We see a church…
- Loving Jesus in a way that people talk about.
- Where people find salvation & healing in Jesus.
- Helping people find careers & peaceful homes.
- Where everyone can find a place that they fit.
- Serving the city with love that works.
God gives life with loving design. God gives value, identity, purpose, and pleasure to each person.
From our relationship with God, we discover value, identity, purpose, and pleasure in our personal vocation.
Vocation – a sense of purposeful calling to a particular role with activity that brings fulfillment.
We learn about this from these Scriptures:
- Genesis 1:26-31
- Genesis 2:1-3
- Genesis 2:15
Before sin enters the equation, God has worked six days and then rested on the seventh day (even though he doesn’t run out of energy). God didn’t work one day and then rest for six days. God created Adam and Eve, sharing in personal relationships, giving them value, identity, purpose, pleasure, and personal vocation. God created the world in a state that would benefit from being tended to. Vocation, work with a purpose that brings fulfillment, is God’s idea. In this, there is value and meaning.
Hating work can be a combination of perspective and values needing healthy growth and a poor fit with your current activities.
We want to avoid the mistake of thinking:
- Work doesn’t matter.
- The quality of our work has no impact on the world around us.
- Each person has only one calling.
- One calling is more valuable than another.
The truth is that we are loved by a personal God who provides us with various callings. In the early years, a person is called to learn, enjoy life, and love their family. As a person grows, their calling may develop or change entirely. There will be seasons in life where a person is functioning in more than one calling at the same time.
We view work as:
- Thank You
“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58
During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening that has led me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD… This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say, “THANK YOU GOD” through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues. May He help and strengthen all people in every good endeavor.” – John Coltrane, excerpt, liner notes to A Love Supreme
- Act of Service
“He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, ‘Whoever wants to be first must take the last place and be the servant of everyone else.’” – Mark 9:35
“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” – Mark 10:43-45
- Act of Love
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24
As a church family:
- We want to help people discover this God-given value, identity, purpose, and pleasure, as it relates to their vocation.
- We aim to help people discover purpose and fulfillment in their career.
- We will work to help people the best fit for a career and develop for a future career.
- Currently, we do this primarily through one-on-one coaching. Each of you can help someone else.
- In the future, we would like to do this in a variety of ways including vocational and entrepreneurial programming offered online and in a workshop setting. This may lead to a facility designed for this purpose.