Our Vision

As we've continued to pray toward a name for our church fellowship, some things have solidified in my mind regarding our vision as a church. Currently our vision statement is "Reconciling sinners to God...people to each other...and the world to King Jesus." This is a summarization of the biblical theology book on the church called Ephesians.

In recent days, however, a byline has formed in my heart for our church, and I wanted to share that briefly.

Church in the Boro: In pursuit of the humility, simplicity, clarity, liberty, charity, and unity of the gospel of Christ.

Pursuing humility is clear enough to us all. We want to pursue that reflection of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-29 where Jesus tells us that He is meek and lowly in heart, welcoming all those who are weary and heavy-laden. If this is who Jesus was, and if the church is Jesus' body on earth, then the church is to be this reflection of Jesus character of a welcoming humility.
Pursuing simplicity is a byproduct of pursuing humility. Humble in essence means simple. You can't get much more simple than poverty, and Jesus tells us we're happiest when we're poor in spirit. Keeping it simple means pursuing the main thing, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ preached through the humility we're pursuing. We are people who have been humbled by something simple, yet profound: God's work for us undeserving sinners. At Church in the Boro part of our mission is to foster a poverty in Spirit that Jesus said is necessary to walk with Him, and that's found in nothing else but the gospel.

Pursuing clarity is a byproduct of simplicity. When things are simple, they are clear, easy to understand, easy to grab hold of. The gospel is not rocket-science. Praise God for that. Keeping the gospel simple - with no "Jesus Plus" stuff - means people see it with clarity. There's one thing we present to the lost and it's not our distinctives and opinions. It's Christ, Him crucified, buried, risen, and coming again. At Church in the Boro part of our mission is to enable people to see the main thing, and to see it very clearly: the gospel, and nothing else.

Pursuing liberty is a result of pursuing clarity. The issues are simple when the vision is clear. It's about the gospel of liberty. Those who have been set free by Jesus are free indeed. We are free from sin. Free from its power. Free from its consequences. From its master, Satan. This freedom enables believers to live in victory over sin and over its master. The grace of God brings liberty to people formerly enslaved by their lusts, desires, habits, and lifestyles. At Church in the Boro part of our mission is to help people walk in the full liberty of the gospel that rightfully belongs to them now as a slave of King Jesus.

Furthermore, pursuing liberty leads to pursuing charity. A soul that's been rescued by God is a soul in love with God. When the love of God fills the soul of man, it can't help but spill over to everyone else around. So even though believers are free in Jesus, they do not use their liberty as a license to sin against God or against one another. They are loving towards God and charitable towards one another at all times. At Church in the Boro part of our mission is to help Christians walk in the gentleness, kindness, patience, forbearance, and charity of the gospel.

Finally, pursuing unity is a byproduct of humility, simplicity, and clarity. When we are humble, we can be at one with each other. When our aim is simple, we can be unified in pursuing that aim. When there is clarity on who we are and what we are about, we can be a team in getting things done. And this is what our Lord prays for this very minute: that we would all be one with each other, just like God and Jesus are one, so that the world would come to believe in Jesus Christ. At Church in the Boro, part of our mission is to preserve an equal-opportunity gospel that is impartial toward denominations, backgrounds, race, language, or skin-color. Jesus died to make His people one. And He prays for it now. This is our obligation, our pursuit as members of His community, the church.

Humility...simplicity...clarity...liberty...charity...unity. These are the things we stand for, labor for, live for, and die for. And they are all wrapped up and consummated in the death, burial, resurrection, and second coming of Jesus Christ.