It was wonderful to be able to celebrate New Life's first birthday on Sunday Sept. 21st, 2008! To remember how God gave us the vision of allowing Vista del Mar and Grace to die so that He could bring New Life to birth...How He confirmed it and now He has done it!  We have doubled our attendance and many do not even remember the original church families! And it is so amazing to grow together. I have learned so much in the past year and it has been such a privilege to walk this path with each of you. I have said it before and I will say it again:
I LOVE OUR CHURCH and I get excited for each and every weekend.

So God has fulfilled the first vision He gave us, so what is next? Sit back and enjoy...I don't think so.  For a while now, the leadership and I have been asking God for His dreams for New Life and I wanted to set out for you the new vision I believe He is giving us and give a summary of what I shared on anniversary Sunday.

"Vision" is when God reveals to us some of what He is doing so we can join in!

We are called to move from being church to doing church and as a result...

In the early chapters of Acts we see the embryonic Christian community becoming unavoidable because the way they were living was so different.  They learned everything they could about Jesus and they ensured that there was no need in their community.  They were known for their "togetherness" and they could not keep quiet about Jesus.  God is calling us to be known in our community for similar reasons...

Become a church that is known in Pacifica
Acts 2:47

• A commitment to Servant Evangelism

We have already begun in a small way to undertake random acts of kindness.  I am challenging each group however large or small to make servant evangelism a regular part of their activities.  If you want to know more, Steve Sjogrens book (available on our resource table) and his website has loads of information and suggestions.

• A focus on the Fairmont District

A letter in the Pacifica Tribune from a resident recently described Fairmont as "The gateway to the ghetto...a cancer that if not cured will only get worse and spread across the rest of Pacifica." Just one person's perspective of course, but it certainly suggests that this area would be one of Jesus' priorities, so I believe He wants us to make it one of ours. So I am asking that we make this distruct a priority for Servant Evangelism initiatives.

Become a church that is know in the world
Matt 28:19-20 Acts 1:8

God's word commands us unmistakebly to give our attention not only to our own community but also to the world. In many countries there is active and vicious persecution for those who love Jesus and yet their passion puts us to shame.  Many people have yet to hear about jesus and yet more have few scriptures in their own language.  We are in a place of such privilege and so we must lift up our eyes and...

• Become prayerful and informed

Make a point of knowing who our missionaries are and what they are doing.  Make them regular prayer focuses when we are together and in our personal prayer times.  We will seek to have regular visits so we can make personal connections.

• Increased commitment to give

We have a commitment to give 10% of our income each year to missions. I believe we should increase that to 11% in 2009 and continue to make similar (or larger!!) increases in years to come.

• A missions trip within the next two years

Every person I have met who has been on a mission trip has said the God used the experience to change their life. I have not been yet, but I want to go and I can't think of anyone I would rather go with than a group of people (all ages!) from the New Life Church family.  (One possible destination is Nicaragua. A family I was at seminary with serves with a mission there and their task is to cordinate trips for churches from the USA).

Become a church that is know in Hell!
Acts 19:13-15
The evil one only pays attention to people and places that are threatening his interests. We talk so much about "terrorist threats"" these days but we need Christians who are every bit as much of a threat to the places where satan wields his influence. In Acts 19:18 Satan says he does not even know the sons of Sceva, does he know us?"

• Specific personal prayer

Ask God to give you up to three people that you will commit to pray for regularly that they will come to a personal relationship with Jesus. Ask God to reveal what particular threshold they need to cross and make that a specific prayer target.

Remember:
"Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his(or her) knees" - William Cowper

• Commitment to relationship building

Ask God to point you towards specific people that you can build relationships with. (NOTE THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT PROJECTS!!) As you get to know them watch for chances to share the excitement you have over your relationship with Jesus. Be careful to let God open the doors - don't try to break them down!

• Active Discipleship

Ask yourself the questions, Where am I being discipled? Where am I actively growing in my walk with Jesus? If you are not sure, then ask God to show you where to go to correct the matter.

I am sure you have guessed that this will not be the last you hear about these things but remember this is not MY vsion. The leadership and I believe this is God's call to US, the church family at NLCF! How do you feel about it? Are you up for this? Are you excited?