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We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. – Colossians 1:28

My vision for ministry has changed in the past 15 years.
As a young pastor to teenagers i had visions of grandeur.  While i saw myself reaching thousands and thousands my reality was a youth group of 10 kids.  Five of those kids were in one family, the Carters. Whenever the Carter’s would go on vacation we would just cancel the youth group, no pastor can handle a 50% attendance drop in one week!  In those days all I could think about was growth, not in depth but breadth. Despite excellent advice from my Elders I wanted a thousand kids in my youth group.

Over the years God did bless different ministries i was a part of with numeric growth.  In some seasons we were blown away as we added chairs, built buildings, and learned to manage staff teams.  But as our church has continued to grow my vision has changed…

While i was once consumed with visions of reaching thousands I am now realizing i have to answer to God for each person.  I know it’s not my mission alone, and I know God’s power is the only path to effectiveness but still this reality is sobering.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

attributed – sir francis drake -1577