our vision
The Church of Christ accomplishes the Mission of Christ. As individuals, we cannot fulfill His mission alone. God calls Christians together in community – what we call the local church. But what kind of church does God want us to be? What is God’s vision for us?
Vision is this: a picture of the future we want to create. When we talk about our church vision, talk about God’s dream for us – it is the church that God wants us to be. As we walk in love and unity with our great diversity, we will reflect his love and grace to the world.
Jesus had a vision. He saw the desired future, the future He wanted to create – the new humanity His mission would make. He knew what He had to be like – and what His followers had to be like – if the world was to sit up and take notice. He built a community of believers – only twelve at first – that would be the foundation of a vast network of followers who would fulfill his vision. Know His disciples’ exciting potential but precarious position, Jesus prayed, “As you have sent Me into the world, I also send them into the world” (John 17:18).
Our Vision: to be a Christ-centred, Bible-based community of believers furthering God’s Kingdom in Scotland and Europe.
We are Christ-centred: Jesus is at the heart of everything we do – our worship, our preaching, our outreach, our praying, our groups, our teaching. It’s always, ever, only about Jesus.
We are Bible-based: The Bible is the final authority for what we believe and how we live.
We are a Community: God has called to live with authentic relationships with other believers. This means that we have to demonstrate love, give grace, extend forgiveness, and help each other.
We are Believers: To have the kind of authentic relationships that honour God requires that we are believers – whole-hearted followers of Christ who believe and embrace the promise of the gospel.
We further God’s Kingdom: Jesus is a King, and He has a Kingdom, consisting of all those who belong to him. Our goal as a church is to further God’s Kingdom through the ministry of the gospel.
We are reaching Scotland and Europe: We dream about this part of the world being transformed. We want to establish congregations all over Scotland that effectively reach people. We want to plan 50 churches in the next 20 years in the key educational, cultural, and business centres of Europe.
Are we doing all of this? Is that a description of our church? Yes and No. It is a description of what we are becoming. We are not completely there yet – we have to grow in love, faith and effectiveness – this is what God has called us to be. This is the journey we are on – together.