statement
of mission and directional signals:
(adopted at the October 3, 2000 Presbytery meeting)
statement of
mission
"The mission of the
Presbytery of Lake Huron is to partner with congregations,
helping people to know, grow, share and serve as disciples
of Jesus Christ."
directional
signals
Moving Away From .....Moving Towards
From Legalism to
Grace: Recovering Our Spiritual Center
We want to move away from acting out a belief that God rewards us for our
adherence to rules for their own sake. That spirit asks
"What must we do to please God?" We want to
move toward a more grace oriented faith that asks, "What
can God do through us, if we allow God to work?"
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To move toward a grace centered existence.
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To move toward a spirit of responding to God's grace in our lives.
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To move toward a model of being a servant to the servants of God.
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To move toward being a mission-centered Presbytery focused on Jesus
Christ and the Kingdom of God.
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To move toward celebrating our shared life in response to grace.
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To move toward a welcoming of change as opportunity to grow.
From Serving the
Institution To Serving the Kingdom: Recovering our Focus
In relating to congregations, we want to move from a primary emphasis on
Presbytery as regulatory agency, promoter of denominational
programs, and tax collector to Presbytery as mentor, catalyst,
consultant, encourager and developer of pastors and lay
leaders.
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To move from the primary focus on Presbytery as legislative assembly to
Presbytery as community of mutual support, educator,
networker, provider of resources.
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To move from emphasizing institutional accountability (rules and
regulations) toward more emphasis on spiritual
accountability (faithfulness to our mission, vision, and
values).
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To move from preoccupation with structure, order and control (permission
withholding) to encouraging flexibility, creative risk
taking, and grassroots initiatives (permission giving).
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To move beyond the struggle in filling committee vacancies to
empowering people to use their gifts and energy.
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To move away from a climate of indifference toward a climate of gratitude
and trust where people will feel free to be themselves and
to reveal their thoughts and feelings.
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From preoccupation with doing things the right way to a focus on doing
the right thing.
From
"Acquiring Members" to "Making Disciples":
Recovering our Purpose
To move from the mindset of maintenance and membership to the mindset of
service and discipleship. Members perceive service to be
limited to attending church, contributing money and helping
out by serving on a committee. Disciples, first of all,
pursue the spiritual disciplines that they may grow in the
faith; discover, develop and exercise their God given gifts;
find their vocation or calling in daily life; and
enthusiastically share their faith and resources with others.
We want to make disciples and create the expectation that people grow and
change as followers of Jesus.
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To move from thinking of ministry as what the clergy do to seeing
ministry as what the whole people of God do.
Baptism/confirmation is the call to active discipleship
and each person is called to a ministry.
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To move from seeing Christian life as only church related activities, to
seeing it as ministry in daily life, in the workplace,
home and community.
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To move from emphasis on clergy as the sole ministers to clergy as
equippers and mentors of disciples.
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To see the success of the church's ministry in terms of the quality and
faithfulness of the way lives are changed.
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To move from a church that is growing older and smaller to one that
reaches the unchurched of all generations, that seeks and
builds disciples.
Revised - May 22, 2000
October 17, 1999, by the Mission Study Task Force
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