Vision 2025

After our service today, we’ll have our annual business meeting and discuss the in’s and out’s of our church’s operations, our budget and plans for the next year. We hope that all of you would stay and participate in the conversation whether you are a member or not.

The last few years, I shared a 5 year vision plan for Crossroads that I wrote in early 2022. I began with this question:

At the end of 2027, what will we say happened at Crossroads over the last 5 years?

This year again, we see some of this happen now and I am encouraged by what God has already done in and through us as a church. Here are the top 5 things I wrote down:

1. People found Jesus at Crossroads. Many came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

2. People hurt by the church found healing and restoration through Jesus at Crossroads.

3. People who were “done” with church found their love for Jesus at Crossroads.

4. Entire families were restored and worshiped Jesus together at Crossroads.

5. People grew in their faith in Jesus at Crossroads.

This is the vision for Crossroads. Really, these should all be what every church hopes to see and accomplish. I am thankful that this is happening already here at Crossroads. As we reflect on last year and look ahead, the leaders at Crossroads, the congregation at Crossroads have been working toward these and will continue to do so.

I want to point out three commonalities in these 5 statements. People, Crossroads and most importantly - Jesus.

I see three main categories of people...

People who are lost - we want introduce them to Jesus and lead them to a relationship with Jesus.

People who are saved, but hurting - we want to show them how Jesus can heal the hurt by a deepening relationship with Jesus.

People who are saved - We want to disciple them to a deeper relationship with Jesus so they can help introduce Jesus to the lost and help those who are hurting depend on Jesus more.

This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 28:

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When we do what Jesus commands here well, all of the 5 things mentioned above are going to happen.

**Title Slide**

Several years ago, we began talking about these 4 words: Worship, Serve, Grow, Tell.

Worship, Serve, Grow, Tell

Say them with me.

These 4 words represent what all of our activity as a church is about. While we also do these things on our own, these are meant for us to do together. Let’s go through them briefly this morning…we want to

Worship God and Jesus Together

One of the distinctives of Crossroads is our heart to worship. Not just in our time of singing and music, but in our heart to worship Him in all that we do.

I am so encouraged by our worship teams and by the engagement of this body of believers in worship.

I’ve listed this one first because the remaining 3 phrases flow out of this.

Did you know that the word serve is a synonym of worship. Look at this passage from Joshua:

Joshua 24:14 NIV

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

Everywhere you see the word serve or worship in the Old Testament, the original Hebrew word is often the same word.

The truth is, everyone worships or serves something. The nation of Israel had found other little g gods they worshipped. Today, people have found all kinds of crazy things to worship.

What sets us apart from the world is that Jesus is the object of our worship. By worshipping Jesus together in all that we do, we set the tone for the remaining other three - Grow, Serve, Tell.

How do we worship in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and a foundation for the other three?

Worship is happening right now as we set aside time to work through his word to us. Worship happens when we stand and bow within our spirit to sing of his goodness, when we sing that there’s nothing better than Him. Worship happens when we faithfully show up to work each day with a fruit of the spirit attitude. Worship happens when we serve one another and the world around us.

That brings us to the second thing that Crossroads does.

First we

Worship God and Jesus together

And we

Serve Those In Need In Jesus Name Together

Jesus spoke of the importance of this in Matthew 25. Turn there with me if you have your Bibles. He separates out those who did this from those who did not. When we have a faith in Jesus, we can’t help but to serve those with a need. Let’s read starting in verse 35:

Matthew 25:35–40 NIV

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

So many times Jesus went out of his way to help those he saw in need. We don’t have to look far to see where people are in need. Here are just a few I jotted down:

Food

shelter

Provisions for work/school

help with taxes and paperwork

physical help around the house

help with relationships

At Crossroads we want to be a church that sees a need and does something about it. We can’t always meet every need, but we want to serve where we can as often as possible.

At Crossroads, We -

Worship God and Jesus Together

Serve Those In Need Together

and we

Grow in Faith in Jesus Together

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as:

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

If we are growing in our Faith together, we are growing in our confidence of what we hope for - Jesus.

How do we grow in our faith together? I have 2 main ways in which our faith is challenged and as a result will grow:

Prayer - This is the exercise of our faith. We cannot see God, yet we talk to him because we have assurance that He is there. Jesus told us to ask in His name and believe. Prayer is the exercise that will grow our faith

Study God’s Word - God’s Word tells us His promises for us. How can we know those promises unless we read them? By reading God’s Word together, those who are strong in faith can mentor and walk who are not into a deeper understanding and level of faith. As one teaches, he grows, as one is taught, he grows.

These can certainly be done on our own and they should, but this should also be done together. Both prayer and study when done with others are ways in which we grow in our faith together.

I am encouraged by the stories of how people at Crossroads are gathering together and challenging each other with God’s Word.

So we...

Worship God and Jesus Together

Serve Those In Need Together

Grow in Faith Together

Lastly, but not least

Tell others about Jesus Together

If you, as Romans 10:9-10 tells us, have confessed and believed you have received the greatest single gift in all the world.

Romans 10:9–10 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Jesus is the hope that people are looking for. Jesus is the answer to many of people’s questions and struggles. Knowing Him and being known by Him is the most rewarding thing a person can experience this side of heaven. Why wouldn’t we want everyone to know? We read from Matthew 28 just a few minutes ago about Jesus command to go and tell.

Matthew 28:19–20 NIV

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The New Testament is full of passages that command us to do this. I don’t think it is an option. There are several ways this happens:

It happens in direct conversation: “Let me tell you about Jesus and what He did”

It happens over time while building relationships and conversations happen at kitchen table or at a soccer game.

It happens with our actions and testimony: “I am doing this because of Jesus in my life.”

What is clear from scripture is that telling others about Jesus is not an option.

As I did with the 5 visions statements, I want to point out 2 words that each of those 4 statements have in common.

Jesus

Jesus. We will always be a church who focuses on Jesus, his birth, his life, his teachings, his death/burial/resurrection, his ascension and his role as Lord, Savior and King.

Together

Together. We cannot expect to accomplish any of these things if we are not together in unity. Unity does not mean uniformity of thought - that we all think the same way and agree on everything. I think there is room for us to have different ideas on how something should be accomplished, we can also come to different interpretations of difficult scripture or topics. Unity also does not mean unanimity in preferences - we don’t all have to have the same favorite worship style or song, we don’t all have to prefer the

When either of these happens, and it will, hopefully we display the fruit of the spirit in our interactions with one another. I have seen churches be torn apart by people who did not act by the fruit of the spirit. As a quick reminder about the fruit of the spirit, let me read that passage in Galations 5.

Galatians 5:19–26 NIV

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Today we are going to have our annual business meeting, we are going to present ministry work accomplished in the last year, and ministry work planned for the year to come. We are going to present to you the church budget that the elders approved for the coming year. We are going to discuss eldership and a potential new elder.

At our last business meeting where we discussed having Imago Christi church join Crossroads, there were some very challenging conversations that happened. We learned that we moved to quickly and did not communicate far enough in advance. It was the most challenging meeting I have ever been a part of. At the same time, I must say that it was probably the most encouraging meeting we’ve had as a church. While not everyone agreed, I did see the fruit of the spirit on display. I saw kindness and respect. I say love and patience with one another. And ultimately, I believe God was glorified in that meeting.

Vision 2025

Here in a few moments we are going to open up our meeting and my prayer for today is that we will end this day in unity together. Together fulfilling Jesus command to us to go and make disciples here in central Vermont and beyond.