OUR MOUNTAIN
MOVING MIRACLE 

Our Mountain Moving Miracle is our specific mission as a family of faith.  It is the result of eight months of prayer, study and planning and most of all, God's inspiration!

The Make Jesus Famous document is the compass for the final plan.  The full plan for each area of ministry is available, but we have only included here a narrative description of the plan.

Also included is a text expressing "My Heart's Desire" for all who want to commit themselves to a Mountain Moving Miracle way of life. 

•MAKE JESUS FAMOUS!• 

•OUR MISSION: MULTIPLY MATURE MINISTERS OF JESUS CHRIST

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply..."         Genesis2:28

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...                                                                    Matthew 28:19-20

The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.                                                                       Deuteronomy 1:10

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be able to teach others.                             2 Timothy 2:2

Our mission is to help people enter into relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior, and to continually grow in that relationship so that they will live fully and they will mature in faithfulness to Christ and in fruitfulness in ministering to others, directed by God's Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

•OUR MOTIVATION: LOVE AND COMPASSION

If you love me, you will obey what I command.                                     John 14:15

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  2 Corinthians 5:14-15

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."                                                          Matthew 9:36-38

If we love Jesus, we will obey his command to multiply mature ministers of Jesus Christ.  If we love Jesus we will be compelled to live for him and to see his sacrifice rewarded by bringing the benefit of it to others.  Compassion is the broken heart of Jesus for those who need his ministry.

•OUR MODEL: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE FIRST FOLLOWERS

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the peole.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.                                                                                              Acts 2:42-47

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.                                                                                           1 Corinthians 12:7

...that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.      2 Corinthians 5:19-20

Like the first followers we are to INVEST into our relationship with the Lord by coming together with others to worship him, by our personal devotion to knowing the Lord through his word and praying for his purposes and listening to him in the quiet of prayer.

Like the first followers we are to INVEST into the lives of others in our family of faith by involvement in small groups and ministries where we share with others what he has given to us, and we INVITE others in our family of faith to participate in groups and ministries where they can both receive ministry from others and extend ministry to others.

Like the first followers we are to INVEST into the lives of others outside of our family of faith and INVITE them to worship, small groups, special events--any place where they will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ and his ministry.

•OUR MODE OF OPERATION: FOCUSED, FRIENDLY AND FUN

No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer.                                                                    2 Timothy 2:4

Practice hospitality.                                                                     Romans 12:13

What has happened to all your joy?                                              Galatians 4:15

You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.               Isaiah 9:3

Like a soldier, all we do as individuals and as a fellowship is to be focused on fulfilling the mission we are called to.

In all of our informal and formal gatherings, interaction and communication, we are to be friendly--to practice hospitality--to provide a safe and comfortable environment that welcomes people, that draws people to Jesus Christ.  We are to avoid offending or hurting people unnecessarily by our speech or actions, even people who have beliefs, values and preferences different than ours.

The Lord is the creator of joy and humor. To see him muliply his ministers and ministries brings joy.  To know the Lord is to know joy.  To show the joy of the Lord is to show the Lord.  Let there be fun in the house of the Lord!

•OUR MOUNTAIN MOVING MIRACLE: MULTIPLY BY 4 IN 5 YEARS

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.     Acts 2:47

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.                             Acts 5:31

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people.  And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.  No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.  Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. Acts 5:12-14

(A need for ministers arose and those who were equipped by the Holy Spirit to do the ministry were appointed to do the ministry.) So the word of God spread.  The numbers of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.                                                                                            Acts 6:7

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "move from here to there" and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.                                                                 Matthew 17:20

 

Biblically, mountains often symbolize that which is in the way of or opposed to God's purpose.  The Lord has a mountain-moving miracle in mind for us.

We invest into our relationship with the Lord.  We invest into the lives of others in our family of faith and invite their participation in ministry.  We invest into those who need Christ and invite them to places where they encounter him and his ministry. Our focus for inviting will not be people from other churches, but those with no church home and those who recently moved into our community.  The Lord adds to those being saved.

