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The
Vision
God has
given CrossVision a very distinct vision—to be a helper to
those churches that desire to lead effective short term
mission trips but just do not know how to get started.
The vision begins with having John 15:1-17 attitudes and
simply remaining in the vine and allowing Him to flow
through us. Over several years, God has continually adjusted
and added to the vision, but the vision was born from much
prayer and specifically two prayers: the first prayer is
“God please choose to use each of us individually and all of
us united in the lives of others,” and the second prayer
is
“God surround this ministry with those whose lives you have
truly changed.” These prayers remain at the
forefront of our knee time and we find ourselves content in
the Lord.
The
vision is fueled by being patient and waiting on God to lead
us into the path of churches that He has chosen, rather than
focusing on the promotion or advertisement of the ministry.
The goal of the vision is to guide teams into a
discipleship experience with Christ that will change their
lives forever while changing other’s lives by introducing
them to Christ through salvation. In addition,
CrossVision strives to connect local U.S. churches with
bodies of believers (churches, pastors, and missionaries) in
the field who will commit to the follow up and discipleship
of those indigenous people who teams lead to the Lord
through salvation, thus fulfilling the Great Commission.
The
application of the vision is made through one purpose,
supported by seven disciplines of mission’s ministry.
The purpose is that of drawing men into a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, as commanded by the Great
Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The seven disciplines
that support this purpose is as follows:
1.
Be flexible and
allow Jesus to take complete sovereign control (Isaiah
40:10-11, Jude 4)
2.
Practice
obedience to the Holy Spirit (John 14: 15-21)
3.
Make Jesus the
example (John 14:12-13)
4.
Make prayer the
foundation (Phil 4:6-7)
5.
Spiritually
prepare every team member (1 Pet 1:13)
6.
Put on the Armor
of God (Eph 6:10-18)
7.
Point everything
and everyone to Jesus (John 8:12, 16:33)
The
confirmation of the vision comes when individual lives are
truly changed—some through salvation, others through
experiencing Christ in a fresh, new way. The whole
life of the church is affected because when a team is
supported by the whole church, the entire body becomes
involved in the team’s lives, and they become an important
part of the trip by praying, giving, encouraging,
commissioning, sending, and then celebrating upon return,
giving praise and glory to God. When the whole church body
starts to work together to reach others for Christ at home,
in the state, and both nationally and globally, Acts 1:8 is
fulfilled and the vision is further confirmed.
Confirmation of the vision is completed when those that were
ministered and witnessed to on the mission field are
eternally affected as well, and God uses a team of lay
people in a foreign land to lead the lost to saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ, to revive a discouraged church,
and to remobilize a body of believers to become the disciple
makers that God would have them to be. |