KevinChilds.com

Yesterday I said that goals are biblical.  Goals are easier for me to articulate than vision.  Maybe that is a valid insight;  Maybe its just a flaw in me. I took a minute yesterday to clarify our vision by stating what it is NOT:

• Our vision is NOT to prove we can be the trendiest, coolest church in town.
• Our vision is not to pick some cool, successful church and copy what they do.  (Although we are not above shamelessly stealing anybody else’s good idea)
• Our vision is not to try to please the people with the most money, or influence, or criticisms, or who will leave if we don’t pander to them.
• Our vision is not to become a nice church in a nice building with a  nice staff  promoting nice church programs that can make nice church people nicer.
• Our vision is not to siphon away good people from good churches and then brag about “growing” when all we did was enter the church free agent draft.  (Although a church draft & trade might be a cool thing if you think about it: “I’ll trade you a soloist and nursery worker for 2 tithers to be named later”)

I put some of my ROCK goals on display.   They aren’t just my ideas.   I believe they are for the whole faith community that calls itself The ROCK.  Here they are:

• Our dream is to become that church where screwed-up, spiritually messed-up people can come get loved.  And come get transformed into missionaries.
• Our dream is to build an attendance of at least 2000 every Sunday.  And when we get there, we’ll figure out what to do next.
• Our dream is to baptize at least 25% of our attendance every year.
• Our dream is to draw a circle at least ten miles in every direction around where we meet on Sunday.  And find a way to tell everybody in that circle about Jesus, and about our church.
• Our dream is to so influence the people in that circle so that they in turn make an eternal impact on our nation, and on the whole world.
• Our dream is to build a state-of-the-art campus and facility that will serve as a bridge and a blessing to the whole community.

I am committing my life to those.  I thank God for people (maybe you?) who are working hard to make the above dreams become reality. This is going to be a bumpy, curvy, dangerously fun ride.