The centerpiece of the Ministry Direction is the Vision Statement that describes the next chapter in the life of our church.
Also included are: our purpose, ministry milestones, mission focus, values, ministry model, strategic initiatives.
 

November 9, 2008
 

 

Purpose

Why we exist as a church

Our Purpose is to live out

The Great Commandment “Love God and our Neighbour” (Matthew 22:37-40)

and

The Great Commission “Make Disciples” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Ministry Milestones

How God has worked in our past

From the lessons of our past, we are committed to resolve our personal tensions by loving and forgiving each other on an ongoing basis. We also have invited the BC Conference to work with us and our leaders in developing good organizational structures, communication methods and processes. With a foundation of love and forgiveness and a willingness to address these outstanding issues, we are convinced that God will enable us to come together around a vision to reach out to our community for Christ! We look forward to the future He has for us!

  

Mission Focus

Whom God has called us to reach

We believe God has given us the following people to reach based on Acts 1:8 “And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Group #1 – People we are already reaching (Our Jerusalem)

• Believers like ourselves

• Parents of children who attend Awana

Group #2 – People we could reach (Our Judea)

• Non-believers with whom we have connections

• People with illnesses

• Spouses, children who are not believers

• Our second generation

Group #3 – People we will not find it easy to reach without a great deal of effort and prayer (Samaria)

• People in our physical neighbourhood

• English-speaking people with no connections in our church

• Non-English, non-Cantonese speakers 

 

Values

 Who God has shaped us to be

We value…

Christ as Centre

This is marked by:

• Spiritual Vitality - that comes from a growing relationship with Christ as our Saviour, example and King. As we joyfully celebrate who He is in our worship and prayer and humbly depend on Him in all things we become fruitful in ministry because without Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5,8)

• Scriptural Foundations - based on the Bible. It is our foundation for our behaviour and life direction with Him. Therefore we give ourselves to teaching the scriptures and making disciples who clearly understand and follow His Word.

People

This is marked by:

• Healthy Relationships - a relational vitality, of loving and serving people just as Jesus did. Life transformation takes place through respectful, accepting relationships, marked by compassion, service and grace. Everything we do flows from a relational centre. (Psalm 133:1-3)

• Authentic Unity - based on honesty, authenticity, humility and a relationship with Jesus because without these we cannot be people of integrity who are salt and light in our world. Our unity grows out of our diversity as we work through issues with respect, love and care.

• Empowerment - the encouraging and equipping of people (especially leaders) to reach their full potential as God calls them by His Spirit. This means we disciple and mentor one another, recognize gift based ministry and leadership styles that facilitate and empower.

Mission

This is marked by:

• Bold Outreach - reaching lost people with the love of Christ led by the Spirit of God. Lost people matter to God and therefore matter to us.

• Organized Teamwork – doing God’s work together. By working together in a well organized fashion we can have more of an impact for the Kingdomof God than if each of us works alone.

• Innovative Creativity - reaching and touching people’s lives because God has given us all kinds of talents and abilities (including the arts) to serve Him with freshness and authenticity.

• Faithful Service - serving God with commitment, harmony and joy pleases Him and keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously, allowing us to encourage each other and receive a little more grace on the journey.

 

 Vision

Where God is leading us in the future

We envision a growing, caring, adventurous community

of believers, enriched by multiple generations and

cultures, deepening in their love for Christ and

teaming together with passion to reach and serve others.

Towards Christ

• We see dependence on God underlying everything we do.

• We see people who are developing in spiritual vitality as they willingly take their next step with Jesus in discipleship

• We see inspirational weekend worship services filled with people from “every tribe and nation”. These services are in Chinese dialects and English. They are pleasing to God, communicating His forgiveness, relevant to life and sensitive to all who are seeking Him.

Towards People

• We see individuals, leaders and teams being equipped, mentored and empowered to live out God’s calling here and around the world.

• We see people who are developing in relational vitality with each other through fellowship and care. This care will be lived out through the week as we engage people in our homes, fellowships and small groups.

Towards Mission

• We see people coming to Christ as we reach out into our neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces, engaging them personally and through larger creative events and ministries hosted by our church.

• We see an environment where church planting is readily accepted in order to reach different people in different areas for Christ.

Ultimately we see people experiencing Burnaby Pacific Grace as their spiritual home; a place of hope and strength for the journey of life!

 

 Ministry Model

What model best facilitates our vision?

Model Description

One Church, One Leadership and Two Expressions (English & Chinese)

We are a church of more than one distinct congregation. Each congregation seeks to minister to and evangelize a separate people group. The church still remains one through its shared leadership and programs.

The solid line around worship/fellowships indicates we come together from time to time (Christmas, Easter etc.) celebrating, supporting each other and worshiping in common services. The dotted line around Discipleship and Leadership Training indicates that we will work together as possible but not necessarily all the time. We will respect each other and realize there are times we can be more effective working separately.

Worship Services (both English and Chinese) are relevant, meaningful encounters with God and sensitive to the unbelievers who attend. People develop friendships that lead them to Fellowship groups where they continue to be welcomed, cared for and helped in following Jesus. Discipleship happens in Basic Faith, Basic Discipleship and Age Level programs. Ministry/ Leadership Training helps people understand their gifts and how to use them in service. The Leadership/ Ministry Community provides ongoing support and encouragement. Connection with our community and Evangelism happens through friendships, felt-need ministry, personal evangelism, outreach events and age-level programs. The arrows in the model show how people flow. (Some of the Discipleship and Ministry Training could be offered in Sunday School.)

 

 

 

Ministry Model of Burnaby Pacific Grace Church 

 

 Strategic Initiatives:

How will we accomplish our vision?

DEFINITION:

Strategic initiatives are major ministry developments or critical steps of obedience that become the shared priority of the entire church if we are to get serious about carrying out the vision God has given us. Obviously we cannot do all these things at once. The initiatives we identified are as follows:

1. Prayerfully develop healthy functional structures and communication processes that works well in a multi-generational and inter-culture setting.

2. Prayerfully develop and implement a seeker sensitive process for the welcoming and assimilating of different generations and cultures into meaningful community and ministry. (Everyone must feel they belong!)

3. Prayerfully develop and implement a plan for connecting with and reaching our Mission Focus Two that includes:

a. Stimulating personal lifestyle evangelism on the basis of unique gifts and abilities

b. Bridging events (providing a way for people to meet and know one another)

c. Harvest events (specific activities to invite people to receive Christ).

d. Keeping the evangelistic edge on our current ministries.

4. Prayerfully develop and implement a leadership development process that enables us to raise up and empower leaders and teams at every level including a Ministry/Leadership Community (as per our Ministry Model).

5. Prayerfully develop and implement discipleship processes that result in spiritual and relational vitality marked by:

a. A deepening relationship with Christ, and others

b. A commitment to the local church

c. A clear understanding of one’s spiritual gifts and how to use them to bless others (talents)

d. A clear understanding of stewardship (treasure and time)

e. Interdependency* between generations and cultures

*Interdependency is the capability and the humility to play the role of a leader, a team-player and a follower as needed.

6. Prayerfully develop and implement God-magnifying and man-impacting worship where focused worshippers are stunned by encountering God and changed from the inside-out.

Remarks: The official language of this document is English.