As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary, it is proper to spend some time in reflection on the good days of the past. We also need to look ahead, in anticipation of what the Lord still plans to do with His church. God says, "For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you … plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) The Apostle Paul said, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV) We don’t know how much time we actually have before the Lord returns for us. However, we do know that He expects us to be faithful until He comes. The work that He has given us is the privilege of evangelism. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Continued Growth

It would not be proper to concentrate on growth for the sake of numbers. We can not look at the Church the same way we consider business, depending on demographics, product development, financial projections, and marketing strategies. The church is not an organization, but an organism: a growing body (Colossians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). It is a spiritual family. And good families do tend to grow. In time, a small family becomes a large family. Young families spring from it, multiplying until it becomes a tribe.

There are several other factors that help us know that we should continue to grow. The Lord has given us a large campus, strategically located in the middle of a growing community of young families. There is a strong demand for the family-oriented ministries offered by our congregation. And most importantly, the task of sharing the Gospel is far from completed. The majority of the people in our area do not attend any church. In fact, if every existing congregation in our area had 1000 in Worship services, there would still be fewer people in church on any given Sunday morning than there are at.

Therefore, it is certain that The Lord still wants us to grow. Growth implies building, not just physical structures, but building of the ministries which will be necessary to effectively reach people and properly disciple them. We would like to suggest some of the possible ways we may grow during the next twenty years, or until the Lord returns for us. Luke 14:28 indicates that those who build should make plans and count the cost. It is clear that we should make plans, but, at the same time we should realize that The Lord Himself has the right to determine what He wants to do with us. James 4:14-15 says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow…Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.’"(NIV)

A Plan for Evangelism and Discipleship

The first thing we must do is strengthen the spiritual family The Lord has given us. Looking at the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, we see various stages of spiritual development, from that of casual seeker for the truth to dedicated leadership of the church. One way of looking at this growth pattern is to identify levels of commitment. From our own study we see this as seven levels of growth:

Level 1 - Becoming an Inquirer/Seeker - Commitment to discover the truth about Christ Attend church or special events, open to Christianity

Level 2 - Becoming a Christian - Commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord Accept Christ, Born-Again, Baptized

Level 3 - Becoming a Disciple - Commitment to Learning about Christ Growth Group participant and/or Personal Discipleship, Attend classes

Level 4 - Becoming a Member - Commitment to the Church, the Body of Christ Biblical "Believer"(identified w/ church), Church member

Level 5 - Becoming a Minister - Commitment to Serving Christ Teacher, assistant, participant in outreach, Board/committee member

Level 6 - Becoming a Leader - Commitment to Serving Others for Christ Growth Group Leader, Coaches, Church officer, Church Board member, Director of Ministry, Pastoral Staff

Level 7 - Becoming a Missionary - Commitment to a Vocation of Spreading the Gospel of Christ Foreign missionary, church planter, visionary

Every Christian should be encouraged to progress through these stages, at least to Level 5. Many should go on to Level 6, and some should even rise to Level 7, being sent out by our church as missionaries and church planters. We need to adopt specific, measurable steps of spiritual progress for each of these levels to help people identify where they are in the discipleship process. If this is done in the proper way, most people will be grateful for the progress that they see in their lives and will aspire to continued growth and spiritual development. In addition, we need to provide a variety of ways for each person to be trained and to gain experience so that he or she actually can progress to the next level. Some of these discipleship opportunities are in place, but others need to be implemented. We will plan a series of Open Forums from time to time to evaluate existing discipleship methods and to explore other ways of helping people make spiritual progress.

The rate of progress will vary from person to person. Ideally, a person could progress through the first three stages within a year. In the second year, with the proper assistance, a person could reach Level 5. In another year or two, one could reach Levels 6 or 7. We need to allow a great deal of latitude on the timing. Some will actually linger for a year or two on any Level, depending on what the Lord may be doing in their lives. The emphasis should not be on categorizing people by their level of development, but for each person to aspire to continual progress.

Twenty Years From Now

The changes that can take place in twenty years are almost beyond imagination. If the Lord continues to bless us for another twenty years, our potential is very great. We suggest the following ideas as a dream of what could happen, "if the Lord wills." To some it will seem too ambitious. To others it will seem too conservative. Only the Lord knows what He plans to do with us. It could be much more than we can envision since He has all power. Our responsibility is to trust Him fully and to be obedient to His leading.

