On The Move!

This is a big weekend for Mt. Calvary. We are excited to share the new vision for our church at the On The Move celebration, as well as some new thoughts on what can come from it. It will give us more focus on ways to grow and serve. With this event we hope to raise the bar, and make it a great event that you will enjoy.

You may not know this, but I am a business minor. Yet, some of the business language can still confuse me. I’m sure some of you have the same question I had when the Strategic Planning Committee began this this process over a year ago.  How is a vision different than a mission?  I knew I wanted to make sure I could communicate this in a way that people would understand. I also knew that the Discipleship Model (Worship 1, Read 1, Love 1, Pray 1) was a key part of walking on our faith journey. But how does a vision help to guide the church and the faith process? Well…the vision lays out what our church and community would look like if we got everything we wanted. Our new vision is Transformed People, Transformed Community. If every person was transformed in our church, then we could transform the community! The vision is bigger than we could probably ever reach, but this allows us to keep driving toward the future. The mission stayed the same. It helps lay out or define what transformed people are, as the saving love of Christ makes them Extraordinary Servants. (This is a great time to point out we didn’t change everything. We kept what still works with who God made us to be at Mt. Calvary.)

At the dinner, we will also meet people with whom we can potentially partner. In fact, one of them is going to preach for us this weekend. Many of you know that there are not a lot of Lutheran churches in the mid-county area, but Vicar Chris Paavola has felt led by the Spirit to start one. He has a true passion to minister to the community in University City and is calling the church All Nations. You will get to hear his passion and love for the people this weekend. He also has some great ways we can serve with him and his church in partnership. People in Brentwood are passionate about their city, and this allows us to continue to minister to this area, as well as one close-by. You will also hear of other local partnerships, which will allow lots of opportunities to be extraordinary servants. All of this fits into the new vision, and hopefully it will clarify where we are going as a church and how we can serve.

When Jesus went out with the disciples, they blessed and served others. That continued at Pentecost when the disciples were sent out. And from Paul’s many letters, we know that he continued to bless and serve others in many cities. Now, we are looking at where God has placed us, and how we can use the gifts and talents of the people at Mt. Calvary to serve this area. I am excited for this weekend, and I pray you are also. Even if you can’t be here on Sunday, you will continue to hear about our exciting next steps to be extraordinary servants to our community.