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Contents

  1. 1 Vision Process 2008-2013
    1. 1.1 Why does St. Marks exist?
    2. 1.2 What are our heartfelt beliefs?
    3. 1.3 Where do we want to be in five years time?
  2. 2 Mission Statement
    1. 2.1 St. Marks Forest Hill - Vision 2008
    2. 2.2 Worship
    3. 2.3 Membership
    4. 2.4 Discipleship
    5. 2.5 Ministry
    6. 2.6 Outreach

Vision Process 2008-2013

Why does St. Marks exist?

We exist to be a Christ like people expressing God’s grace and truth.

What are our heartfelt beliefs?

We believe in:
  • The Bible as God’s Word
  • Jesus Christ as God’s Son
  • Risk taking for God
  • Dependent prayer in all we attempt.
  • Genuine relationships
  • Ongoing  hospitality
  • Deep compassion
  • High commitment

Where do we want to be in five years time?

We want to be known as an increasingly outward looking Christian community. We will show and express God’s love to everyone we reach in ministry. We will enable every member to have a fulfilling ministry.

Mission Statement

St. Marks Forest Hill - Vision 2008

St.Marks is a Christian Church seeking to make a positive difference in the community where we serve.

We welcome visitors to our services and other programs whether a person has no faith or a strong faith.

We need a supportive group of people in our lives, and we hope that by attending St.Marks you may feel that support too.

We have a basic structure for what we do set out in the following notes on our vision and purposes. Further information is available by contacting the church office. Thank you for taking the time to view our site.

At St. Marks we have a desire to be a Christ like people who

  • Build a caring Christian community.
  • Grow in the likeness of Christ.
  • Share the good news in the world.

We follow purposes covering five large areas of life –worship, membership, discipleship, ministry and outreach. A brief summary of our approach follows.

Worship

God is worthy of our worship. We set out to express to God our wonder at His greatness. It is actually easier to concentrate on ourselves and what we get out of our faith however in this area we are focusing on activity directed toward God.

Just as those who use telescopes bring large objects into focus and show them to us as they really are; so in worship we seek to bring God into focus. We can then praise God for who He is and for what He is doing.

We acknowledge this too.  Worship is really a response. We worship God as he is revealed to us particularly in Jesus Christ - this is Christian worship.

Membership

Every human being was created by God but not everyone is a child of God.

God wants a family and created us to be part of it.  We encourage people to belong to God’s family in a local congregation. Being a member of God’s family moves us out of self centred isolationism, identifies us as a believer, helps us develop spiritual muscle and share Christ’s mission.

The concept of membership’ is of Christian origin however but world has cheapened the meaning. By membership we mean being brought into God’s family by God’s work and being a vital organ of a living body.

Discipleship

God’s ultimate goal for our life on earth is not comfort, but character development. We were created to become like Christ.

Christian maturity does not happen by chance, it does not happen by our self will and it does not stop happening in this life. We find Christ arranges our experiences daily so we can learn. Being a disciple involves continually being equipped through God’s Word and godly principles to serve Christ in an increasingly godly effective way.

We recognise Jesus Christ as the Lord of all and the head of the church.

We recognise these discipleship priorities.
The highest priority in our life is a growing relationship with the living Lord.
The second highest priority is the church family.
The third highest priority is relationships to people in the world.

So the fundamental meaning of the word disciple is learner. There are at least three keys to learning -openness, enthusiasm and making application of our learning.

Ministry

We acknowledge that we were created to serve God. We were saved to serve God. God says every member of his family is a minister. It is vital we use our life for God’s purposes and glory.

Ministry in our setting is giving all of ourselves over to all we know of God in faithful service. It is using the special abilities and gifts he had given us within a team of God’s people.

Each Christian needs to live a daily Spirit filled life, expecting God to flow through us so that things happen. Part of discipleship is unleashing ourselves in appropriate gifted ministry. No factor influences the sense of joy in living the Christian life more than if we are living it according to our spiritual gifts.

Outreach

God reaches out into His world.

What we do as a congregation is not all God does. He judges or shows mercy in ways not necessarily done through God’s people. Jesus Christ death on the Cross which enables our salvation is part of God’s work from which we benefit.

Our outreach can be defined as ‘everything the church is sent into the world to do’. We include in reaching out the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ. In this we follow the example of Jesus who reminded us that ‘as the Father has sent me, even I send you’.