Pastor's Corner - “Three V’s”: Vision, Values, and Vehicles

Dear Friends,

Last week I wrote about the vision and values of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. This week I want to share with you about the vehicles of church ministry.

Pastor Joseph Wheat, my friend and mentor, Senior Pastor at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, MS, taught me many invaluable lessons on leadership and church ministry. He taught me that faithful, biblical local church ministry can be organized around “Three V’s”: Vision, Values, and Vehicles. Vision is a specific way of seeing how ministry is guided by our biblical values. Vision is God’s creative “recipe” for a specific ministry. Vision can change if the circumstances change. Values are those core pillars that God has shown us in Scripture upon which He wants to build His church. Values are fixed by Holy Scripture - they never change. Vehicles are those structures of ministry that help us accomplish the vision. The vehicles of ministry should reflect the biblical values of the church.

Vehicles are the ministry structures in which we live out our vision and move increasingly deeper into the process of discipleship. At Cornerstone, the vehicles of ministry mirror our values of Worship, Discipleship, Care and Missions & Outreach.  

  • Worship: The Sunday Morning Worship service. This is the climax and the starting point for our weekly walk with Christ.
  • Discipleship: Sunday School and various church small groups (men’s and women’s ministry, student and children's ministry). The groups will be based on robust teaching of the Bible from a Reformed perspective. 
  • Care: Through small groups and prayer groups, Sunday Schools, student ministry, etc…. We want to care for one another and we do that through our various church structures.
  • Missions & Outreach: Through serving opportunities, both home and abroad. We want to partner with local church ministries, national ministries, and world missions to see the Gospel taken to the ends of the earth.

So there you have it. The "three V's" of biblical and faithful local church ministry. The Session and I invite you to be a part of this ministry model by asking you to pray and to use your gifts to further God's kingdom through this little body called Cornerstone. May God give us grace, peace and power to fulfill the vision to which He has called us. 

By His grace and to His praise,

Wilson

Worship Notes: August 30, 2015

  • This Sunday we will be receiving new members into our congregation. Praise God and let us all reflect on our vows. 
  • In preparation for the sermon: "In the Bible God weeps for His people, yearns for them, works for their deliverance." ~James Montgomery Boice
  • A hymn for the week: Just As I Am
  • Click here for this week's bulletin. 
  • We are podcasting! Catch up on sermons on iTunes.

Wilson's Weekly

Michael Kruger's video encouragement on Facing the Challenges of a Secular University Environment is excellent for parents and college students. Click here.

One podcast that I thoroughly enjoy is "Ask Pastor John" with questions from believers on the Christian life to Pastor John Piper. Tim Challies' recent blog “9 Parenting Truths From John Piper” is extremely helpful and an encouragement for parents.

If you have never discovered www.challies.com then I encourage you to do so. Tim Challies is a reformed, Christian blogger and pastor in Canada. His blog is possibly the longest standing Christian blog out there. Tim writes about many, many topics that are practical for the Christian life.

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