bid to the marriage feast.” (Matt. 22:9).Goals for 200_
The technical definition of a goal is, “The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed.” As the year 2001 nears its time to exit and the next calendar year arrives, the time is right to consider what purpose this congregation intends to serve in the future. What is our primary objective, or objectives?
First on the list of objectives for whatever the future brings is our collective effort to follow the inspired teaching of the Bible. God gave his word to us as a road map and blueprint. The Psalmist wrote, “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psa. 73:23-24).
The righteous endeavor to be a local church that first is pleasing to the Lord, following his word as our pattern and blueprint requires several things. Here are a few that we will endeavor to accomplish.
1. Increase our power and financial ability in order to be more active and effective in spreading the gospel (1 Tim. 3:15).
2. Seek out and invite those who need to know the plan of salvation and what the Bible teaches about the church Jesus established “Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find,
3. Re-construct and improve on our current teaching work. Teaching is the foundation on which lives are strengthened in Christ. Jesus taught, “Jesus said all who learn his teaching are “like a man building a house, who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and when a flood arose, the stream brake against that house, and could not shake it: because it had been well builded” (Luke 6:48).
4. Encourage and exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the day approaching (Heb. 10:24). We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds us together as a local church. Nothing is worth hindering the gospel and brotherly love. “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1)
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hat is our record for the goals we set for the past year? Have we made much progress? As we put our faith in God’s guiding hand in the coming year, each of us ought to pray hard and long that 200_ will be a landmark year for us.