Events
Vision Letter 2010
St Andrew’s Church
Commitment Sunday – January 24th 2010
‘An opportunity to review the giving of ourselves to God’s work’
Dear Friends,
Last year we shared with you the vision we believed God is calling us to at St Andrew’s over the coming years. Our VISION is to see our community transformed through a church that is alive with the joy of knowing and worshipping God, changed through living out His word, filled with His Spirit, living lives modeled on Jesus Christ and doing the works of the kingdom.
As a church leadership we have been praying and thinking about how God wants us to develop this vision in specific ways over the coming years and therefore how best to use the resources God has given us.
The things we have begun to focus on at this time are:
Passionate Worship that facilitates encounter with God
o We want to go deeper in our prayer and worship.
o Developing the chapel as a prayer room
o Continuing to encourage regular prayer events including 24 hour prayer
o Investing in new equipment for PA and projectors
Committed Community that is relational and real, seeking to live our lives modeled on Jesus.
o Train up new leaders in the church through the growing leaders course
o Begin new disciple groups for new people to join
o Equip each person for service using their God given gifts
o Investing in the next generation with training and releasing
o A new curate in June 2010 to focus on ministry to Young Families
Spirit-Empowered Ministry to release God’s healing, freedom and transformation
o Extend the training and equipping for prayer ministry across the church
o Develop our understanding and use of spiritual gifts
o Encourage and grow our involvement with Healing on the Streets
Compassionate Mission that is evangelistic and concerned with justice and care for all those in need both globally and locally.
o Re-develop the lounge and entrance areas of the church to help in our growing community work
o Build improved links with our global mission partners through short term missions
o Reach out to our local community through the Noise and disciple groups
o Supporting Alpha, Marriage Course, Lunch club and other outreach events by re-equipping the kitchen
Your own response
As we look ahead to this coming year, for the vision to become a reality, it needs each of us to play our own individual part. All of our giving flows out of gratitude to the God who has given us everything. We want to be a local church, which wants to share all our resources with a generous and open heart. ‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give…for God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Corinthians 9v7)
The Year Ahead
Our plans for the year ahead will mean an expenditure of £242,636 which is an increase of 5% on last year’s budget.
Some practical steps.
• Review your giving in keeping with your resources and with your responsibilities to your church.
• Pledge your giving if you are not already giving regular support to the church.
• Use Gift Aid to enable the church to benefit an extra 28%
• Prayerfully fill in both
o Time Commitment Form – what is God calling you to do this coming year?
o Financial Commitment form – how can you give generously to the ongoing mission of St Andrew’s Church.
We really look forward to growing together in the vision has for us in the coming years ahead.
Simon Dust
Vicar