Whether it is post-it notes, to-do lists, notifications on our digital devices, or even the old-school knotted handkerchief, many of us have our ways to remind us of what is important, what we need to do and where our priorities lie. Someone once said that vision is like the sign on the front of the bus showing us where we are heading. At QPBC we have found it helpful to have this kind of vision focus which gives us direction and coordinates our contributions, so we all pull in the same direction.
We launched our new vision earlier in the year but in the spirit of the knotted handkerchief, this Sunday is “Vision Sunday” which kicks off our autumn season with a reminder of what we are going after together. Over these next months, we will be encouraging one another to “get stuck in” as we work out what and where we can contribute to our vision.
So here is a reminder:
Why are we here?
We believe in the power of Jesus to transform people and places. Our desire is to see the inhabitants of our city and surroundings impacted and transformed through encounter with the living God.
What are we going after?
Our strategy is:
- To share lives that are saturated by ongoing encounter with God.
- To encourage spiritual, emotional, and relational growth in one another through the Word and Spirit of God. We believe we are to be a multicultural, socially diverse community for all ages.
- To reach out personally and corporately through the gateways of family, work, and community by discerning what the Spirit is doing as we engage with our neighbourhoods and networks to see God’s kingdom come. (our “frontlines”)
These are expressed in 3 priorities that anchor and guide all we do:
Encounter – Encourage – Engage
This means we aim to be a community of wholehearted followers of Jesus who are:
- Engaging in bold outreach
- Encountering God (Father Son and Spirit)
- Encouraging transformative relationships
- We will strengthen our resolve to be a Kingdom presence wherever we are as we seek the enabling of the Holy Spirit to reach people personally through the natural gateways of relationships in our workplaces, family, and friendships.
- We will make use of Alpha as a means for people to explore the meaning of faith in Jesus and come to a living encounter with him.
- We will respond to the needs and opportunities within our city with missional initiatives e.g.
- Life and Soul Counselling service
- Wellness café in Point
- The Park Run café
- Making use of “The Point”, our community mission hub
- We will seek to encourage and mobilise individuals and groups in response to social justice issues.
- We will intentionally seek and honour the presence of God by his Holy Spirit as we gather in worship and praise, open to his presence and power.
- We will give ourselves to persistent and expectant prayer. We will pray for people believing that God intervenes directly in our lives. We will pray for our community, city, and world, believing that the church is called to be at prayer where the world is in need.
- We will build interaction and engagement in our gatherings believing that we are a prophetic community into which God speaks.
- We will encourage one another to preach and speak with personal transparency and vulnerability and to respond with grace.
- We will make use of social media and video skills to support and extend mission and ministry
- We will continue to build a culture of growth and emotional health. We will seek to grow a culture of mutual feedback which calls out the best and challenges ungodly beliefs and behaviour. Through:
- Small groups
- Mentoring
- Leadership development
- Discipleship: Training & equipping
We believe that, whilst not neglecting ministry across all ages, there is a particular opportunity and challenge for us to prioritise prayer for, and outreach and discipleship amongst young people and young adults at this time.