2013 Vision
iCan! Transforming our ordinary into His extraordinary
Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
I believe that as we choose to leave the past in our past and focus on what God is doing now and desiring to do in our future, that He is going to create for us new paths that we never dreamed possible. I believe that even in relationships and in opportunities from our past that we now consider wilderness wastelands, God is going to make a way where there was no way.
It’ll be a year where old cycles of sin and addiction are broken. Our old routines and ruts are going to be broken as we begin down the new paths that God makes for us. He is going to give us a new perspective and purpose in even the most mundane of our ordinary routines and will do great things through them.
On June 4, 2009, Dennis Cramer prophesied this:
There is something strategic about the very location of this church, 25 miles in each direction is your sphere; it’s your territory. I heard the gospel, going up all these little nooks and crannies, all these little crevices and coolies and these little ravines. If we could see in the spirit realm, it would probably intimidate us, but you guys have been strategically placed here by a supernatural God for a supernatural purpose.
I believe that this year is the year in which this prophetic word begins to come to pass. In 2012, we already began to go out into the community to proclaim the gospel as a corporate body. As a result, we saw many accept Christ’s salvation and just a hint of how hungry people are for the hope that we possess.
I believe that this word’s true fulfillment will occur as each of us as individuals prepare the way of the Lord and become those paths in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. I believe that the Lord will use each of us to speak forth the gospel with our words and with our actions through our everyday lives.
I believe that God has called many of us here to New Hope from various physical distances and directions from the church intentionally and strategically. Many of us live and work within various areas of the 25 mile radius around New Hope and are already naturally positioned to speak the gospel throughout it.
It may seem a bit intimidating to all of us, but through our simple lives, simple words, and simple obedience; God can move in power and work wonders in and through us!
This year, we will each become aware of our identity and potential in Christ. Each of us possess far more authority and potential than we realize! We may not think that we’re much of anything, but it is through that very same honesty and humility that God will be able to do great and awesome things! All that He is searching for is a heart fully committed to Him and simple obedience.
I believe that this year, God is looking to make a shift our mindset regarding our everyday lives.
*****
Setup a clear, plastic container. Have several boxes labeled with common, everyday things we keep busy or concerned with. Label one box with God.
Explain that the clear box is our lives and the time that we are given here on the earth.
Fill the container with the boxes, but leave the God box till last; it has to be crammed in.
Explain that some of us feel like we can’t catch a break. Life just keeps coming at us so quickly that we just can’t catch up let alone figure out a way to fit in God and be an active and functional part of His body.
Put the God box in first and then fill the container with the other boxes, one by one.
Explain that some of us know that God has to come first, so we put Him in first place and are an active and functional part of His body. We then trust Him to take care of the other areas of our life.
However, I feel that in both views of life are missing God’s actual intent for how we are to view life.
God is bigger than that (Igloo full of water). He isn’t looking to be boxed up and to simply fill a few times set apart in our lives or to be separated from other areas of our life. His desire is to rather saturate every area of our life; to consume our life.
He’s also not looking to only saturate our lives, but to also to flow out into the lives of others.
*****
iCan! Transforming our ordinary into His extraordinary
(progressively broken down into four focus points throughout the year)
: stay connected with God
: receive spiritual gifts
: serve God and others
: reach people for Christ
Core Values:
Love/Honor God unconditionally
Love/Honor others unconditionally
I believe that God’s desire is that we intentionally create an atmosphere of unified teamwork where we all work together and cooperate with one another to set each other up for SUCCESS in life! Not only within the ministry of the church, but in every area of life.
I believe that God is challenging us to be the family that He calls us to be (and gave His life for us to be) and begin to create an atmosphere of brotherhood and sisterhood where we can all just be ourselves, encourage each other in our weaknesses, celebrate each other’s strengths, and spur each other on to do good works.