A Vision for Our Saviour

Over the past three weeks we’ve talked about developing—and living with—vision: a clear, God-inspired mental picture of a preferred future. Up to this point it’s been pretty much personal, focusing on our preferred future for our families, our children . . .
As we’ve talked about this concept of vision, we’ve relied pretty heavily upon the principles of Nehemiah: How Nehemiah saw a problem and then developed a plan to address that problem. How he prayed for God’s help in accomplishing his vision, and how he prayed even more and then revised his plan as the circumstances surrounding the completion of his vision changed.
Through it all, I’ve been amazed at the passion Nehemiah had for his vision. How he believed so strongly in his vision that he became convinced not only that it could be done, but that it should be done. How his Godly passion for completing the wall and making the people of Jerusalem safe again kept him going even through the most difficult and dangerous of times. That kind of driving urge, the all-consuming passion to see a vision all the way through to its completion is the kind of thing that stirs my heart and makes me want to achieve more, as well.
So I got to wondering . . . how can we apply that sort of passion, how can we apply what we’ve learned about vision so far to our lives here at Our Saviour? How can we birth a vision? How can we develop a preferred future for where we believe God is taking us? How can we make a vision-sized impact on the city of Hudson and even beyond?
Now, this is no small question! This is not something that we’re going to be able to figure out in just one sermon! But what we can do is build a framework for approaching a church-wide vision.
I’m not going to mince words. I want to leave you just a bit unsettled today. Partly because I don’t want the conversation to end here, I want it to continue on. But also partly because being unsettled—having a sense of holy discontent, a divine dissatisfaction—is an inherent part of having a true, God-inspired vision.

What is Our Saviour here for? _______________________ Did God establish this church so that we can have our needs met? Okay, the answer for that in some way is a “yes”, so let me put this another way: Did God establish Our Saviour Lutheran Church just so that Pastor Troy Neujahr can draw a steady paycheck? Is the church here just for me?
The answer of course is “No”! Blecch! No!! But if that is true, then it is also true that the church is not here just for you, either. This church is not my personal playground, it is my calling. In the same way, Our Saviour Lutheran Church isn’t just a nice place for you to feel good about yourself; it is a place that God has ordained for you to meet Him, for you to be ministered to, and for you to serve. It is your calling. And since He has knit us together as part of the Body of Christ, we’re all in this together. It is our calling.
Now, what has God called us to as a congregation? We already know that! We learned about our five purposes back in February, and you know what? It’s time for a quick review! God has called us to: 1) Worship. 2) Discipleship. 3) Fellowship. 4) Ministry. 5) Missions—evangelism. That’s what you are called to, that is what we as a church are called to. Any vision we have, any sense of a Godly picture of a preferred future is going to have to have a healthy, balanced approach to those five purposes!
Those five purposes let us know what God has called us to, they are a building block for vision, but they themselves are not vision. To begin to have the sense of vision, I want you to take a few minutes and answer some questions. Don’t respond out loud, just think about the question for a minute and then write down your answer on your interactive sermon sheet.
First question: Who are we? You say, “Oh, that’s easy! Our Saviour Lutheran Church.” No, no, no, no . . . who are we? What kind of church are we? What is our self-identity as a church? Not as individuals, but as a church?

Second question: Why does God have us here? What could be His purpose for giving Hudson, Michigan a place like Our Saviour? What is going on in this community that He would have us address? What needs are there that He would have us minister to?

Third question: What do we stand for now? What is the absolute bedrock that we will refuse to compromise on? What are those areas where we would have freedom to change? What are our values, those things that we hold dear that motivate us to actually do something? And then, after you answer that, answer this question, What should we stand for tomorrow?

Fourth question: Where are we going? What target are we shooting for as a church? Do we have a target?


Fifth and final question: How will we get there?


