Acts 2.41-47

What do you do with 3,000 new believers? These new believers were committing themselves to learning more about Jesus, praying, worshiping, and enjoying a vibrant community life. They were also committed to proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah to others and God was powerfully at work through their testimony. Every day more people were joining their new family.

Inspiring a fervent love for Jesus through a lifestyle of worship, renewing hearts and minds through biblical teaching, intentionally building Christ-centered relationships, and strategically creating opportunities for families to impact their world for Jesus. Values that inform both our mission, Transforming families to live and love like Jesus, and our strategy, Gather. Grow. Impact.

Like this early group of new disciples, we too are called to be a vibrant community, a family, here at Central. And as a family, each of us has a part to play, and each of us must play his or her part. I hope you are as excited as we, the elders and staff, are about our vision. We want you to be all in.

I want to end with this…our new logo.

Stained glass windows have been around for centuries, and while their history is rooted in church tradition, they remain a timeless staple of beauty for future generations. As we move into the future we want to continue to be faithful to God, and to also remember how he has been faithful to our church for almost 60 years.

Regarding our Mission statement: Transforming families to live and love like Jesus…A defining attribute of stained glass is its ability to transform light into any color of its choice, much like how the Holy Spirit transforms our life as we are obedient to his will.

The church is one body made of many members with Jesus as the head. In a stained glass story, hundreds even thousands of unique pieces join together to create one image that conveys a story far greater than any individual piece can do alone. Even seemingly obtuse shapes have a place in the story, and if that piece is missing, the story is incomplete.

God is at work. I want to invite you to join us on this journey of Transforming families to live and love like Jesus as we seek to impact this valley for the kingdom in significant ways. As part of the family, we all have a part to play in the life of our church. The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to empower us to accomplish the mission. How about you? Are you in?

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Vision series entitled Transforming Families. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster