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Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives of
the First Baptist Church January 2006
As a result of the vision
workshop in the fall of 2005, the First Baptist Church has sought to
define its vision, mission and goals for the future through much prayer
and seeking God's will for clear direction. Our vision is summed up in
this statement:
“Becoming
and Producing Disciples of Christ”
I propose this to be our vision
statement. I hope you will agree with me or engage in conversation on
the above mentioned vision statement of the First Baptist Church.
Centrality of Jesus Christ and the discipleship have been strongly
reflected in vision workshop. We all try to be truer disciples of Christ
through our involvement in the church. Discipleship is a process for
every believer so the word “becoming” is so fitting. The church is also
in the ministry of “producing” more disciples through our various
ministries. I am proposing many opportunities new ministries for all
the boards and committees of the church in order for us to become and
produce more disciples of Christ.
The choice of the word “disciples” is very
intentional. The ministry of the First Baptist Church is not a ministry
of membership, but a ministry of discipleship.
The membership model identifies who is
in and who is out. The Membership model encompasses any organizations
or clubs that comes with benefit for members only. But discipleship
model includes everyone who seek personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I
invite you to follow the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). Jesus did not say “Go
therefore, and make members . . .” Frankly, making disciples seems to be
more interesting, more exciting and more valuable and I would even say
more biblical.
Stated below is our
mission statement with an addition. I am proposing to include the last
point “to be an inclusive and caring community of believer” which was
made evident in our vision workshop.
Mission Statement:
∙ To reach out
to all people with the love that is ours in Jesus Christ
∙ To share with
them the good news of his saving grace
∙ To serve the
Lord as a family of faith
∙ To experience through Bible Study,
prayer, and worship, the comfort, inner peace, hope and joy that come
from being close to God.
∙ To be an inclusive and caring
community of believer
Our Core Values
“We are a diverse, Bible-based and Christ-centered church.
We are engaged in discerning God’s will driven by our common faith”
The vision statement
defines our primary goal, our Mission statement defines what we seek to
do and our core values define who the First Baptist Church of Bedford
is, our foundation, and our identity. The core values also help us to
direct where we are heading in the future in our ministry of becoming
and producing disciples of Jesus Christ. Diversity, Scripture, Jesus
Christ, discernment of God’s will and our common faith are the core
values that we will use as the funnel and evaluate whether our ministry
conforms to the vision of the First Baptist Church. We will elaborate a
little further by what we meant by these:
Diversity is one of the
distinctive marks of the First Baptist Church of Bedford. The people
here are culturally, ethnically, politically, racially and theologically
diverse. We celebrate the diversity without any bias or judgment. The
church encourages the diversity and ministry here must be sensitive to
this diversity.
Scripture is the foundation of
the First Baptist Church. Social ethos and cultural and political views
need to be examined on the basis of biblical teaching. Should there be
any different views and interpretations of the Bible within the church
it needs to be resolved by our common faith guided by the Holy
Spirit and prayer. Any theological concern should be brought first to
the pastor and deacons of the church. You may bring your views to small
group Bible study and Sunday school group but consult the pastor before
you bring to the whole church.
Jesus Christ
is our number one boss in the First Baptist Church of Bedford,
and it does not matter who is number two. "If
you have everything but don't have Jesus, you have nothing. If you have
nothing, but have Jesus, you have everything." That is our message!
Jesus is our King, our Lord and the Final Arbiter. Jesus is "the author
and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 2:10). He is the beginning and the
end, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8,
11).
Discernment of the will of God
will require prayer, study of the Word and
common reflection and sharing. It requires engaging in a genuine dialog
with one another with all openness and willingness to learn and unlearn
from one another. The church is a dialoging congregation in our diverse
social and moral issues. We are a caring church and we seek answers from
God. We do not judge, but engage in dialog.
Common faith
expression is one of the vital aspects of the church. Individual faith
is shaped and enriched by our communal faith. Individual experience is
tested in a communal experience of the church. We seek to achieve a
common faith guided by the above-mentioned core values of diversity,
Scripture, Jesus Christ, and discernment of God’s will. We also seek to
affirm common faith with the American Baptist Churches USA.
The core values that we
have spelled out will be used as the filter for any ministry in the
First Baptist Church of Bedford. Let us further expound few relevant
ministries that the people have suggested during the vision workshop
exercise. We will try to be very specific of the goal and objectives.
These are some suggestion form the Pastor. Each board and committee
needs to review this and define according to the passion and gifts of
the members. I would suggest that each board, ministers, and committee
follow the following:
- Review critically each objective suggested.
- Sharpen or change as needed according to the
passion and discernment of the group.
- Plan or write a strategy for each objective.
- Include in your monthly meeting agenda to review
and assess the objective.
