Looking Back and Moving Forward

Jesus established the purpose of the church in the Great Commission. Every facet of the church should ultimately participate in the assignment of proclaiming the gospel to the whole world and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

When the Rocky Mountain District Council of the Assemblies of God was established in 1921 our purpose was set forth in the Articles of Incorporation. A description of our purpose begins with the statement “The principles and objects of this organization shall be based on the ‘Bible as the inspired Word of the Living God’.” The following statement from that document says “The purpose of this organization shall be the propagation and dissemination of the Gospel of Christ …”. In abbreviation it goes on to say that we will do so by establishing a church organization to fulfill this purpose, by establishing the legal standing to hold property and channel funds to facilitate this purpose, by employing officers and representatives to promote this purpose, and by transacting business to carry out this purpose.

My vision for the district stems from the Great Commission and our original purpose for being. I see the district propagating the Gospel of Christ and making disciples by providing context, connection, and collaboration for effective ministry. CONTEXT is provided through our doctrine, credentialing for ministry, our educational institutions, our worldwide network of ministers and churches, and our history. CONNECTION is provided through our district wide network of ministers and churches. COLLABORATION is provided through our shared efforts in church planting and development, and our support mechanism for missionaries.

My goal is to maintain our viable context for ministry, encourage connections between our ministers, and facilitate collaboration in church development and multiplication. I believe it is important our ministers and their families are healthy, I believe our churches should be viable and growing, and I believe we should plant more new churches.

Personal health is promoted when we connect with healthy people. As a pastor I encouraged people to have at least one needy person in their lives they could minister to. (After one sermon in which I challenged our congregation to do so, one brother went around the foyer after the service offering himself as that needy person for someone to adopt) As pastors we have many needy persons in our lives and need to insure that we have an adequate support mechanism of healthy friends as well. Our network of pastors can provide that resource and includes in the package shared callings and experiences that can provide wisdom and encouragement at a meaningful level. I see us caring more for one another and reaching out to one another in the ministry. I know how easy it is to become isolated, and I encourage you to connect with ministers in your area for mutual encouragement and enrichment.

Healthy growing churches don’t just happen. They are the product of God’s providence, empowerment by the Holy Spirit, devotion to Christ, vision, wisdom, and hard work. We can help each other here also. Our friendships should be well rounded, but I encourage you to include a pastor of a church that has reached a level you want your church to reach. They can provide guidance that will help you move your church to a higher level. Forming a formal or informal mentoring or coaching relationship can be very helpful in the development of your ministry. Also, I envision strong churches partnering with struggling churches to bring them to strength. We have seen this happen in some cases already and I believe it is an effective pathway to church revitalization.

Two of the best things we did at Radiant Church in my years there was to plant Korean Glory Church (in the AG Korean District) and Restoration Church. Two other AG churches were started in Colorado Springs during my pastorate and I supported both. I have never regretted setting aside my fears that Radiant may end up smaller if I supported new churches in our area. In fact, Radiant grew larger as we formed new churches and kept a Kingdom mind set. These were some pastoral decisions I found to be essential to the expansion of the Kingdom of God and liberating to my own heart and ministry.

Starting new churches accelerates reaching the lost and is extremely important to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. I believe it is essential we resist the temptation to frame ministry within our existing ministries alone and champion the formation of new churches. New churches typically reach more unchurched people than established churches and are essential to fulfilling the Great Commission. I encourage every pastor to include in your vision participation in church planting. That may mean helping someone else start a church or it may mean starting another church out of your congregation (satellite or district affiliated).

It is an honor to be in partnership with you in the great cause of Jesus Christ. May God bless you personally and give you the greatest year of ministry ever in 2010.