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Who We Are
Est. 1996
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| Live Your Dream . . .
Or Someone Else Will By Shannon Parish
Those moments are now in your past. No turning back. Gone. Are those moments missed opportunities and missed connections ... or victories, great memories and a satisfied sense of fulfillment? Just one year of reflection, and thousands of missed opportunities. Opportunities to say "Thank you", opportunities to ask, "May I help you?" (and sincerely mean it.) How about "I love you"? Over all there are running themes that you may notice were not quite the results you had hoped for. For instance, if, no matter how hard you worked, were you able to get ahead financially, then you were not getting the financial results that you had hoped for. People usually HOPE for different results than what they are getting. Hoping against all hope and quoting scripture that reminds them that "Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) They blindly press forward hoping and hoping some more . . . Not realizing that there is a tangible difference between hope and wishing. The assumption is made that if one has enough faith, combined with hope, one will get what one desires (or hopes for.) In other words, if I wish hard enough, and hope that it will really happen, then I'll have what I hope for which will be evidence that I have great faith.
Are you not pleased with the results of the previous year and you are hoping for better results next year? Identify the results that you are looking for. For instance, is it a bigger church that you would like to see in the New Year? Identify and address the answers that lie behind the question. This helps you to identify issues, strengths and weaknesses, which will either make or break your new year results.
Perhaps you responded with: "How can we make our church grow?" Probing questions could be: "Why do we need a bigger church?" "What will we do with our bigger church?" "What do we need before we can grow the church?" "What are the benefits to growing the church?" "What are the drawbacks?" "What are our weaknesses?" "What are our strengths?" Was fear present behind the answers? If your answers are to grow the church so that you will have more money to do what you want - is fear a motivating factor that will sabotage your future? (because money was the focus of thought) Is the real problem stewardship? If you are honest with yourself, then you have now been presented with a beginning strategy. Spend next year learning, teaching and developing stewardship - then your church will grow. Get it?
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Reflect
on the events that have occurred during this past year. A few more
months and another year will have slipped away.