 Revisiting the Vision: Progress, Growth, and Ongoing ChangeANNIVERSARY ARTICLES
This series of articles from Spring 2009 provide updates in anticipation of the two-year anniversary of The VISION.
VIDEO
These video segments are from The VISION presentation on May 6, 2007.
MINISTRY CENTER MODEL
(Click to Enlarge) Chicago Church of Christ Vision StatementWe envision generations of authentic disciples—intent on loving God and embracing the cross, surrendered to Jesus, committed to His mission, determined to discover their God-given gifts to serve His kingdom and advance the Gospel—who accept his call to go anywhere, do anything, give up everything, and become whatever God bids us to be. We envision dynamic cross-cultural Ministry Centers, regional ministries within 30 minutes of every soul in Chicagoland, staffed with an evangelist to preach the Word, an elder to shepherd our members, a teacher to fortify our convictions, a Youth and Family minister to inspire Christ-likeness in our homes, deacons to minister, and a worship leader to guide us to new heights in our congregational and individual worship. We envision House Churches in every neighborhood, town, or village, along with Task Groups for specialized ministry needs, with each disciple steadfastly committed to the 'One Another Way' and connected through healthy discipling relationships. We envision training future elders, evangelists, teachers, campus ministers, youth and family ministers, deacons and worship leaders, providing expert initial and ongoing teaching and preparing teams to begin new congregations throughout the state of Illinois and beyond. We envision serving the Ukrainian and Moldovan Churches by helping them to reproduce for their harvest field these same parameters for health and growth. Our Vision Statement, issued in May of 2007, has given us focus and direction as we expend our energies toward building the kind of Church envisioned by Jesus and aptly described by Paul in Ephesians 4.11-16:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some
to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the
body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be
infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there
by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in
their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will
in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From
him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its
work.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)
We believe that we have made significant strides toward realizing our vision in the past year and one-half as we have focused on building the full-time and volunteer staff in each of our ministry centers. Ministry Center Leaders have been established, additional Elders have been appointed, and Teachers, Youth and Family Ministers, and Worship Leaders have been identified and are being trained to minister in their respective areas. We believe that all of these roles, along with others, are crucial as we strive to take things higher in every area of the ministry here in Chicago. Below is a series of articles that highlights the progress we have seen in these areas: in our ministries of Worship, Youth and Family, Elder development, teacher training, and overall leadership development. In addition, we want to take an honest look at areas in which we still need focus and growth. Ephesians 4:16 is a clarion call to each member of the Chicago church: the body only grows and builds itself up as each part does its work. We call on each and every member of our church family to seek the Lord with all of your heart, to seek ways to use your gifts in His service, to seek ongoing discipling in your own life, and to seek and save the lost in our desperate and dying world. Dave Eastman |
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