Our Vision
Thank you for your interest in the vision that we believe God has given us! Below are some sketchings - some incomplete ideas - of what we’ll be doing in Chicago. We also have a media presentation and vision brochure as a PDF or Quicktime movie.
Vision Presentation (.PDF 5 megs)
Vision Presentation (.MOV 21 megs)
Our World Today
It is becoming increasingly obvious that our world is radically changing at an alarming rate. Massive shifts in all arenas of life: politics, economics, international affairs, cultural and multi-generational relations, and seismic geological changes are at our doorstep; and our world will never be the same.
The Industrial Revolution has brought about an Information Revolution that has changed the way we think, learn, and act. For the first time people are being exposed to ideas from around the world that would have never been possible before. Medical breakthroughs and self-help books are prolific. And yet with all these scientific and cultural advances, the Western world is seeing a free-fall in the Christian faith that much of its society was founded on.
As of this writing, the United States has a declining average church attendance of 17.5%. And this is not to mention the vibrancy (or lack thereof) of many of this nation’s church-goers! In fact, the average Christian has less than 2 non-Christian friends in their circle of influence and doesn’t lead one single person to Christ in their entire life.
What would you say if I told you that 95% of the world’s women were infertile? It would be a global crisis! Our churches are even less reproductive, and each year we see tens of thousands of dying churches in this country shut their doors for good.
God’s Dream
The Story of a Dream
When God created this world, he intended it to be a place where those he created could live in peace and in delight with their Creator. Humanity’s eventual distrust of God’s blessing and promises in the Garden did not keep our missionary God from pursuing us. We see him try to send whispers of his loving loyalty through leaders like Moses, David, and the prophets, but his creation did not listen.
He finally sent Himself in the form of Jesus Christ, not just preaching but living the peace-and-delight lifestyle he had originally created all of us to live. It inspired some, but enraged many others, and they killed him. But, thanks be to God, he showed us the power of a God-filled life when he rose from the dead and conquered everything that stands between humanity and a life in connection with Father. It is humanity’s GREAT News!
Soon little outposts of the resurrection-life were springing up all over the city of Jerusalem, sharing the story of Jesus, and of God’s dream for a restored creation. Some called these groups “churches”, in part because they were a political group who followed a LORD different than Caesar.
They were not trusted, and many were beaten or killed just like their founder, Jesus Christ. But they saw this life of resurrection and holistic peace, this life that God had created for humankind in the first place, as to be too good to give up. These little communities spread across a cynical empire like wildfire.
Since then God’s people, those who have caught the vision of a restored humanity, have been inviting the earth to participate with them in returning to the Garden – the place where each of us may walk with God in the cool of the evening. It is the best, no, it is humanity’s only chance at abundant life – the life Christ calls us to.
Our Vision of God’s Dream
As we read through the Story of God (The Bible) we see in the book of Acts a dramatic outpouring of God’s grace, an explosion of new believers and an uncontrollable revolution of God’s people. Today we sometimes call this a “Church Planting Movement”.
Throughout history (HIS-story), we read reports of more church planting movements taking place all over the world; with the Indians in the second century, the Celts in the sixth, and even today’s church planting movement in China. The sovereign power of God is working mightily throughout time and across the globe!
America is poised for not just a renewal, but a reformation – a Church Planting Movement all its own. We see God already working to make this a reality, and we want to humbly join Him, and you, in His mission!
Our ultimate dream is to see a vibrant family of Jesus Christ in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person on earth…starting in Chicago. This is no small feat! But we believe that this is possible, and is how God is preparing his Church for the great wedding feast at the end of time (Rev. 7:9-12):
“There was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”
What Our Vision Looks Like
Chicago – We see Chicago as one of the great mission fields of our world today. Chicago is a city of over 8 million people, with communities from all over the world right at our doorstep. We see God doing amazing things in that city, and have personally felt called to participate with him there. Urban renewal, child and homeless advocacy, social justice, art, ethnographics, and church planting are part of our dream, but not the whole of it. Essentially, we want to seek out the Kingdom in the city, unite with it, and then continue planting little Kingdom communities right across the entire city!
Sane Living – We believe we are called to be the catalysts of a chain reaction. Catalysts are an element in a context that triggers change and transformation, but are not used up in the process. We see a part of the Gospel that we preach with our lives to have a “sane” quality to them, verses an “insane” pattern regularly seen in the world. It means living simply, eco-friendly, and in close relational proximity with others who are there to share life together.
Missional Living – Our lives will be in close proximity to others who need to hear the Good News. We will live “incarnationally”, as “Jesus-with-skin-on” in our context; wherever in Chicago God might place us. Our team will function throughout the entire city, (as opposed to insularly living and working next door to each other) so we can quickly learn to rely on finding those in the harvest to be Jesus to. Finding that “person of peace” (Luke 10:2) and inviting the Church to grow within their household and people group, rather than always in our own. Our team has a passion for social justice, a prophetic imagination (sharing an alternative, Christ-centered way of living and working in the world), and realizing that God is already working among those whom we come into contact.
Vibrant Families of Jesus – God has shown us that we are to help catalyze LOTS of churches, not just one. But he has also called us to planting “vibrant” and healthy churches (quantity and quality). As catalytic leaders, we simply cannot be there to lead every congregation that is planted, so we are praying that our team will help raise up spiritual mothers and fathers who can guide their church into becoming who they were made to be. These churches, or “vibrant families of Jesus,” will meet in homes, parks, pubs, businesses or anywhere else necessary. We know that these will be very diverse churches, ethnically, culturally, and even functionally, but God did not call us to conformity, only unity. We pray that these churches will view their spiritual worship as a week-long lifestyle, rather than simply an hour-long event. (Rom. 12:1,2)
Saturation Church Planting – Our team will function as a “missionary resource team”, resourcing the movement of God in Chicago, in seeing that the whole city is reached, and that our goal of a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach of every person in Chicago is met. We believe that God has called us to be missionaries in our own country, and therefore we plan to work as many missionaries work around the world and throughout time. We feel God is looking for certain individuals with specific giftings (Eph 4:7-12). Teammates, depending on God’s gifting, will function as: a “pastoral coordinator”, a stewardship coordinator”, a “missions coordinator”, a “prayer warrior” and a “team coordinator”. Together we work to help resource and catalyze a movement that is blossoming out of God’s handiwork. Most importantly, however, we will live as friends, hearing from Jesus and doing what he says.
This is what we know for sure - so much is still up for grabs, because we haven’t landed in Chicago yet. We want to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and give God the glory for revealing our next steps. Stay tuned for what we learn!
