A Word on Vision

When I was a kid, our go-to family vacation was typically a road trip somewhere, camping along the way. We went to the West Coast, Yellowstone National Park, Montana, Wyoming, and all kinds of places along the way. Believe it or not, we didn’t own a GPS. My dad would go on Google Maps, set the course for our road trip and then print out the directions; that’s all he needed. A stack of papers with the sequence of exits he needed to take. Looking back on it as someone who is pretty reliant on a GPS when travelling somewhere I’ve never been, it is remarkable to me that we got to where we wanted to go. However, you get them, directions are important if you are going to stay on track with where you want to go. 

This is why we are introducing a new Vision Statement for FBC at this year’s annual meeting. As a leadership team, we prayerfully consider what God is calling us to do and to be and put it in writing. Let me summarize it for you:

VISION STATEMENT: “To glorify Christ by making and maturing disciples from all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).”

CORE VALUES: Christ-Centred | Bible-Based | Disciple-Making | For All Nations

I’m sure these principles are not new to you, but let me explain why we believe this vision is so important. Ephesians 4 talks about the unity of the body of Christ. Paul says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:4-6).” He clearly speaks to the unity we have in Christ. Later, he speaks to the common goal of our service, which is mutual edification and maturity. 

This reminder of our unity is helpful to us and demonstrates why our church needs a central vision statement to rally around. We have a common goal or destination. We are unified in Christ and therefore are unified in serving Him. Everything we do needs to be in line with our common goal. When we would go on these family road trips, I didn’t necessarily know how to get to the destination, and if it were up to me, we would’ve headed to Disneyland every year. But my dad knew the benefit of taking us to various places (which were all amazing), and most importantly, I trusted him. He knew how to get us there and how to get us home. He set the vision for our trip, and that stack of coffee-stained, wrinkled Google Maps pages kept us on track as we toured across Canada and the United States, seeing amazing things along the way. If my dad didn’t have them, he may have been able to get us to where we were going, but with them, we had confidence we would reach our destination. 

As a leadership team, we believe God has called us in this time and place to make and mature disciples from all nations. Everything we do must serve that common goal. Our church has existed for over 90 years, striving to do just that. We aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel or ourselves. Our heart is that this vision statement respects the legacy of First Baptist and builds on it as we await the return of our Lord. 

I am excited for the future of our church. I thank God for everyone who calls First Baptist their church home.  We are looking forward to what the Lord will do in and through our church in the coming days, months, and years. Our prayer is that this vision is something we all embrace and strive to accomplish wherever we serve. Each of us has a part to play as we work for the glory of God’s Kingdom! Soli Deo Gloria! 

 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith...(Heb. 12:1-2a).”