I’d be willing to make a bet on something regarding those questions. I’d be willing to bet that as you answered those questions you had some mixed emotions. You probably had some good answers to a few of those questions, but you also realized there were questions you couldn’t answer with certainty. Is that a problem? Not as long as we commit—as a church—to take the time to figure out the answers to those questions.
What happens if we don’t commit to answer those questions? Well, honestly not much. We’ll continue on, I’ll keep preaching every Sunday, we’ll continue to be assured through Word and Sacrament of the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ, and not much will change at all.
For a while, at least.
But let’s illustrate what will happen in twenty years’ time. Everyone who is 60 years old or younger please stand up. 60 years old or younger. Barring any exceptionally long lifespans, there’s Our Saviour in twenty years’ time. Let’s keep going into the future. Anyone who is 50 years or younger, keep standing. 40 years or younger, please keep standing. 30 years or younger. Twenty years or younger. 10. Barring any major changes, there is Our Saviour Lutheran Church in seventy years.
Church statistics indicate that an average church’s lifespan is about eighty years. How old is Our Saviour? Just over fifty years. Look at your sermon sheet. Like all living things, a church’s life generally follows what is known as a Bell curve. It is born, it grows to maturity, it reaches the height of its effectiveness, and then slowly declines until it is essentially dead. And all that takes place in an average of eighty years.
I have been in churches on every single point along that curve, and I can tell you with certainty that the further along a church gets on the “decline” side, the harder and harder it is to breathe new life into that church. Eventually, keeping even just the most basic ministry functions is an all-consuming task for the declining church. Statistically speaking, Our Saviour is on the “decline” side of the curve.
But that’s not the end of the story! First, that statistic of a church death in eighty years is only an average, and even then it is only true if the church does not make a specific effort to begin a new curve. In other words, the churches that defy the statistics—the ones that live past eighty years—those churches are the ones that make a specific choice to listen to God and heed His direction when He breathes new life into their congregation.
I’d like Our Saviour to long outlive me, and I’m sure you would like that, too. But let’s make sure we have the right motives. There are many good reasons why we’d want to keep our church alive for years to come, but there is only one reason why we should.
What is the task of the church? What is the one thing that encapsulates all of the five purposes? It is the Great Commission. Christ says in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in Heaven and on earth had been given to Him, and—say it with me now—“19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
The one task of the church is the Great Commission! To make disciples by baptizing and teaching! That is why we want this church to continue! That is why we desire God’s ministry through Our Saviour to outlast our lives! Because each of us, from the youngest to the oldest, from the founding member to the one baptized just today, each of us have received the gifts of God that He gave us through Jesus Christ here in this place. God has met us here. He has taught us here. He has ministered to us here in our joys, our sorrows, our births, our deaths!
That is why we want His church to live on! Because as we have freely received, we wish to freely give to a people who have not yet heard, to families who do not yet know, to a generation that has not yet been born. Whether we live or die we do so to the Lord, and though we desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; it is more necessary for those yet to come that Our Saviour remains. Because as Our Saviour remains, the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ also lives on.
In the Gospel of Matthew—turn there to chapter sixteen—Jesus is asking His disciples who people say He is. Matthew 16:14-15, “4 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"”
Stop there just a minute. Before you go any further, answer this question. Do you ever get tired of Satan’s interference in your life? Did you ever want to be part of something so great that Satan himself couldn’t mess it up? Did you? . . . . then read on.
Matthew 16:16-18, “16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock—on this confession of faith, in other words. Read this with me, now—on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.”
Do you want to be part of something that just sticks in Satan’s craw? Do you want to be part of something that Satan cannot overcome? Then get behind this idea of a church-wide vision. Join with me in dreaming about what God’s preferred future could hold for Our Saviour, work together with me as we make plans to bring about His vision for us, and partner with me as together we work to make that vision a reality.

This sermon series on vision is done . . . but the visioning process is just beginning. Look around you . . . there are all sorts of signs of a breath of new life here at Our Saviour! I can see all sorts of good things happening: there is newfound energy, there is a greater desire to serve, there is an increased hunger for prayer and for discipleship. God is breathing a new breath of life into our church . . . don’t you think we should make the most of that? Shouldn’t we pray and dream and plan and vision, and make the most out of what He is doing?
This sermon is done . . . but your involvement is just beginning. Don’t let this idea drop here. Go home and listen to God about where He might have us go. Go home and dream about what could one day be. Chat about it over coffee hour. Tell your friends what you could see happening in the future. Tell the church leaders what you could see happening here. Tell me what you could see happening here. Dream up some big, hairy, audacious goals that will test us as a church, that will stretch us to the breaking point, and that will prove God faithful at every turn. This is His church . . . and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. Its high time we get in on what God’s vision for Our Saviour is . . . His picture of a preferred future.