- Write a short narrative assessment of the
objective each month and give it to your council representative for
review in the church council meeting.
- Church Council members should give feedback to
each board, minister or committee.
Ministry of Music
CHOIR
The ministry of music is far more than just singing
"psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." It is a process by which believers
are drawn into the Holy of Holies resulting in a deeper awareness of
God's presence enriching the experience of worship. Music is fundamental
to both private and public worship. The music ministry of the FBC seeks
to evangelize those without Christ, enrich the worship experience of the
church and educate the biblical truth is proclaimed through song. The
Minster of Music will coordinate all the music in the church.
Goal: Church Choir will minister through music
regularly in the worship service.
Our objectives are as follows:
- To fully develop the graded choir and
instrumental program of the church.
- To locate and train those individuals and groups
within the church possessing musical gifts.
- To provide meaningful musical presentations for
all regular worship services.
- To preserve the historical hymns of the church
and utilize contemporary songs of praise.
- By increasing music in the Sunday services
beyond the customary congregational hymns and piano prelude, offertory
interlude, and postlude to have at least one choral/special vocal
and/or instrumental piece/quartet/trio/duet/solo/ during the worship.
- To have regular choir rehearsal every Monday at
7:00 – 8:00 PM at the Church.
- To develop Music Ministry during the year in
special season like Easter, Christmas in places like Carleton Willard
and VA Hospital.
PRAISE AND WORSHIP TEAM
The diversity of the FBC encourages blending of
both the traditional/historical church music and contemporary praise and
worship music. The Praise and Worship music Team will be led by a team
leader. The team leader will plan regular rehearsal and inform the
entire plan to the minister of Music.
Goal: Promote and blend the Contemporary Songs
of Praise in the Worship service
Objective:
- Encourage people to join the praise music team
and have at least six people in the team
- Integrate praise and worship music in the
ministry of the church and worship
- Lead Praise and Music with live music at least
two Sundays in a month with instruments such as guitar, piano, drums
etc. the other Sundays can use the DVD and other background music.
- Lead Praise and Worship Music during the
service.
CHILDREN CHORUS GROUP
As a result of the Vision Workshop and the follow
up meeting Children Chorus Group has been identified as one of the
priority of mission in the First Baptist Church of Bedford. The Children
chorus group will practice song during the 2nd half of the
worship service. The Director of Children Music will work independently.
The Minister of Music can be a resource whenever possible and if needed.
The Director of Children Chorus group will work in consultation with the
Minister of Music to synchronize with the worship service. Children
chorus group will work in the following goals and objectives:
Goal: To increase participation of children in
the worship service
- To spend the 2nd half of the worship
in structured and a productive way.
- To encourage children to participate in the
worship service
- To teach both the historical hymns and the
contemporary praise and worship music
Ministry of Christian Education Youth and
family
The ministry of Christian
Education and Youth and family is another area of strength in the
church. There are various objectives listed below. If each Sunday
school class will take one or two of these objectives that it may allow
us to have more focal point. Certain objective such as “developing
intentional program at least twice a year to draw new members to the
Sunday school” could be taken by each class as one of their objectives.
Goal: The FBC will strive to build a
community of discipleship and caring through offering biblical teaching,
variety of social and spiritual programs
Objectives:
1.
By offering a variety adult education programs aimed at
interests gained through a survey of the congregation.
2.
To encourage and help each
member to discover and develop their own Spiritual Gifts and use them in
an area of ministry. To help implement this, the adult Sunday school
group may conduct spiritual gifts test for people who are interested and
plug those people in various relevant ministry
3.
By developing intentional program at least twice a year to
draw new members to the Sunday school.
4.
To increase our weekly
consistent attendance to 15 adult, 6 youth, 6 younger youth group, and
12 children by the end of 2006.
5.
By offering family night programs designed to build community
among the church families every other month
6.
By offering two programs a year designed around a social
awareness or justice issue so that socialization, social justice and
raising awareness are involved.
7.
By offering programs designed to help congregation members to
develop ministry skills.
8.
By developing interchurch activities which pair our youth groups
with other youth in the area in social justice and services at least
three times a year.
9.
By taking part in the Safe Church Workshop
10.
By inviting all youth 14 and older to participate in any church-
wide, decision -making process. The youth will be encouraged to attend
Church meetings.
11.
By devising an objective plan each summer for Vacation Bible
School to increase the number of attendance and reach the un-church
people in the community.
Ministry of Deacon
The ministry of the
deacon in the First Baptist Church is not ministry of membership but
ministry of discipleship.
The membership model identifies who is in and who is out. But
discipleship model includes everyone who seek personal encounter with
Jesus Christ.
Goal: The First
Baptist Church of Bedford shall increase the richness and value
of the making disciples of Jesus Christ and its experience in the
church.
