This following sets forth our Vision, Mission, and Emphasis for The Historic Motor City Missionary Baptist Church for the first decade of the new millennium. It will provide overall direction for the allocation of resources and facilities as we seek to respond to God’s call to our Church, be faithful stewards of His Kingdom, and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to our community.
Our Vision
As members, we share the Vision of being one Church under the leadership of Jesus Christ in a community of Miraculous Expectation. We will be a missionary outpost of Disciples Making Disciples, bringing to all people – especially those unaffiliated with any church – the Good News of the Bible and inviting them into a vibrant community in Christ. Our discipleship will bring joy to both us as we reach out, and to those we reach, as together our lives are transformed by the power and love of Jesus Christ. Our success in living into this vision will embrace all people and result in dramatic growth toward discipleship.
Our Mission
With God’s help and gifts, we, The Historic Motor City MBC, will proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to our community and invite all people into our loving fellowship. With them, we will come to know Christ through worship, prayer, study, service and outreach.
Our Emphasis
To help fulfill our Vision and Mission, we will provide the necessary resources and facilities to pursue, achieve, and maintain excellence in the following areas – Worship, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Christian Education, Pastoral Care, Fellowship, and Outreach.
Worship – Our worship service and style is a primary strength with excellent preaching, and music that involves and engages the congregation and participants. We will maintain this quality of glorifying God while meeting the needs of our growing membership through increased staff, additional services, use of technology, and effective use of space. To reach all people, we will explore and utilize other languages and various formats and styles of worship.
Youth and Young Adult Ministries – In a turbulent world of declining moral values, increasing violence and insecurity, and weakening family structures, we will seek out and provide the Youth and Young Adults in our community a welcoming safe haven. Through the commitment of staff, lay ministers, and dedicated facilities, we will develop unique programs for Youth and Young Adults that manifest the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. We will position Good Shepherd as a center where Youth and Young Adults can join in fellowship, discover and develop their spiritual gifts, and serve others. Through reaching the youth of our community we will also seek to engage their families and welcome them to Motor City.
Christian Education – We will help people to know Christ and to grow in their faith through a wide variety of high quality educational opportunities for all ages including Christian based early childhood education. Through the programs of New Members Class, Bible Class, and our Christian Education department, we will invite members of the congregation and the community at large, especially those who are new to the faith, to make a spiritual journey. We will endeavor to support and supplement the family’s efforts to raise children as followers of Christ. Programs offered throughout the week and with a variety of formats and technologies will provide a foundation of faith for children, young people, and adults as they face the challenges and temptations of the secular world and will equip them for service to God, one another, and the community.
Pastoral Care – For a healthy and vibrant community, pastoral care must extend beyond times of need and crisis to include our daily lives. To show forth God’s love and grace to those in our congregation, we will employ staff, develop lay leaders, and provide training and structure to assure quality pastoral care is available to all. Each of us must be nurtured and supported so that we may serve and care for others.
Fellowship – We will provide a diverse offering of fellowship opportunities through small group ministries, special activities, and Church-wide events – thus enriching our relationships and complementing our worship and educational programs. Fellowship allows our personal relationships to grow, provides the opportunity to meet and incorporate new members, and helps us to support and nurture each other as we grow together in our faith.
Outreach – Service to others is central to our mission and to Jesus’ commandment to love one another. We cannot fully serve Christ unless we serve others in His name. Outreach programs – for example the Prison Ministry, Hospitality Ministry, Drug and Alcohol Assistance Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Summer Lunch Program, Thanksgiving Dinner program, Health, Welfare, and Financial Ministry– allow us to put our faith into practice. Through the missionary asking of the Church and through budgetary commitment to specific Church-sponsored programs, we will expand our outreach commitment and provide all Members opportunities for personal, hands-on service reflecting the gifts God's Spirit has given us.
Implementation
Through prayer and discernment, in each area of emphasis we will: 1) establish specific goals, quantifiable objectives and deadlines to achieve them; 2) identify and assign staff and/or lay accountability and responsibility; 3) continuously measure our performance and progress; and, 4) establish new goals and objectives.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
~ Proverbs 29:18
