and womanhood.
19. To be a church where the men are encouraged to be leaders, both in the home as well as in the church.
20. In other words, to be a church that is fundamentally different that many of the churches you see in our country today.



By God's Grace, may the church that I pastor be such a church.