Pre-Launch: Vision Sunday

Vision Sunday (March 11, 2018)

Passage: Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

We’re going to first share the “Why” behind Boulder and the name Pinewood, then we are going to move on and finish the talk by sharing the “Where” and casting vision for the future.

Big Idea: As we look ahead toward launching Pinewood Church this fall, it’s critical that we take the time necessary to articulate the vision and where we feel God is leading us to go. Our goal is to share a clear and compelling vision so that you have a good understanding of where we’re going and how you can join us.

I’ve asked Jess to join me for this talk. We really want this to be a time where we let you guys in on conversations that we’ve been having for the last several years. Since the beginning of our journey we have felt strongly about several aspects of the local church. We didn’t know how the journey would unfold, but we knew where we were going and what God had called us to.

Why Boulder? (Give short story of what brought us to Boulder)

Why Pinewood? (Briefly share about Isaiah 55:11-13)

Isaiah 55:11-13

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress (pine trees); instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Now that we’ve shared with you the “Why?”, we would like to take the next 20 minutes and share the “Where”.

Pray:

Main Outline:

1. Church of Influence

   1. Our vision is that Pinewood would have a global influence. One that would sweep across the world & hundreds of thousands would know Him through the influence of this church.

   2. To have a church of influence is to have a people of influence. This has nothing to do with numbers.

      1. Influence definition - the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.

         3. Question: If Pinewood Church were to no longer exist in Boulder, would anyone notice?

      2. We will not settle for no impact in this city! We will not settle for no influence with our neighbors! We will not settle for anything less than everything we got!

         4. As I’m saying the influence of Pinewood, what I want you to hear is the influence of YOU!

      3. The name will only be able to touch so many, but there is no limit to our reach if we leverage all of our personal influence for the Kingdom.

      4. If we were to take a poll today to see how many people we all influence I would imagine we could be well over 1000+ people.

         1. What are you leveraging your influence for?

            1. Is it for Jesus and His church?
            2. A Large Church
               1. We believe that numbers are people, and people matter to God.
               2. At Pinewood we count. We count quantity, track maturity, and monitor quality.

      5. We discussed this last week in 1 Corinthians 3. In this chapter Paul addressed the church’s maturity (milk and solids), its growth, which God gives (plants and waters), and quality (foundation and building).

         3. A large church does not mean a disconnected church. As the church grows larger we have to at the same time grow smaller.
         4. Many have said they have loved how connected they feel when they come to Pinewood.

      6. We can grow big in numbers and community at the same time. Everyone is looking for community in Boulder.

      7. We want to be a safe hub that people can belong before they believe & even find community while on their journey to receiving Jesus.
      8. Family
         1. Our desire is to see families all over Boulder see the importance of having a Firm Foundation to build their families on. We are going to come alongside of them by providing a safe, fun, and Truth driven space that will point them to Jesus. We know personally how hard parenting and marriage can be and we are standing on a firm foundation! We want to create a space that offers love and support to families and marriages. We would love to one day see a Christian counseling center be built! We are firm believers in counseling & we want to dream big and believe that God not only can but desires to see marriages restored and families thrive!

2. Passionate Worship

3. Constant Salvations

4. Where the Spirit is present there is life change. Our desire is to create a space that is ALWAYS welcoming to the Holy Spirit. We believe Jesus is stirring many hearts in Boulder. We want to be equipped, prepared, & bold to share Jesus. Our prayer is that the result of our obedience to be bold in sharing the Gospel the outcome, which is up to God, would be radical life change all over the city. Imagine with me for a minute, a place that has been known to be spiritually dead to the Gospel, come ALIVE! Jesus begins to grip hearts of the people in this city & as a result their co-workers, families, friends, relatives all over the world begin saying, “YES” too! LETS GO!

5. Constant Salvations will happen as a direct result of prayer. I love this book called, “Prayer Portions.” I have been challenged in it not only to pray for my friends by name, but to pray specifically that the footholds that the enemy has over their lives would be broken. *We saw that happen this week. My friend had openly admitted about a large barrier that was keeping her from saying YES to Jesus. This made my prayer job super easy! I began praying that the barrier that was keeping her from salvation would be removed by the power and the blood of Jesus. AND GUESS WHAT HE DID IT!!! Not me, Him!*

6. Constant salvations are going to be a direct result of everyone making an impact in their sphere of influence. You are the best person to reach the people in your sphere of influence.

   1. We are going to be a place where people can come and hear the Good News of the Gospel, but you are going to be the one that is taking this Good News to your neighbors, coworkers, family, and friends.
   2. It’s going to take you constantly praying for them, showing up at special events, and being bold to share your story.
   3. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” - Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)

7. Holy Spirit Dependence

   1. Illust: mega church on Easter had over 15,000 people and 12 salvations. They had the best of everything, but lack the most important thing. A small church just a few miles away with a congregation of just over 100 people saw 6 salvations, a healing, marriages restored, and several baptisms.
   2. “Where the Spirit is present, life change happens.”
   3. Application: What do we mean when we say Holy Spirit dependence? Imagine that if you are walking around and your heart suddenly stops beating. We are all dependent on a steady and consistent heartbeat to provide blood flow throughout our bodies. In the same way, we should be that dependent on the Holy Spirit. That if for some reason the Spirit was no longer present we would all sense it and fall lifeless on the floor.
8. Unified Church
   1. The devil is not afraid of a big church, but he should be terrified of a united church.
   2. “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10

9. Clear Message

   1. Jesus is our message. The methods may change, but the message will stay the same.
   2. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12

10. Full of Compassion

    1. Local Compassion

       1. #LoveBoulder Initiatives
       2. Foster Care

       3. Disaster Relief

          2. Global Compassion

       4. Anti-trafficking

       5. Orphan Care
       6. Disaster Relief
       7. Kingdom Minded
          1. *A Kingdom Minded church is a church that will count whatever the cost and pay whatever the price to see revival sweep this land. We will serve hard, do all things with excellence, we will pray more than we have ever prayed, believe deeper & live with expectancy that the same God who promised exiled Israel a new thing IS GOING TO DO A NEW THING here too!*
          2. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:33
       8. Raising up Leaders
          1. We want future worship pastors, student pastors, children's pastors, and lead pastors to be raised up out of Pinewood.
          2. We want to send out our best leaders to start New Churches, to go overseas and be missionaries. Our heart is not to keep the best BUT to send the best!
          3. One of our values is Servant Leadership. When you go through Growth Track you are then on the Dream Team! We are raising up servant leaders out of that to empower people to use the gifts God has given them to further His church and Kingdom!
          4. It is our prayer that future staff members would come from Pinewood Church.

11. Multiply Disciples

    1. Our prayer is that we would see a disciple making movement here in Boulder that would spread all around the world.
    2. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
    3. This is why we do book studies, smaller accountability groups, 1-on-1 meetings.
    4. If there is one thing that we cannot miss, it’s the final command of Jesus Christ… to make disciples of all nations.

Closing: The church that we see could very well be our church.

Pray