Efforts Toward Excellence

On Sunday morning, Bernie Corrigan talked to me about the landscaping project on the north side of the church property that he and his wife Bonnie are assisting with. Initially the trustees thought that 40 yards of soil would be enough to even the ground. Bernie surveyed the project and when he talked with Dan Welton, the chair of trustees, he said, "It looks like we need 400 yards." Today the trucks rolled in and dropped off several piles of soil that will be bulldozed in the coming days.

Bernie's observation that a whole lot more of soil was needed has reminded me of this last year as we have worked to implement the Vital Church Initiative. It was difficult to hear the prescriptions first read on the weekend of the consultation in March of 2015 (You can find the document in the link to the right).  The consultation group told us that we needed work in the area of mission and vision clarification, worship, discipleship, leadership development, hospitality, community outreach and mission alignment. The tasks prescribed seemed challenging, if not impossible.

The congregation went through difficult discussions at town hall meetings in the weeks that followed and on April 19 the church conference voted to adopt the VCI prescriptions. 

400 yards of soil are needed for a landscape project
on the north side of the church. Sometimes the effort
needed is more than we plan for or expect.

Looking back on those days, I wonder if I was imagining that all we needed was "40 yards" to take care of a "400 yard" job. As the months have gone by, any ideas I had that this project would be short term or easy have been corrected. Vital Church Initiative is not simply about implementing new programming and getting on with the way we've always done things. Our commitment to Vital Church Initiative has signaled a culture shift for our church. We are intentionally looking toward what God has called the church to be and looking toward how we will make disciples for Jesus Christ.

We have developed a mission and vision and have been called to align our ministries to our mission so that our resources of time, talent and money are used effectively. We have been challenged to work toward excellence in worship. The leadership of Brighton First has committed to being a church that intentionally forms disciple for Christ and raises up leaders. Even the way the staff supports the church's ministries has changed.

I know that we are far from done. We have at least another year of implementation before us. In the coming months, our major projects include the formation of a strategic plan, the launch of a new worship service and an intentional program to build relationships with community members.

Today, I celebrate the efforts of church members that have been evident in this "400 yard" task. I will not begin to name the many leaders who have devoted hours to training, planning and leading through the Vital Church Initiative to this point. There are too many to name and I will certainly miss someone. The blessing is not only those who are giving so much for the vitality of their church, but the blessing is also in the gifted new leaders who have stepped forward.

While the VCI tasks and transformation is much bigger than I could have imagined, I stand amazed and grateful before God. The people of Brighton First have made the commitment to be in vital ministry; and they are giving a "400 yard" effort to a "400 yard" job.