Prayer

Prayer is, by far, the most important key to our future. We are experiencing great blessing and growth, but we are also threatened by serious spiritual attacks. We need to humble ourselves, pray, and seek the Lord’s face that revival may come to our church, our community, and our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) Prayer will continue to be emphasized as an essential part of our personal devotional life and a necessary corporate experience in our prayer meetings, growth groups and special times of prayer.

We must fortify the families of those who attend the church by offering excellent programs for children and youth, by teaching and modeling Biblical family ideals, and by supporting the special needs of young adults, singles, and seniors. We also need to continue the emphasis that the entire church is our extended spiritual family. To the extent that we accomplish this goal we will fulfill Christ’s "New Commandment" to love one another. (John 13:34-35) When others see this in practice they will be drawn to Christ.

Growth Groups

Growth Groups, including Care Circles, Ministry Teams, Recovery Groups, and Special Interest Groups, will continue to be a major emphasis. This will become even more important as the church continues to grow. These small units will serve as the "immediate family" for the purposes of prayer, fellowship, mutual encouragement, accountability and growth. Each person is encouraged to participate in one of these groups. Ministry Development

Please refer to the back page of the current "Parade of Ministries" booklet for a list of some of the possible future ministries we can expect to be developed during the next few years.

We will especially need to provide special ministries for the largely alienated young adults (baby busters), singles, and the growing percentage of retired folks. This will require specialized kinds of evangelism, worship services, and programs to meet their unique needs.

The church needs to minister to the needs of the community as well. Jesus Himself demonstrated the importance of meeting physical needs first, then addressing the spiritual issues. Our Christian schools have already been a wonderful example of this kind of service. We hope to expand to Jr. High and High School classes in the near future.

We might find ourselves involved in seniors housing, safe recreational facilities, outreach to the poor and needy, the gangs, and others who are enslaved by the crime and immorality of our times. Anything done in these areas must have a strong spiritual foundation and an evangelistic purpose.

Church Planting and Missionary Support

One of the most exciting and rewarding events a church family can experience is the planting of new churches. During a twenty year period, a church like ours can be expected to spawn a number of new congregations as we develop leadership and release it into nearby communities. New churches grow faster than older ones, thus increasing the over-all effectiveness of the total number of people involved.

As the church grows we can expect to develop and send many missionaries to places near and far, thus fulfilling our Lord’s expectations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Numerical Growth

It would not be surprising for our congregation to grow to two or three thousand or more during the next twenty years. This will not be a goal in itself, but it is well below the standards set by the early church, the present missions movement in third world countries ( some churches number in the hundreds of thousands), or even the growth pattern of other churches in areas like our own (Saddleback Community grew to 10,000 in just 15 years).

There are many advantages that a larger congregation experiences, including the ability to provide the special ministries mentioned above. The larger church can devote a larger percentage of its people and resources to missionary activity.

Multiple services will probably be required to accommodate the increased attendance and the special needs. People who normally attend a certain service will still feel at home with the people who also attend that hour. Participation in Growth Groups will insure that people do not lose the closeness they have developed.

Buildings and Property

We are dedicating two new modular buildings on Sept. 15, 1996, our 20th Anniversary. These will be used by the school primarily, but are also available for our growing Children’s Ministries.

In the near future we hope to start a multi-purpose/ gymnasium facility to enable a number of fellowship, athletic and school-related goals. There is a plan under consideration to pay for this structure as it is built. Other possibilities for the future development of this campus are development of a prayer summit area on the hill at the NW corner of the property, and improvement of the fields and parking areas for the secondary school.

As we grow, and the Lord provides, we would like to consider the purchase of adjacent or near-by housing areas for seniors and possibly for young adults, a mini-retreat area, and a recreational area, to be used for community outreach in the name of the Lord.

Eventually the secondary school would need to move to its own, larger campus. This would allow us to re-assign buildings for such ministries as a Bible School, media center, or whatever is needed at that time. The fields might be re-used to construct a large meeting building at some future time.

Involvement

In order for this vision to become a reality, each one of us needs to dedicate ourselves to involvement with what The Lord directs us to do. This will mean that we will present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and use us. (Ephesians 5:18). Let us increase our commitment to prayer and holy living. Let us keep growing through the seven levels of growth. Let us discover our gifts and ministries, and allow the Lord to continue building His church (Matthew 16:18), and to do great things through us during the next twenty years. This also happens to be the way to personal joy and fulfillment.