This church exists to accomplish the mission of God
Dear First Pres SLO Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus the Deliverer, the one who came and taught us how to live and give sacrificially.
I’m using this week’s space to give you an update on an important part of our work. Many of you participated in the Mission Study process by reflecting on the past and present of First Pres and completing the questionnaire. A smaller group of you worked to compile the responses and edit them into a report (that report is attached below). Assembling a Mission Study Report (MSR) is an essential part of pastoral transitions in our Presbyterian tradition. A Mission Study is designed to get a sense of where a church has been, what its struggles in the present might be, and how the congregation envisions the future (or futures) of the church.
Mission studies take a lot of work, and last year your session voted unanimously to get maximum value and use from that effort in two ways. First, each committee is tasked with using the MSR as a guide for developing plans and programs. Second, we’ll use the reflections and conclusions of the MSR to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of our ministries and programs as we go. We believe that this is an important and meaningful way to make the most and best use of the MSR.
The Book of Proverbs is a part of the Wisdom Literature of the Bible. Wisdom Literature is meant to offer practical advice for living within the boundaries of the covenants God made with his people. Proverbs 19:21 says this:
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
We could spend years with everyone going off in their own direction, each person thinking that they have the best ideas and plans for the church. Maybe that’s a temptation in all churches from time to time. Coming together in the Mission Study process is meant to create a hedge against that kind of behavior—that sort of directionless meandering that keeps the church from getting anywhere. Because this church isn’t about any person or group—it’s not just about what the pastor wants, or what the longest serving members want, or even what the biggest givers want.
This church exists to accomplish the mission of God—to worship and serve in a way that extends the grace and mercy and blessing of God to every single person and nation on earth.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
In the Mission Study we asked each of you to prayerfully consider the questions and prompts, and to write partly from your own experience and wisdom, but also from where you think God might be leading us in the next phase of this church’s history. In the end it’s the Lord’s purpose that we hope will prevail. It’s the Lord’s purpose we want to participate in and accomplish.
And so I invite you to read this document again (or maybe for the first time). Listen to what your brothers and sisters have identified as the priorities and goals for this church. Pray again that God will show all of us how to be a blessing to each other, and also to the ends of the earth.
Blessings to you,
Pastor John