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Speaking to a joint session of Congress in May 1961, President John F. Kennedy said, “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieve the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth”. President Kennedy’s words helped to articulate a vision and mobilize a nation toward a goal. This vision provided direction, helped to establish criteria by which decisions would be made and generated creativity. “Write the vision”, Habakkuk said, “…make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 3:2).
During the 2006 Camp Meeting in Fresno, California, the Holy Spirit seemed to birth a vision – a vision backed by Scripture, bathed in prayer and bold in scope. This vision was contained in the Word of the Lord that came to David and his men at Ziklag.
Ziklag, a province of Philistia located in the south country of Judah, had been home to David, his men and their families for some 16 months. They moved there seeking refuge from the jealousy and threats of Saul. The day came that David and his men returned home to Ziklag to find the entire city plundered and ravaged by a traveling, predatory horde of Amalekites. The city was burned. Their possessions were stolen. Their wives and children had been kidnapped.
Having wept over the loss of his family and endured the accusations of his colleagues he cried out to God and asked, “Shall I pursue after this troup? shall I overtake them? And He answered him, “Pursue: for you shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (1Samuel 30:8).
In this regard, we believe the Lord is speaking to us. There are souls to be recovered and territory to reclaim. Victory is certain if we “pursue”.
Using this word as an acrostic, the vision for California-Nevada Church of God is defined by the following priorities: P ray; U nify; R edeem; S trengthen; U ndergird and E ngage.
PRAY
The Scripture exhorts us to, “Pray without ceasing” (1Thesalonians 5:17). We are instructed to pray with Scriptural understanding, with compassionate groans and “sighs too deep for words” and with the Spirit (Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 14:14,15). We seek to become healthy, growing praying people who will build healthy, growing, praying churches.
UNIFY
Knowing that all persons are equal and that God has given to every believer the measure of faith, we confess our interdependence and acknowledge our interconnectedness and dependence on all members of the Body of Christ. We pray that we all may be one in God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. In this regard we seek to:
• Unify through Cross Cultural Ministry Experiences
• Unify through Regional Prayer Conferences
• Unify through Pastoral Covenant Ministry Groups
• Unify through one-night revival services
• Unify through collaborating with other Church of God State/Regional Offices in the West
• Unify through communication via Church of God publications
REDEEM
The mission of the Church of God is to communicate the full gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spirit and power of Pentecost. The Great Commission is our mandate. In this regard we commit to:
• Redeem the world by active participation in World Evangelization
• Redeem the lost in California-Nevada by implementing a state evangelism strategy - Redemption: Advancing the Kingdom Through Missional Church
• Redeem the lost by equipping believers through Discipleship
• Redeem the lost by training and certifying ministers who will proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Redeem through welcoming non-affiliated congregations desiring to unite with the Church of God
STRENGTHEN
Believing the local church is the hope for the world, we seek to strengthen the ministries of the local church in the following ways:
• Strengthen families in the local church through Family Ministries
• Strengthen men in the local church
• Strengthen women in the local church through Women’s Ministries
• Strengthen children and students in the local church through Youth & Christian Education
• Strengthen Senior Adults in the local church
UNDERGIRD
The God of the Bible is most clearly revealed as “ a God full of compassion” (Psalm 86:15). He gave up His own Son to die on the cross in order to express His ultimate love for us. Becoming a caring church is our goal. In this regard we commit to:
• Undergird the poor and disenfranchised through Care Ministry and Operation Compassion
• Undergird ministers both active and retired through Ministerial Care and Link Care
• Undergird retired ministers through Spirit Care
• Undergird State administrative offices through taking the necessary steps for vision development of the campus property
ENGAGE
Going forward to engage those who are lost, those who have relationship with Christ and are thirsty to have a deeper walk, those who are broken, and those who are in need is a process of moving forward to PURSUE. We desire to be an inspiration people, their local church congregations, local church pastors and ministry staff in their pursuit of the vision of New Testament ministry being fulfilled. In this regard we are pursuing all people to engage them with the gospel in ways that they will continually become more and more Christlike.
As we press forward and engage our culture with the message that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the light we believe the world will be turned upside-down.
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