Objective:
1. By
developing an intentional program that turns new people into active
discipleship by using methods to include but not limited to a mentoring
program.
2.
By reacting to analysis of telephone or e-mail
“interviews” of people who have become inactive, those analysis having
been reported to the Council and the Board each May and November with
recommendations.
3.
By overseeing Minister of Youth and Family and Minister of
Music and give necessary support.
4.
To increase the average
attendance at the Sunday service to 80.
5.
Devise a monthly Deacon visitation of the Members and
Friends. Include passionate people in the deacon visitation team.
6.
Pool and teach gifted people to minister in the communion
service
7.
Include youth and young adult in the ministry of Greeter
and Usher.
8.
Make a list of people that are passionate to be worships
assistants.
9.
By hosting at least two events (e.g. forum, workshop,
luncheon etc) each year specifically designed to promote to attract
possible “kindred spirits” who are not yet necessarily familiar with our
Church.
BOARD OF TRUSTEE
Church trustees have fiduciary obligation to hold
property interests for the benefit of another that is the First Baptist
Church of Bedford. Decisions must be made by the trustee looking only
toward the interest of the beneficiaries and not to the trustee's own
interest. Another important duty of all trustees is fulfillment of the
ministry of care. The ministry of care will include both the physical as
well as spiritual aspects of the people in the church. Trustees are
required to act in good faith and in a manner they believe to be in the
best interests of the beneficiaries and of the trust. Thus, trustees are
required to be diligent in attending meetings and in making sure they
are properly informed as to that various aspects of the decisions to be
made. Above all, each trustee must embrace that what we do is a
ministry of becoming and producing Disciples of Christ but not a
business.
Goal: To maintain a safe and cordial place
of worship and ministry at the First Baptist Church.
Objective:
1. By
developing a five-year Master Development plan with the architect for
church building, parsonage and grounds issues that will be reflected in
a yearly maintenance plan. This plan will be provided for in the church
buildings, Parsonage and grounds budget and the depreciation fund.
2. By
maintaining a safe physical environment through: meeting health, safety,
and fire codes yearly. A plan for meeting these codes shall be included
in yearly maintenance
3. By
developing a 5- year aesthetics plan that synchronizes with the yearly
maintenance plan.
4. By
developing a ministry of care and hospitality for the Sunday morning
worship service, such as ensuring the safety of the people coming to
church, setting coffee and refreshment on Sunday morning in appropriate
place, ministry of welcoming new people etc.
MISSION BOARD
This committee shall consist of members with deep faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior. The duties of this group are to consult with
and assist the Pastor in planning mission and evangelistic emphasis.
This committee shall work closely with the Board of Deacon. The
committee is responsible for working diligently to find the gifts of
ministry of each of the members in order to maximize outreach efforts.
The board is challenged to make recommendations regarding taking the
Gospel outside the building and structures of the local church. The
board should work closely with and tap resources from the appropriate
bodies such as: Christian Education, Youth and Family, Women’s and Men’s
group in developing strategies for reaching our local, state, national,
and world for Jesus Christ.
Goal: To proclaim the gospel here, there and
everywhere.
Objectives:
- People become more informed by increase
awareness of unreached people groups
- Increasing our practical and financial support
for our cross cultural partners
- To conduct 4 “Welcome to First Baptist”
lunches/events/ice-cream socials for new attendees, neighbors and
friends.
- Increase and set goals and promote our giving to
four major offerings: On Great Hour of Sharing, America for Christ,
World Mission Offering, and Retired Missionary Offering.
- Maintain a mission budget
- Evolve a Senior Ministry in the Church
- Encourage people to share their faith regularly.
- To purchase a 15 seated mini bus to transport at
least 15 people for church activities
- Plan monthly New Resident out reach program in
the town of Bedford.
- Coordinate monthly outreach ministry in the VA
Hospital Bedford and Bridge House Framingham.
CHURCH COUNCIL
The Church Council shall serve the Church by leading in planning,
coordinating, conducting and evaluating the ministries and programs of
the Church implemented by different board and committees. Evaluate
achievements in terms of Church ministries and goals. Another primary
function of the Church Council shall be to recommend annually to the
Church suggested ministries and goals to the Church body.
Goal: To oversees and support the ministry of various boards
group in the church
Objective:
1. By
developing a plan to evaluate yearly progress made on the goals and
objectives as written in the year plan. This report being summarized and
recommendations given at the Church Retreat each year in October.
2. Make
annual recommendation of ministry and goals to the Church body.
3. To
conduct annual Church Retreat in October
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Paid staff child care is provided for infants and toddlers in the nursery
located downstairs in the church during the morning Sunday School and Worship service. 
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