Vision Weekend at Holy Trinity

This weekend we have been thinking about a 2020Vision for Holy Trinity Church.

On Saturday the Staff, PCC and about 150 others went to Reigate Baptist Church for a day of learning from the Bible, praising God, listening to one another, sharing our recent experiences and dreams for the future, and praying.   

We began by recognising that a vision for a church must begin with the right vision of God – God as he makes himself known to us in Jesus: we read from Colossians 1 and were reminded of  the Supremacy of Jesus Christ.

The first session got us thinking about the present values of Holy Trinity, and asking ’Where are we?’, ‘What values shape us and have caused us to make some of the decisions we’ve made in recent years?’.  The second session of the morning invited us to look ahead to the year 2020 and think about what we might be celebrating and thanking God got for by the time we get there. Jeremiah 29:11 ‘I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’

Sarah Alexander  spoke about the process her previous church in Newbury had gone through as they put together a Vision statement.

Two great quotes from Bill Hybels’s book  ‘Courageous Leadership’  encouraged us to think and plan boldly about the future:

‘If a vision doesn’t scare the pants off you then it probably isn’t God-honouring’.

‘Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion’.

After lunch we heard from members of 4 of our Sunday congregations about what it meant to them to belong to ‘their’ service.

Finally, members of the Building Committee led us through revised plans for the Building Project at Holy Trinity, and how a vision for a building must serve the wider vision of the church. We ended that session with praise and prayer before looking at the plans and a card model of the proposed building.

It was a very encouraging day – great to be together in a different and relaxed environment, and to be able to mix and talk with members of Holy Trinity congregations that we don’t normally spend time with. It was an exercise in talking through some significant things and encouraging one another about what might be possible in coming years under the Lord’s good hand.

In our services today (Sunday) we have looked at a church that was Growing, Giving and Going – the church in Antioch (Acts 11:19-30). No co-incidence that those three words and activities are also ones that are steering us through the next 5 years – unchanging truths from God’s word! The church in Antioch was a church growing in number, in spiritual depth, in generosity and in reputation. 'The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch'.

I personally look forward to what God has in store for Holy Trinity as we look to the future, but may we look back from the year 2020 and be able to report something along the lines of Acts 11:21

‘The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.’

A great weekend, about to end with a Youth Service at 7pm, and a 17 yr old preacher...