Freshwater Vision Culture: Purpose

Part 3 of 6

This blog is the third entry in a series of blogs focused on clarifying the vision culture at Freshwater. Over the next few weeks my goal is to bring absolute clarity to: who Freshwater is, why we exist, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. If you need to catch up, go back and read the last several blogs with similar titles.

Freshwater’s vision culture stems from seven different sources that are aligned to support the goal of making disciples. This culture can be taught and caught by everyone at Freshwater from the first time guest to the seasoned staff member. The seven sources stem from the following questions:

1. Who are we? (First level) This question examines Freshwater’s core-beliefs

2. Who are we? (Second level) This question examines our core values.

3. Why does Freshwater exist? This is a question of purpose.

4. What will we do? This is a question of mission.

5. What does it look like? This is a question of vision.

6. How will we do it? Strategies are the practical plans for making it happen.

7. Where/when are we going? This is a question of goals.

Think of it as a seven-layer pyramid with our goals on top and our core-beliefs at the bottom anchoring everything we do. Today I am discussing question number three in order to give you a better idea of Freshwater’s purpose.

Why does Freshwater exist? This is a question of purpose. 

The answer to this question is found in Freshwater’s purpose statement.  If you don’t know it, here is what it says, “Freshwater exists to reach help REACH non-believing individuals to CONNECT them with other Christians to help them to GROW in their faith and to challenge the growing to DISCOVER their ministry and HONOR God with their life.”

Our Board of Elders is continually filtering everything we do through our purpose statement, so that we can stay focused on fulfilling Jesus great commission and not get sidetracked.  According to Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church, having a clear purpose helps a church do the following three things:

1. A clear purpose builds morale.

Morale and mission always go together. People working together for a great purpose don’t have time to argue over trivial issues. I believe that if you are helping row the boat you won’t have time to rock it.

1.  A clear purpose attracts cooperation.

People want to be a part of a church that knows where it is going. Freshwater knows where we are going. We are committed to helping families reconcile, helping people to get off drugs and alcohol, feeding the poor and clothing the homeless. We are also committed to helping people grow in their faith every step of the way from beginning a relationship with Christ to living a Christ centered life.

1.  A clear purpose assists evaluation.

By clearly stating our purpose we can use it to evaluate how we are doing. We constantly ask questions like: Are we reaching people for Christ? Are we connecting people? Are we helping people grow in their faith? Are we helping people discover their gifts? Are we showing people how to honor God with their life?

I’ve shown you what the purpose statement means for Freshwater as a church, but what about each individual?  What does this purpose statement mean for you specifically?

REACH: Who am I trying to reach for Christ?

At any given time you and I should be praying for our friends and family that don’t have a personal relationship with Christ. We need to reach them with the Gospel.  We live in a day and age when people are more spiritual than ever, but they are also spiritually lost.  I talk to people all the time who are deeply spiritual but have no idea that Jesus Christ died for them on the cross and that He loves them and forgives them of their sins. You need to share the Gospel with them because they are hungry for it. Invite them to Freshwater and help them grow in their faith.

CONNECT: Who is my small group of believers?

Who are you connected to? Are you in a small group? Are you discipling anyone or being discipled? Get connected with people who want to grow in their faith just like you. These people will support and challenge you as your grow in your faith.

GROW: What am I doing to grow my faith?

Spiritual growth is an intentional process.  If you don’t intentionally grow your faith, you will develop spiritual atrophy. What have you done to take responsibility for your own spiritual growth?  Do you read the Bible? Are you in a small group? Are you discipling someone? These are the catalysts that will help you grow.  Don’t just be a consumer, be a catalyst yourself.

DISCOVER: Where is my place of service?

We are a volunteer organization and expect people to discover their gifts and then use them to help others. I am always amazed at the talented people who volunteer to make a difference in other people’s lives. When you serve others you are changed because you get to be the hands and feet of Christ. But this will never happen unless you figure out how God has gifted you and then you make the choice to use those gifts for the greater good.

HONOR: How does my life honor Christ?

This is what it all comes down to. Does your life honor Christ? Are you a good role model for other people to follow? Look at your own life. Hold the mirror up and ask yourself if you are honoring Christ with your life. If you want to make disciples then you need to be a disciple first.

At Freshwater we relentlessly pursue our purpose because it articulates why we exist. Next week we will discover our mission answering the question: What will we do? Until then……….