Why Do We Need a Vision?
- Our Identity – Our Congregational Calling
- Specific to our gifts, make-up, and community
- A destination – requiring change and movement forward
- Definition: “a clear mental image of a preferable
future imparted by God to his chosen servants and is
based upon an accurate understanding of God, self,
and circumstances.”
George Barna
Vision & Mission
Vision – our God-given dream of what God is
calling us to become – our unique identity
Mission – how we are going to get from here
to there – worship, discipleship, outreach,
fellowship – common to Biblical churches
Benefits of a Communicated Vision
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It Inspires
It Attracts
It Filters
It Prepares for Change
It Provides Continuity
Oakwood’s Mission Statement
Church Planning Document – February 2011
“By the grace of God in Jesus Christ,
Oakwood exists to glorify God,
exalting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
through Biblical worship, discipleship,
outreach, and fellowship ministries.”
Like most mission statements, this could describe any
and every true church.
What is Oakwood’s Identity?
Church Planning Document – February 2011
Convictions
• High view of God’s Word
and Preaching
• Grace-orientation (Gospelcentered)
• Reformed Theology / World
& Life View
• Unity in Diversity – Pietists,
Doctrinalists, & Culturalists
• Passion for Holiness
• Sending Out Disciples
Values
• Prayer
• Christian Education
• Holiness – Fellowship,
Accountability
• Small Groups
• Evangelism – Word & Deed
• Administration
• Leadership Development
Trees - A Biblical Theme
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on His law
he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Psalm 1:1-4
Growing Roots, Bearing Fruit
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:5-8
A Kingdom Like a Tree
“I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and
its height was great…Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit
abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the
field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens
lived in its branches…”
Daniel 4:10-12
“Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful
branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top
among the clouds. The waters nourished it; the deep
made it grow tall… All the birds of the heavens made
their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts
of the field gave birth to their young, and under its
shadow lived all great nations.”
Ezekiel 31:3-6
[Jesus] put another parable
before them, saying, “The
kingdom of heaven is like a
grain of mustard seed that a
man took and sowed in his
field. It is the smallest of all
seeds, but when it has grown
it is larger than all the garden
plants and becomes a tree, so
that the birds of the air come
and make nests in its
branches.”
Matthew 13:31,32
“ I am the vine; you are the
branches. Whoever abides in
Me and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit, for apart
from Me you can do
nothing… If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it
will be done for you. By this
My Father is glorified, that you
bear much fruit and so prove
to be My disciples.”
John 15:4-8
Trellis or Vine?
“…structures don’t grow ministries any
more than trellises grow vines…most
churches need to make a conscious shift –
away from erecting and maintaining
structures, and towards growing people
who are disciple-making disciples of
Christ.”
“Thus the goal of Christian ministry is quite
simple, and in a sense measureable: are
we making and nurturing genuine disciples
of Christ?...our goal is to grow the vine, not
the trellis.”
Marshall and Payne,
The Trellis and the Vine
Bearing Fruit
“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit,
but the diseased tree bears bad
fruit… Thus you will recognize them by
their fruits.”
Matthew 7:17-19
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22,23
Through him then let us continually offer
up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that acknowledge His
name.
Hebrews 13:15
Meaning in the Metaphor
• Planted by the Lord
• Well-Rooted
• Well-Watered
• God’s Sovereign Grace
• Biblical Doctrine
• Preaching, Teaching
– Health and Growth
– Strength, Perseverance
• Abundant, Consistent
Fruit
• Beauty
• Shelter and Food for
Birds and Beasts
• Holiness, Evangelism,
Service, Worship
• Holiness
• Missions, Blessing to
the Nations
Oaks of Righteousness
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
A Passage for Oakwood
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
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Gospel-centered
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
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Evangelism & Mercy
Ministry
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
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Preaching, Doctrine
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Fellowship,
Accountability,
Bearing One
Another’s Burdens
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
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Worship
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
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Holiness, Unity,
Worship
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,