At our church, we end the service the same way every week. We end it by reciting together a benediction penned by Rev. Richard Halverson, former chaplain of the United States Congress:

Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who indwells you has something He wants to do through you, where you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

These words are so meaningful for us and so powerful, because they speak to our need for significance. We all want our lives to count for something — our work, our families, our play; everything should have some significance. We also want our lives to make a difference.

As we say this benediction, we are affirming that our lives really matter. God is present with us and at work in us throughout the week, and not just on Sunday morning. As we live in a world that is increasingly fractured, it is through living our life in God that everything hangs together.

This is exactly what God wants for us — to live lives that are full and meaningful, where we have a sense that he is with us and is working in us and through us. He has a purpose for each of us, and that doesn’t end when you leave church, it begins there.

Don’t you want to discover what God wants to do in and through your life?

Church was meant to be a place where that happened.

A New Testament Church

The church as depicted in the Bible is this living, thriving organism where life is multiplying. The dominant image used in the Bible to help us understand what the church is supposed to be is a body. In the book 1 Corinthians it says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.” This image of the church shows us that true life flows from Christ in and through each one of us.

It also teaches that each person is an important part of God’s community. God has made each one unique, and therefore, every person has unique gifts to offer to everyone else. Although different, everyone has the same worth and is equally important. The New Testament knows of no distinction between “clergy” and “laity,” between those who somehow are more important than everyone else. There are simply different roles, different skills, and different gifts but everyone is a minister because everyone serves. Each person offers what they have for the common good. This is how it is stated in 1 Corinthians.

6 There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.

Each one has been given gifts for the common good. (1 Cor. 12:7) When we use those gifts, we participate with God in his mission to save the world. What greater honor could there be?!

This congregation is dedicated to that vision. Imagine a church where each one realizes that God wants to use him or her, where people are discovering their gifts and letting God use their passions for his glory, where people are finding meaning and significance in their lives as they never have before. And the world is a better place for it.

The vision is for our church is one that helps people discover God, who is present and active in their lives, the God who wants to work through them in the lives of others. It is a church that equips them to discover their purpose in God, giving them the training, the skills and the opportunities to do what God is calling them to do.

Can you imagine the impact a church like that could have? A church where each person was contributing their own unique gifts and abilities, all for the common good? That would be a powerful force! A church like that could change their community!

We are committed to that vision. We are committed to: Empowering People to Serve Christ.

If you would like to be a part of a church like that, we invite you to join us in pursuit of that vision.