God's Calling for Us - Highlights | First Presbyterian Church, Boulder

God's Calling for Us - Highlights

As we approached the question “What is God calling First Pres to be and to do?”, we returned to the core values stated in the 2004 Ministry Master Plan.

Christ Centered

Biblically Faithful

Outreach and Service

Prayer

Community

Grace

Our conversations with congregational members, our committee deliberations, and prayer have led us to reaffirm these core values and to use them as our foundation for thinking about First Pres today and in the future. We first state what we believe each core value calls us to do today. Then we suggest some new steps that First Pres can take to help us more effectively demonstrate the core value in our church life. Neither the statements of what we are being called to do nor the ideas in the new steps are listed in an order of priority. Prioritizing will be the responsibility of session and individual ministries.

We Are Called To Be Centered on Jesus Christ

What does being Christ-centered call us to do today?

To become more transformed by Jesus, think more like Jesus, live thoroughly as Jesus’ disciples, be motivated by his resurrection and its implications, and reflect Christ’s love.
To become more aware of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
To become more open, transparent, authentic, humble, and gracious to ourselves, each other, our staff, and our neighbors, near and far.

New steps in being a Christ-centered church:

Conduct preaching and teaching on what it means to be centered on Christ, including discerning his living presence and guidance through the Holy Spirit.
Encourage more congregational participation in new sermon series through small groups.
Connect more congregation members with ministries that serve both local and global communities.

We Are Called To Be Biblically Faithful

What does being Biblically-faithful call us to do today?

To be deeply devoted to the Truth and to the truths of Scripture. Live it! Share it!
Continue convicting, relevant, transparent, and personal preaching of Truth in love. Expand on-going efforts to revitalize the 11:00 worship service so that the worship experience during that service is dynamic and engaging.
Teach and nurture the development of scriptural knowledge, application, and accountability to use in defending the kingdom of our risen Messiah.

New steps in being a Biblically-faithful church:

Infuse wider, deeper, and more contagious Bible study throughout the church with more variety of study styles and diversity in participants’ age and background.
Create authentic, contemporary, rich, and challenging alternative worship services that embrace the diverse worship needs of members and nonmembers.
Thoughtfully, lovingly, and systematically plan and implement worship experiences which apply God’s wisdom and healing to areas of our brokenness, hurt, and sin.
Support opportunities to connect scriptural teaching with preparation for sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors.

Remember what Christ taught us and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts.

Colossians 3:16 [LB]

We Are Called To Be Engaged in Outreach and Service

What does being engaged in outreach and service call us to do today?

Welcome and love all—the unloved, the loved; the poor, the wealthy; the more obviously broken, the less obviously broken; the angry, the fearful, the seekers, the disconnected.
Form partnerships with downtown neighbors, churches, businesses, and local secular and religious organizations that help the community.
Encourage and enable all members to grow in their ability to personally share their faith through their relationships with people outside the church.

New steps in becoming a church engaged in outreach and service:

Intentionally focus more on groups now marginalized, such as homeless, singles, single parents, childless couples, divorced, disabled, college students, homosexuals, and the sick. Spotlight these groups in public ways as a form of acceptance and welcoming.
Welcome youth and encourage University Ministry members to consider First Pres as their place of service and worship; urge First Pres members to reach out to youth and college students.
Create an ongoing conversation on evangelism through preaching, small groups, Bible studies, service groups within the church, and church committees.
Find creative ways to engage the congregation and staff in making the sharing of faith a part of everyone’s way of life.

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything - encores to the end of time. Oh yes!

1 Peter 4:10 - 11 [The Message]

We Are Called To Be a Praying People

What does being a praying people call us to do today?

To become individuals who pray regularly and often and who grow to delight in prayer.
To become a church that prays regularly and often as a congregation and that comes to delight in prayer.

New steps in being a church of praying people:

Elevate prayer as a more prominent, dynamic part of our worship services, including practicing more confession and praying, not just reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
Develop some regular worship services that primarily contain prayer and fewer other elements of service.
Nurture and develop “prayer champions” to continue systematic all-church prayer gatherings.
Use the pulpit to teach the congregation how to pray better. Do this regularly and passionately. Invite laity to share in the teaching of prayer from the pulpit.

Never stop praying.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 [NLT]

We Are Called To Be a Connected Community

What does being a connected community call us to do today?

To intentionally build community through activities within and outside the church walls, including people of diverse backgrounds and ages.
To become a community that is itself a witness: “See how they love one another” as was said of the early Christians.
Reinforce a leadership model in which staff and members of the congregation work side by side in doing ministry.
Encourage more collaboration and communication between staff and lay leaders to create a greater sense of community and new momentum for more dynamic, organic lay ministry involvement.

New steps in being a connected community:

Encourage staff and members to use multiple forms of communication to inform the congregation and wider community about church activities and opportunities.
Conversely, we need to encourage congregants to assume responsibility for keeping themselves informed of church “news.”
Integrate into leadership positions young adults, single parents, seniors, and others who have not traditionally been in these positions by accommodating their time, physical, economic, or other limitations.
Individually and corporately, be a shelter from the outside world, demonstrating that the church is different from the secular world.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 [NIV]

We Are Called To Be Grace-Filled and Grace-Extending

What does being grace-filled and grace-extending call us to do today?

As directed by Romans 12:10-21

To live harmoniously, honor one another, and be joyful.
To practice hospitality and associate with people from all walks of life.
To overcome evil with good and to bless our persecutors.

New steps in being a grace-filled and grace-extending church:

Encourage the telling of real stories in worship services of members struggling with sins, doubts, crises, and daily life struggles; not just stories with happy endings. Validate these stories as examples for others to follow. Include examples of people within the church who are practicing grace.
Expand and promote a lay counseling ministry and more support groups for people dealing with issues related to parenting, divorce, death, suffering, anger, control issues, malice, addictions, and sexuality.
Partner and serve with other churches, as well as civic and nonprofit organizations, to participate in common outreach activities. Determine what needs are being met and what needs remain unmet.

First Presbyterian Church, Boulder