Vision for 2021
I remember that, when we were getting ready to enter the year 2020, everyone was joking about how we would see everything clearer. Though I do think we see some things a lot clearer now that 2020 is over, I don’t hear those people joking quite as much.
In 2020 we spent a lot of time planning, replanning and then cancelling plans. It was wild. Around August my phone dinged with a reminder that it was time to start planning for 2021. I showed it to one of our Direction Team members and we both chuckled uneasily. We chuckled because for most of 2020 we had only been able to plan out about a week or two at a time. And we were uneasy because we had no idea how we would be able to get any inspiration from the Lord, compelling vision, or clarity on the "what, why, and how" for 2021. Yet, by the time January 2021 came, we felt as inspired, compelled, and clear as we have ever been.
Here is a little write-up about what we have our sites set on for this year:
In 2021 we will put our collective wisdom and energy into staying steady in the winds of societal unrest, keep our eyes open for the flowers of God’s goodness, and consecrate ourselves in order to gain a vision for the righteousness of God for today.
In line with our vision to be a healthy local church, we are praying and working to:
Recruit, develop and care for 100 Life Group leaders in the next year.
We just trained 10 new Life Group leaders, bringing us to a total of 46. Our aim is to make Life Groups our primary discipleship vehicle. In our Life Groups we are creating community where raw authenticity, relentless encouragement, Biblical counsel, and genuine friendship can happen.Give our growing youth departments sufficient, updated spaces for the next 20 years, by working on restructuring and renovation to our facility.
In line with our vision to creatively expand God’s kingdom, we are praying and working to:
Recruit, develop, and send out 50 long-term missionaries by 2025.
We have sent out 7 and are hoping to send out another 10 or so this year. We define long-term as 9 months or more. The purpose of sending these missionaries is to strengthen churches and spread the Word of God.Plant healthy, local churches in minority communities.
The Lord Jesus has given us a meaningful connection with a church planter named Mario in Quito, Ecuador. He has planted multiple churches in the city of Quito out of the original church he helped plant. God has given Mario and his family a vision for planting churches in Phoenix. After partnering in ministry with him for 5 years now, it seems good to us and the Holy Spirit to unite in the endeavor of planting a church out of Living Streams for those in our city whose first language is Spanish. We are very excited for this and are currently waiting for him to receive his religious worker’s visa. At that point, his family will move here to Phoenix.
We have also been compelled by God’s Spirit to plant a church in South Phoenix. We are currently investigating which area has the most need for a local church, as well as what local churches are already doing in that area. One of our main mission values is to engage in society’s pain and there is legitimate pain and frustration in parts of the black community in Phoenix, which we hope to serve.
In addition to all these wildly important goals, there are many ongoing ministry endeavors happening under the umbrella of Living Streams. It is a great time to be a part of this church family, and it is a great time to be a Christian. I know society seems to be turning more and more post-Christian, and even anti-Christian, but church history teaches us that the more unpopular following Christ becomes, the more powerful it becomes as well.
The more the people opposed to Christ thought they were getting rid of Him, the more His name and renown and salvation abounded across the world. The followers of Christ gathered in church communities are still, and always have been, the single most dominant force for good in every part of the world and in every day and age.
Hallelujah to the King of King and Lord of Lords who calls me His own,
David
P.S. If any of these things, or all of these things, sound interesting to you, we would love your help in seeing them come to pass. It will definitely take Jesus’ power, along with much time, talent, and treasure from the Living Streams family. Please email me and we can get you involved.