Proposed Vision, Mission and Values Statements for the First Baptist Church of Warren, Ohio 44483
Proposed Vision, Mission and Values Statements
(As of May 7, 2006)
Vision Statement
We will be the community of disciples of Jesus Christ who invite, equip and empower others to be His disciples. (Matthew 28:18 – 20)
Mission Statement
We will be the community of disciples of Jesus Christ by engaging in the following activities together:
+ Celebrating in joyful worship the work that God has done, is doing and will do through the proclamation of the Word and participation at the Table
+ Engaging in personal and corporate Spiritual Formation, intending to become like Christ alongside other disciples in order to produce the fruit of the Kingdom that is at hand, in daily life
+ Proclaiming the message of salvation in Jesus Christ to the Mahoning Valley and beyond
+ Baptizing believers into the Body of Christ who intend to continue to grow in Him
+ Serving together to provide for the needs of the poor and needy in our community
+ Spending time together in fellowship through common meals and informal interactions as Brothers and Sisters in Christ
+ Praying together for God’s guidance and to engage in the ministry of Christ together
We will invite, equip and empower others to be Jesus’ disciples by:
+ Clearly communicating our faith in, and discipleship to, Jesus Christ in the language of our community through the use of the media and modes of communication available and familiar to us in the 21st century
+ Maintaining missional proximity to those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ
+ Maintaining lifestyles that genuinely live out the character of Christ
+ Engaging in personal and corporate hospitality to welcome outsiders of all sorts
+ Training ourselves as disciples to do the life and work of Jesus Christ so that we are able to teach others to do the same
+ Doing away with human-made boundaries that keep people from Christ
+Promoting justice in our community
+ Genuinely loving our neighbors as ourselves as we engage in loving God with our whole being
Values Statement
As disciples, we value the following things as a basic part of our character in Christ Jesus:
+ The Supremacy of Christ in all things [Colossians 1:18]
+ The Scriptures as our measuring stick for faith and practice
+ Discipleship: intentionally being and becoming like Jesus Christ in all aspects of life
+ Spiritual Formation: the process in which we put off the old self and put on Christ
+ The Great Commandment to love God with our whole being and love our neighbor as ourselves
+ Personal and corporate Prayer
+ History: for how the past can inform the present and the future
+ Mission as the bridge to our community
+ The Mahoning Valley as our Mission Field
+ The unity of the body of believers under the one head, Jesus Christ
+ Hospitality to ALL strangers
+ The Work of Christ through Baptism and the Table
+ Outreach beyond our building with the message of Christ
+ Children’s weekly participation in Worship and Spiritual Formation
+ Christlike humility, kindness and patience to all
+ Dethronement of personal and corporate idols
+ The Fruit of the Spirit
+ The Gifts of the Spirit
+ Relationships founded in Christ based on trust
+ The Miraculous Work of God in our midst
+ Firstfruits giving of time, talent and material resources to God
+ Historical Christianity
The Vision Group is:
Pastor Matthew M. Thomas
Robin Moon
Jeana Palmer
Andy Rodgers
Tim Scott
Tim Yova
I really like the vision statement! It’s short, to the point, and right out of scripture. The mission statement also does a great job of describing the actions that must be taken to accomplish the vision.
Could I suggest something we are currently doing? We are putting all this kind of material in a little brochure we can give to each congregant to keep in their Bible for reference as they pray and study. We can also give it to newcomers so they can see what we are about. It can also be used as the foundational teaching in a newcomer’s class or “pastor’s class” for young people. This fall Pastor Randy is going to preach on each of our 10 core beliefs, one each Sunday, so that everyone has a chance to hear clear teaching on each belief. I’m really looking forward to it. By the way, we gathered much of our material from the Renovare sight.
[...] s into place. Praise God for this significant development. I first posted the statements a few weeks [...]