The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD weighs the motives. Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established. The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:1-4,9
As we read through scripture there is a repeated word that appears in relation to God’s direction of those He chooses to use. The word is “vision”. In the Old Testament we read of God’s guiding prophets and kings through visions.
In our day, we seem a bit skeptical when someone says they had a vision. The term seems to imply a Technicolor dream complete with music and sound effects including deep voices and thunder. Yet, scripture tells us in Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. (NASB) The Message interpretation of this verse is right on! It reads; If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed. (MSG) We have all experienced that before.
At North Side, staff and leaders are beginning to look at the church year approaching and considering what the focus of our church will be and how we will carry it out. While calendaring and programming is important, there is something that must occur prior to such plans...a vision. It is not all that difficult to maintain programs and fill scheduled time slots with activities. An abundance of various Bible studies and topical studies are available for that. The real key is doing things that are relevant to meeting the needs of people in the church and community. To accomplish that we must view people with the eyes of Christ and see what He sees.
Matthew tells us how Christ saw things. Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:35-38)
As our staff looks over our church field, the needs are considered from a variety of perspectives. Needs must be considered for preschoolers, grade school children, Jr. High students, High School students, young adults, singles, young married couples, median adults, senior adults, widows and widowers, music, evangelism, prayer, discipleship, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, missions, pastoral care, worship...and the list goes on. For all of these there must be a vision before there is a relevant program to meet their needs.
So here we are facing a new church year and the challenge of our Mission Statement:
- • Through Worship, we will praise God’s greatness!
- • Through Education, we will prepare God’s people!
- • Through Evangelism and Missions, we will proclaim God’s message!
- • Through Ministry and Fellowship, we will prove God’s love!
Pray for our staff, teachers and ministry leaders. This is a critical time.
Scripture to Claim:
Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3
