Vision Renewal Update
Dear church,
We look forward to worshiping and gathering this Sunday, October 27 to seek the Lord’s face together in a congregational meeting as He leads our church. To help prepare ourselves, we wanted to send you a summary of the work that your elders have done so far.
Let’s begin with a brief timeline.
November 2023 – July 2024
The elders begin gathering to read, pray, and talk about our identity and vision as an urban church. Tim Keller’s Center Church provides guidance.
July 2024 – Ongoing
We retain Dwayne Cline of Cline Consulting to assist our vision review & renewal process.
August 27, 2024
Historical Scan Exercise: fifteen of our longest-standing members meet to recall and share the most memorable milestones, accomplishments, and impactful events in the life of New City.
September 13-14, 2024
The elders and pastoral staff gather for a mini-retreat to review the history of New City, rejoice in the good things God has done, prayerfully discern the Lord’s will over the next 3-5 years, and identify the obstacles we foresee.
October 2 and 16, 2024
The Session meets for strategic planning and follow-up discussions.
The Lord has been kind to grant us meaningful, honest, gracious, and fruitful discussions so far, and we would now love to hear from you, the whole church. In preparation for this Sunday’s congregational meeting, here is a summary of the thoughts and beliefs that have surfaced throughout our times of prayer and discussion.
What do we believe God wants to accomplish through New City over the next 3-5 years?
We believe God wants us to be/have …
Fruitful Mission
We have grown over the last sixteen years, but much of it has been through transfer growth. We long to see much greater rates of conversion growth through intentional evangelistic training and efforts.
A Clear Discipleship Path
We want to more effectively implement a clear, robust discipleship model that promotes healthy maturation and leadership development.
Impactful Community Engagement
We long for greater relevance and engagement with our immediate neighbourhood, more effective use of our physical space, and strategic partnerships that enhance our gospel witness.
Deep Spiritual Community
We believe God is calling us to develop a culture of deep spiritual community and gospel-centered hospitality beyond superficial interactions with one another.
A Stable and Sacrificial Core
Over the last two years, we have had the painful privilege of sending off no fewer than 15 households to new church plants, missions, or new ministry calls. The Lord needs to replenish a stable, generous, sacrificially giving and serving membership core over the next couple of years.
So, what is blocking us from achieving the vision to which God has called us? What obstacles need to be overcome?
The barriers/obstacles we face include …
Resource Constraints
We feel the financial constraints of our current giving capacity, personnel constraints given our current size, architectural constraints of our building, and occupancy constraints.
Cultural Pressures
We are a fatigued people who feel pressured to live busy, Instagram-worthy, “authentic” lives. This can result in lives lacking in joy, awe, and wonder, and a culture of sleepy Christianity.
Lack of Stability
Many households are moving away from the city; many people lack deep roots in their community; our membership is scattered widely; and certain age groups (e.g., age 50+) are underrepresented.
Missional Inhibition
Many of us feel uncomfortable rubbing shoulders and sharing their faith with the broader community. Linguistic, social, and cultural barriers sometimes feel daunting.
Understanding Ourselves
Are we being called to focus the bulk of our energies ministering to the Downtown Core or should we focus on equipping and sending people out to serve their own spheres where they live and work? Historically, we have been the latter, but the elders feel increasingly drawn to the former. Yet, we are still struggling to get a good grasp on the identity of our surrounding community, which makes it difficult to develop an effective outreach strategy. We are committed to staying on Rebecca St and increasing our presence and impact in the Core, but we need the Lord’s leading and wisdom as to how we should proceed.
This Sunday, immediately after the service, we will share this information in greater detail. After the presentation, we will head down to the gym, where we will enjoy a potluck lunch as a church. Children will be served first, so that they could eat and head to childcare. Dwayne Cline will then lead us in an exercise in which you will be asked to share your thoughts about what you heard and the ways that God is leading us as a church. We expect to wrap up between 1:30 and 1:45 PM.
Friends, we are both excited and humbled about how the Lord is leading our church. And we need your prayerful engagement as we walk together towards God’s plan for New City. We ask that you pray deeply, engage thoughtfully, and commit yourself wholeheartedly to the Lord’s gospel cause.
We love you, Church!
Moses, on behalf of the New City Session
