The Vision.
It was with glad hearts that we rounded up 2008 with a New Year’s Eve Service, with City Chapel – another church that meets in the St Mark’s building - extending a hand of fellowship to us as one body in Christ.
In 2009, The Vision is to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, so as to be able to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, from the letter of Jude.
Jude 1:3, 20....Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints....But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
Our faith will receive more battering both from within and outside the church circle. God will be blamed for more losses of jobs, family breakdowns, the grassroots impact of the economic downturn, and the general struggle that many will be confronted with in the days ahead.
Moreover, the vision aims to prepare and equip us as we march into 2009 with many uncertainties all around, with many struggling to stay true to their belief, and many being tempted to compromise both subtly and openly. This message is in the context of our stand against all forms of opposition that we face and the challenges that lie ahead, and most importantly our personal witness which will have to be consistent with the profession of our faith more than ever before.
One of the core values of the church is to become more like Jesus in all we do. We spent 2008 looking at this through our discipleship courses in the four gospels. We will continue to explore this at every opportunity throughout 2009 in line with Vision 2009.
The church leadership will encourage the congregation to get back to basics; personal discipline with the study of the word of God; regular disciplined time for family prayers and study of the bible; family light houses of prayer (see below); aggressive against every form of ‘drive-through’ or ‘take-away’ Christianity.
This is to counter dependency on church leaders to provide all the nourishment through sermons, books/literatures, CDs/DVDs, conferences/seminars, without any effort from individuals to go for nourishing ‘healthy home cooked foods’ of personal relationships with God.
In 2009, the church will follow the set of Church of England readings for each Sunday and other Bible themes will be discussed at our mid week meetings. We will encourage prayers for families and community at our monthly light houses of prayer (a new initiative that will encourage members of the church to invite a group of not more than 6 people into their homes for prayers once a month). Youth development and church family time will be held at our regular Friday Buzz.
To encourage each other in the vision, a summary of teachings and messages will be made available on this site under Bread Basket. It is hoped that this will bring extra blessing and act as a reminder to us all.
Finally, many thanks again for visiting our site. I pray that 2009 will bring an exponential growth and maturity bringing out the best qualities of a true witness in us all.
Every blessing,
Olusegun Balogun.
Vicar.