Regional Vision
The Vision of ABCOPAD
Desiring to Honor the LORD in all we do
There's a phrase that has become 'worn' overtime, but it remains nonetheless true....
"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life."
What is true for individuals, is also true for groups who seek to honor the LORD,
be it a local church or a group of churches that join together for Mission.
God has a plan for each of us as individuals....
He has a plan and vision for each local congregation...
and
He has a plan and purpose--a Vision--for the life of this
regional family known as ABCOPAD.
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Following the call of Reverend Frank Frischkorn to serve as Executive Minister, a process was initiated to discover the Vision that the LORD has for us as we move forward in ministry. A Vision Task Force was formed, comprised of pastors and key lay leaders from around the region to prayerfully consider not only where we have been in ministry, but also where we believed God was calling us to go. Armed with the insights gathered from the meetings of the Task Force, Frank sought God's Heart for our future together, and shared the following vision with the Regional Board and Biennial Delegates in the Fall of 2008. |
Our Vision:
To build Healthy Partnerships with Churches, Pastoral Leaders
and the wider ABC Family to fulfill Christ's Mission in our world.
Our Scriptural Foundation:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you,
I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-6
All three of the components are dependent on each other.
None can exist in a vacuum and the region can hold a strategic place
in tying them all together.
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To build Healthy/Vital Partnerships with Local Congregations
As we look around us, it pretty clear that people are different. The same thing is true of churches. Certainly the buildings that house their ministries are different, but more than that they have different cultures that they relate to, different sets of gifts that make up the membership, but all have a common mission--to reach people for the Kingdom of God and build reproducing disciples who in turn will bring others into God's Kingdom. To do that, they need to be strong and vital fellowships, equipped to carry out this life-saving and life-changing mission. As a regional family, we want to partner with local congregations to help them grow and mature to be effective in mission.
| One of the main building blocks for that effort is the Growing Vital Congregations Initiative. This regionally-developed resource is a wonderful way for churches to gauge their 'health' around Eight Vital Signs. Our vision is to not only help congregations 'diagnose' their health, but also help provide resources and training to enable them to grow to even greater health and vitality. |
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To build Healthy/Vital Partnerships with Pastoral Leaders
"Seeking to build a Culture of Excellence in Leadership, which in turn will foster the development of a new generation of leaders."
In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul wrote,
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...."
(Ephesians 4: 11-12)
As pastors, these godly men and women are called to come alongside the flock to be encouragers, teachers, admonishers, comforters and models of what it means to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ. The challenges and stresses of ministry today are manifold, and the pastors of our regional family find themselves with a variety of needs that press on them both professionally and personally.
As a regional family, we need to come alongside those shepherds that God has raised up, building healthy/vital partnerships to support them through resourcing and caring ministries that touch not only their needs as pastors of the flock, but also as men and women in need of support as wives, fathers, husbands, mothers and most of all, Children of God.
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To build Healthy/Vital Partnerships with our wider ABC Family
One of the phrases that defines Baptists is this: 'they have mission in their DNA'.
It's true--at the foundation of our history was a desire to associate with one another for the cause of mission here in the United States , and around the world. We are people of Mission, with a passion for Mission.
ABCOPAD has always been about 'family', and we want to continue our history of support for not only our wider ABC mission effort with National and International Ministries, but also to enhance our existing partnerships with sister Regions, as well as explore new avenues of partnership.
In the past, we have shared in mission with other regions in a variety of ways, a few of those being:
In the future we want to enhance our partnerships to be strategic and effec tive in the common mission that we share:
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Multi-region participation in the Online Youth Training Course
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The Nehemiah Leadership Network--a partnership with regions here in the eastern US to equip pastoral leaders for transformational ministries
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Resource-sharing with other regional ministries
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Regional World Mission Conferences and joint mission trips with other regional bodies |