Today let’s look at Milestone One Back in September 2010 we came to our first milestone at our AGM/Vision Night where we affirmed the purpose of the church (why we exist) in the form of a “Mission statement”. Gaining inspiration from historic and biblical sources like: the “foundation stone” outside the old entrance to the church; the plaque in the old foyer for Douglas E. Gabbie, “A worthy helper in the building of this church”; and the Biblical understanding that we are to be “salt and light” to the world, we affirmed our Mission statement as:
Hawera Baptist Church exists to: Honour God; Build the Kingdom of God; Connect with our community
This is often simply expressed as:
honour | build | connect
This Mission statement is very much in keeping with our identity as a church, and expresses both the historic, and the current thinking around why we exist. In a sense, this is the first lens for us when looking at what we should get involved in as a community of faith: Does this honour God? Does this build the Kingdom of God? Does this help us to connect with our community? Good questions for us to ask!
Next week we will look at our second milestone. Can you work out what it will be? Then I’ll look at “What’s next?” on the 29th January.
Rich blessings, Pastor David Auty