Vision is more than just seeing. Vision is about making sense of the world, to be able to act and react to what is going on. To see a beautiful sunset, or avoid a car running a red light, vision guides our actions. But vision can be even more than that.
Vision, in a grander sense involves looking beyond our circumstance to things we hope and strive for. The quintessential “vision” in the Bible is in the Book of Genesis, when God tells Abraham to look up at the stars and assure him his descendants would be more numerous than them. An aspiration of Abraham, vision is how God wanted him to think and act. The vision was about the future, about the people, about what God was doing through Abraham.
We here at Southminster need vision too. Whatever your experience with “Vision” and “Mission” Statements, our last vision statement was crafted 20 years ago. For many, the “Vision 2020” had long faded from memory and practice even before my time. But for Session, we have been reading, praying, worshipping, and studying together asking God for vision. This past year we have worked hard to write a statement that we feel encapsulates our church identity past present and future..
It is about who we are, and who we are called to be. It gives guidance and unity to our ministries and programs. If we can all agree that we have the same ultimate goal, we can better trust and encourage one another. Our vision will tie us all together in a meaningful way, our ministry will become more vital and vibrant for ourselves and our community.
Our Vision Statement:
Southminster is an intergenerational family of God, Growing together, Connecting faith and daily life, and Sharing God’s love with our neighbors.
This may seem obvious or even boring at first, but I assure you that each phrase and individual word was discussed and debated, and there are layers of meaning embedded within these simple 20 words. The vision comes from people who know our church, who are part of our history and are fully committed to this ministry to thrive. This is not about imposing new programs or ministry models, or changing the identity of our church. This is about us coming together and focusing on what is most important. Inside this newsletter you will find a rundown on the Vision Statement and some of the backstory about how it was written.
It is my hope and prayer that as you read this vision statement, God might warm your heart and you might feel welcomed and encouraged by it. Believers never stop changing, life never stays still, we are always being made and remade by a God of love. Let us therefore endeavor to be who God has called us to be, and to do what God has called us to do, for the sake of Jesus here at Southminster. I am thankful for our 2022 Session (Lucia Oswald, Carolynn Boehmer, Sarah Bock, Barb Anderson, Diana Ounanian, Suma Simpson, Lee Howard-Ginther, Julie Jordan, Russell Toler, Patty Hasenmueller, Gary Honey, Pat Brownlee, Jan Bachman, Dallas Blome, Mike Pogue & Marc Vander Tuig) and look forward to what God will do in 2023!
Pastor Karl
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