VISION AND PURPOSE

The ideas of Vision and Purpose have been rolling around in my noggin as of late. I am reading Andy Stanley’s book called “Making VISION Stick” and recently a friend of mine also posted a blog entry about Vision and Purpose that got me to thinking even more on this subject. So.., what is the Purpose of us going to the Lehigh Valley and what is the Vision we have?


#1 – Purpose – First off, we are called there – period. Meaning that through a variety of methods and ways, God has led our hearts and minds to be there for His peeps!

The primary purpose however, is to start and launch (no catapult) a community of faith into the very fabric and culture of the Lehigh Valley. Not just a church that is in the community, but a church that is part of and woven into the culture and community where we are located. Additionally, it is our desire, purpose, and even our vision to be a church for folks who do not like church or who have left the church a long time ago because they got burned or wronged in some form or fashion, and to reach those who are far from God in general.

#2 – Vision – Our team has this vision in our minds heart about the impact that God will have on the lives that are changed because of His presence through us in the community. We also envision that those changed lives will have an impact on their community, their country, and the world! Hence the name – Legacy and the tag line – “Changed Lives – Changing the World”. That is the big picture vision.

However, the nuts and bolts of what that means, and what changes will be made specifically in folk’s lives is not quite clear yet. Andy Stanley talks a bit about Nehemiah in this great little book, and if you read the story of Nehemiah, you will see that it was not until he saw the wall and city of Jerusalem that he knew what the need was. What Andy shows us in the chapter titled “Casting the Vision Convincingly”, is that once Nehemiah got a firm grasp of the situation he was able to lay out a vision for his people by - #1- Defining the Problem; #2 – Developing a Solution; and #3 – Sharing and convincing the people on - Why do it now?

A good part of our Vision for Legacy and the Valley is driven by our purpose. Until we become part of and understand the culture context of the community in the Lehigh Valley, we cannot necessarily identify the specific needs. Once there, we can then narrow the scope of the vision to specific need/problem solving, solution finding, and doing it now in order to accomplish the bigger Vision and Purpose. Make sense? I hope so..., if not, drop me a line!

Out of this discussion comes a prayer request – Please pray that God opens our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to the needs of the Lehigh Valley to better serve His children for His Glory!

Until the next time – Catch snowflakes on your tongue!
p.s. Stay away from the yellow ones! :-) (ya know acid rain and all…!)