Newsong Church | Grove, Ok.

SEVEN YEAR VISION OF NEWSONG CHURCH

A vision is a road map. It speaks of the things we believe God is calling us to move toward in prayer and ministry. We understand that most of these things will not come to pass exactly as they are envisioned. But we also understand that “without a vision, my people perish (Proverbs 29:18).”

This ministry vision is the result of our collective callings and visions. Newsong was founded in 1995. Its first seven years of ministry now serve as a foundation for what God desires us to do in the next seven years.

This written vision is simply an outline. When we look back in 2010, we fully expect some of it to be accomplished far beyond a few simple words on a page. Other parts of the vision may still be in embryonic stages. Some parts may be tried and abandoned. Certainly all of it will change and adapt as we continue to seek God and respond to His voice.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

We believe it's vital to understand that the work of God is the work of spreading His Kingdom. Many today still view God's work only as church growth. However, church growth is to be the result of the growth of God's Kingdom, not the goal. Because we seek to be Kingdom of God oriented, rather than church oriented, most of this vision is focused on things God desires to do outside the walls of Newsong Church .

We do expect the numbers of people worshipping at Newsong to increase, but that will come as a result of our multi-faceted efforts to increase the Kingdom of God in Delaware County and into “the uttermost parts of the earth.”

Consequently we are adding a line to our mission statement and foundational values that reads “We strive to promote the growth of the Kingdom of God by upholding these foundational values.”

The updated Mission Statement and Foundational Values are as follows:

- OUR MISSION -
To worship God as we take the
message of Christ to the unchurched.
We strive to promote the growth of the Kingdom of God by upholding these foundational values:

Acceptance: Christ taught us to accept every person as they are, regardless of appearance, beliefs, or life-controlling problems.

Cell Groups: The New Testament church met “in the temple and from house to house (Acts 2:46).” We follow this pattern with weekly home meetings called cell groups. Each group is a community of believers sharing life in Christ.

Friendship Evangelism: Christ spent time with those who were not believers in order to influence them toward righteousness. We imitate this by purposely befriending those who don't know Christ in order to bring them to Him.

PRAYER AND INTERCESSION

We fully believe that God desires to transform our county. The serious problems of drug addiction, domestic violence, child abuse, divorce and the like must first be confronted in the heavenlies through prayer and spiritual warfare. Our prayer and intercession goals for the next seven years include:

1) promote community-wide prayer meetings

2) continue to identify demonic strongholds and pray against them including prayer walks and other on-site prayer gatherings

3) seek to unite other intercessors in the area to join in this effort

4) plan and promote a Prayer Fair in Delaware County with the possibility of it becoming an annual event

5) plan and promote all night prayer and praise gatherings

6) continue to seek to unite local pastors in prayer

7) continue to promote worship/intercession/warfare gatherings of the Body of Christ in Delaware County

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Our first mission field is Delaware County. It is our Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). Our outreach plans for Delaware County in the next seven years include:

1) continue our street ministry type outreach at the Jay bowling alley

2) continued ministry in the Delaware County jail with plans to increase the frequency and intensity of the ministry as the opportunities arise

3) continue our support of the food and benevolence ministries in Grove (Christian H.E.L.P. Center and Christian Mission Thrift Store) and Jay (Christian Care Center)

4) conduct crusades, seminars, and other gatherings in the building or in the community for the purpose of evangelism and building the body of Christ

5) use creative means to reach children and adults with the gospel; such as horseback riding lessons, soccer tournaments and other such sports related activities

DRUG RELATED MINISTRIES

Drug and alcohol addiction have reached seriously high levels in our county. The church cannot be silent and can no longer ignore this problem. Use of methamphetamine, in particular, has greatly increased in recent years. Many of our other social problems are a result of drug abuse. We will diligently seek to help those caught in the web of drug abuse by:

1) providing a local church environment where drug users will be accepted, not judged

2) providing a local church environment where drug users can find deliverance from addictive spirits and healing through discipleship and cell groups

3) work with local authorities to improve services to addicts and their families

4) work to change the attitudes of judicial and law enforcement officials to reflect a biblical view of punishment and restitution for offenders (these two goals are currently being addressed by a citizens group led by Pastor Steve to study the methamphetamine problem and recommend solutions to our community)

5) establish a house for drug addicts and other ex-convicts to be discipled and helped to establish their lives on a biblical foundation

KENWOOD OUTREACH

We believe God desires to do a great work in the Kenwood community. Newsong plans to work in Kenwood in the next seven years by:

1) working with local pastors to help their churches reach the lost

2) promote unity among the existing believers and churches in any way the Lord directs

3) minister to children through Vacation Bible School type ministries

4) provide help to residents with practical ministries such as income tax preparation, GED test tutoring, etc.

5) identify anti-Christian traditions and practices and teach the local churches to combat them

6) promote festivals, revivals, and other such evangelistic gatherings WITHIN THE WALLS OF NEWSONG CHURCH

Our mission statement clearly reflects our commitment to take the message of Christ to people where they live. However, we also know that followers of Christ must have a place to worship, learn God's Word, and grow in faith. As we advance this vision, the result will be more people within the walls of the building.

Our goal is not to build a mega-church. Our goal is to disciple, train, equip, and release people into the destiny God has for them. In the next seven years, we anticipate:

WORSHIP

Corporate worship by the body of Christ is part of why God created man (1 Peter 2:9). Our mission statement reflects the primacy of worship in this local church. We fully anticipate our worship times to continue to grow and mature as God reveals new aspects of His character to us. Specifically, we will strive to blend worship and intercession. The result will be greater intensity of God's glory in our midst and stronger faith as we move out to accomplish His purposes in our mission fields. We will avoid any Hollywood type activities that glorify a person or reduce worship times to performances. We will strive for excellence in musical presentation but will never exalt the music or the presentation above the primary purpose of honoring God's presence.

YOUTH MINISTRY

Our youth ministry vision is unique in that it does not attempt to babysit or entertain young people. Instead, we intentionally challenge our youth to abandon themselves to the cause of Christ.

1) continue to train youth in ministry using servant projects, sharing of their faith, and foreign missions involvement

2) continue to lead the way in local schools with student initiated Bible studies and discipleship groups

SCHOOL OF MINISTRY

We anticipate establishing a Bible School within our local church to train people in ministry. This will be designed to prepare them for pastoral, missionary, and local church work.

FOREIGN MISSIONS

Missions experts estimate one billion new converts will come to Christ in the next decade. To handle the harvest, two million new churches will need to be started and 4000 new pastors will must be trained and sent out every week. Newsong fully intends to take an active part in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We expect the Great Commission to be fulfilled before the return of Christ to earth (Matthew 24:24). In recent years, God has directed us to greatly increase our missionary efforts in other parts of the world. We expect that exponential increase to continue and in the next seven years we anticipate:

1) being significantly involved in planting 50 churches around the world

2) being significantly involved in planting 5 Bible Schools in other countries

3) within a few years, we expect to average one foreign missions trip each month

4) to be supporting 4 full-time foreign missionaries from Newsong

5) to commit to reach 4 unreached people groups (we are already working with one)

6) we fully expect these efforts will result in Newsong being responsible for presenting the gospel to over 100,000 people, the majority of whom have never heard the message of Christ

Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. - Habakkuk 2:2-3

... on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. - Matthew 16:18