Why We Exist

Earlier this year I read an excellent book about simplifying the way we do church. The book is titled Simple Church. That's an appropriate title for the content. One of my major takeaways was condensing our mission and vision statements into one simple statement. I doubt very many people, if any, in our church could recite either statement. Since changing the statement, it's hard for me to recite either of them.

After discussing with some of our key leadership, we decided on the new statement. CRV exists as a multicultural community that encounters God, connects with others, and serves our neighbor. If anyone wants to know what our church is about then there are only three words to remember: Encounter, Connect, and Serve. That's what we want to do as a church. We want to encounter God through our weekly worship service. We want to connect with others through our Life Groups. We want to serve our neighbors. We want to do all of this in a multicultural environment.

The feedback I have received from this statement has been very positive. I like the statement and will start making this statement a natural part of everything we do as a church. This statement will affect our weekly announcements. Now only the things that highlight the statement will be announced. All other announcements will be handled through ministries, Life Group, and other methods of communication. This statement is currently being used to formulate our goals for the next year. I'm going to teach on the statement in the January.

In short, this new statement has caused more excitement in me. It's helped me to be more focused. It has made planning and budgeting FUN! That's something I never thought I would say. I plan and budget out of necessity, not because its fun. But now its fun because I plan and budget according to making our vision become a reality.