9:30am Sundays ||
100 Enoggera Tce, Paddington
Our vision is
“Be thou my vision,
O Lord of my heart.”
We’re convinced that if Christ is not the vision of the Church, no matter how good its vision is – be it reaching the lost, teaching the Bible, helping the poor, or building a loving community – it has lost its foundation, betrayed its head, and substituted a higher purpose for a lower one. Christ is not the means by which the Church achieves its vision; Christ is the vision of the Church, and the Church is the means by which people find Christ.
PROVE IT
“He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.”
For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that
he might come to have
first place in everything.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
COLOSSIANS 1:15-20
“God placed all things under his feet”
and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,
that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
EPHESIANS 1:22-23, 4:15-16
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage,
that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9
A Church whose
vision is Christ…
Helps others to find Christ and life in him.
A Church whose vision is Christ makes it a goal to help others to find Christ, by connecting with people in the community, sharing their lives with them, demonstrating the love of Christ to them, and telling them about him.
Proclaims the Word of God & teaches Christ.
A Church whose vision is Christ proclaims Christ, the Word of God incarnate, not only by teaching Christ from the Scriptures, but also by fostering a community centred around and transformed by the Word.
Trains & equips people to follow Christ.
A Church whose vision is Christ trains and equips its people to follow Christ: to treasure Christ and his gospel, to imitate him by loving and serving others, and to put aside any desire or deed unworthy of him or his kingdom.
Generously & compassionately helps the poor.
A Church whose vision is Christ strives to demonstrate to everyone the same generosity and compassion they themselves were shown by God, with a special focus on the most vulnerable in the local community, and on their persecuted brothers and sisters.
Loves God and loves others.
Most importantly, a Church whose vision is Christ loves Christ, and his Father, and his Spirit. From this platform of love and empowered by God himself, the Church is resourced and equipped to then love others.