A Vision For Praise

Posted by Pastor Dancy on June 2, 2008

A VISION FOR PRAISE…Congregations go through life-cycles just like people, neighborhoods, marriages and automobiles. I recently looked through several binders of photographs and articles of Praise’s 13 year history, from her conception to today. “Krummy” has painstakingly collected and recorded important moments in the church’s history, and this work was taken over about a year ago by Julie Harmeyer. They are good archivists!

The birth of a congregation is an exciting time! There are many new steps that change as fast as a newborn. Each stage is a milestone that can be measured, from exploratory meetings of starting a mission congregation, to getting a charter, calling a pastor, having the first worship service, purchasing property, constructing a building, starting a preschool, constructing an addition, and seeing several church workers come and go. The first child’s development is often recorded by lots of photographs or videos! Finding pictures of later children is often much more difficult.

One thing is very clear to me, and that is that Praise is no longer a baby church. The initial excitement of a birth, getting that first tooth and taking that “first step” gradually slip into the “terrible two’s!” The baby looks different and now has a personality that is characterized by the word, “NO!” The cuteness of the infant has been replaced by the busyness of an active toddler. Praise offers dozens of ministries which reflect much sweat of those who have gone before. She has a few bruises and scars that reveal traumas and scrapes of the past. The population of the congregation has changed over the years as saints have come and gone, and more continue to be added to their numbers. Praise is poised for the next step in her maturing, as baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth. A wistful memory of the “good old days when everybody knew each other, was needed and pitched in” resembles Orson Wells’ “Rosebud” of youth. But now it’s time to move on and literally grow up!

In January of this year, a few dozen members of Praise worked through a “Strategic Ministry Workshop.” It was somewhat akin to climbing a tall hill while on a journey to see where we’re been, where we are, and where we need to be going. The facilitator primed and pulled dreams, roadblocks and visions from us, which were written down and are being studied. Although Praise formed a mission statement years ago, it wasn’t visible and was even difficult to locate. This group formed a VISION STATEMENT for Praise that may officially be adopted by the congregation sometime soon. But a vision will only be useful if it is known and shared by all, and repeated regularly enough to get into our blood. I would like to share it with you:

VISION STATEMENT (The Passionate Plan) for Praise Lutheran Chruch

“Praise Lutheran Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit,

strives to be a joyous body of Christ-followers,

united by God’s grace to P.R.A.I.S.E. Him;

equipped to passionately serve and witness.”

PRAISING God in vibrant Worship

REACHING OUT with Christ-centered witness

ANCHORED in God’s Word and Sacraments

INTERCEDING for others

STEWARDS of God’s varied gifts for the building up of His Kingdom

EQUIPPING the saints for works of service.

I think that really describes Praise well! And now the secret is to move from nice sounding words to the reality of this actually being who we are and what we do! Praise is moving forward to find herself as an adolescent-age church, preparing to answer that exciting question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

As God’s Vision comes more into sharp focus, His grace, power and guidance will work in us to be the church that He has called us to be!

Dr. Paul B. Dancy, Sr. Pastor