I know we’re several weeks removed now, but I want to say one more time that if you couldn’t make it to our Leadership Conference, then you really missed it!  It was unbelievable!

Anyway, I want to wrap up our comments on the Leadership Conference by giving you the highlights from our final session.  As we did with each of the other sessions, we introduced Session 4 with one last entertaining video.  (By the way, Matt pulls off a whiny Luke Skywalker exceptionally well!) 

Immediately after the introductory video, Pastor Jerry introduced the topic of the final session:  Mission Measures.  Mission measures are the attributes or characteristics of an individual’s life that define or reflect the achievement of the mission.  That’s sort of a technical way of saying that there are certain things that are obvious in people’s lives that let us know that they are living out the mission of the church.  

Anyway, this session was tag teamed by Pastor Jerry and Matt.  And the following are some of the main thoughts from this session. 

*We’ll know someone is living out the mission statement when they are… 

Celebrating God in Worship

In other words, we’ll know that the individual members in our church are living out the mission statement when they are expressing love to God on a daily basis.  We express love to God on a daily basis more specifically by”:  making every day of the week about our Heavenly Father and not just Sunday, participating in (not just attending) the worship service, and engaging other more obvious expressions of worship.

Helping Others Know Christ

We’ll know spiritual maturity is happening in people’s lives when they are understanding their responsibility to share the Gospel.  This is evident when people are inviting others to our worship services and special events, investing in relationships with those who don’t know Christ, and ultimately influencing them to choose Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Adopting Spiritual Practices

It’s also obvious that growth is taking place in someone’s life when they are participating regularly in habits that will draw them closer to Christ.  These practices include reading, reflecting on, and memorizing Scripture, talking and listening to God through prayer, confessing your sins to God and at least one other person, and other spiritual practices/disciplines.

Navigating Life with Biblical Wisdom

We believe that when people “get the mission statement”, they will begin applying biblical truth in their daily decision making.  This becomes apparent when people are looking to God as the source of wisdom, regularly asking, “What is the wise thing to do?”, and surrounding themselves with other wise people.

Giving Of Themselves and Their Resources

Another way of saying this is that we’ll know that the individual members in our church are living out the mission statement when they are refusing to be selfish with their time, talents, and treasure.  This is especially evident when someone is tithing on the first part of their income and not just giving what they have left over at the end of the month, as well as when they are bearing fruit and finding fulfillment through regular ministry

Experiencing Meaningful Community

We believe that every serious Christ follower will make connecting intimately with other Christians a priority in their lives.  We think that true community is obvious when accountability is happening on a consistent basis, people are on the giving and receiving ends of genuine care, and homes are open and meals are shared.