We meet with him in prayer.  He moves with power in our lives.  The knowledge of his word increases.

We share the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Lord adds to our number.

We release more people into ministry, the word of God spreads, the Lord gives increase to the number of followers of Christ.

We believe that the Lord seeks to add to our number in worship and our number of small groups twice in the next five years.  That is, that he intends to muliply by bour the number in worship and the number in small groups in the next five years.

The number in worship represents the Lord's adding to our numbers.  The number of small groups represents the increase of places where ministers can mature in Christ and be equipped for ministry.

This is not an effort to succeed in worldly terms or to accomplish our own goals. We believe this miracle has its source in the heart of God for people who need him and for the sake of his kingdom.

This will not be accomplished by a program or by gimmicks.  It will simply be a matter of each of us putting flesh on the mission we have together.  It will be living together and living as individuals as the Lord has called us to live.

We trust the Lord with the numbers.

We believe that in the next five years the biggest miracle will be the moving of a mountain that stands in our way.  A mountain that is like a dam, blacking the flow of the ministry of Jesus Chrsit to people who need to know the truth, the life, the love and the power of Jesus Christ in their lives.

The moving of this mountain will open the way for and set the course for an ever increasing flow of the river of God's blessing through the people of Northside Fellowship.

May mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.                                     Jude 1:2 

•We are a family of faith on a mission to multiply ministers of Jesus Christ.  The Lord willing, the statements that follow describe the Northside Fellowship of 2010.

  • We believe God is calling us to provid an atmosphere that encourages 1000 people to encounter and glorify Jesus Christ in WORSHIP each weekend.  Prayer, strong lay-leadership, quality music, outreach events and on-going evaluation will be our primary strategies to achieve this goal.
  • We will be a "house of prayer" interceding with Holy Spirit given passion, purpose and prayer.  A dedicated team of prayerful leaders and equipping for the whole church will fuel weekly services dedicated to INTERCESSORY PRAYER for individuals, the body and for the nations.
  • Our BUILDINGS & GROUNDS Ministry will provide a holy space that supports all of our ministry needs.  We will draft, fund and implement a master plan that provides space for worship, Sunday school, our Christian preschool and Kindergarten, youth programming, adult education and outreach events.
  • We will be organized in more than 40 SMALL GROUPS where 75% of the church finds the opportunity to grow in relationship with Jesus and others in the church.  We will remove barriers to participation by providing childcare and space to meet.  We will invest in and equip our leaders.
  • We will extend compassionate, Holy Spirit powered ministry to our extended family of faith in time of physical, spiritual or relational crisis. 100% of those with identified needs will find the CARING ministry of Christ here. A Biblical counseling ministry is one key strategy in our plan.
  • A COMMUNICATION Ministry will be born to strengthen our ministries with information and understanding.  Organization and technology will be key strategies that allow information to flow freely and accurately among our leaders, our body, our staff and the lost world we are trying to reach.
  • We will be a place that equips and empowers people for healthy, God-pleasing marriages and FAMILIES. We dream of helping all marriages and families find joy and success in their relationships.  Training, pre-marital counseling and ongoing evaluation are key strategies.
  • We will partner with Jesus to capture the hearts and minds of 100 YOUTH in weekly events and mentoring relationships with faithful adult leaders.  We will assist students to reach their friends with the gospel, pursue spiritual disciplines and exhibit the fruit of the spirit.  Another key strategy is a dedicated middle school ministry.
  • We dream of raising up 350 Sunday school children into devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Teacher training and outreach strategies will help achieve high ratings in measuring how we live by our values in CHILDREN'S MINISTRY.
  • Our MISSIONS Ministry will seek to spread a passion for Jesus to 25 people groups worldwide.  We pray that 75% of the congregation will have participated in short-term missions while we support 10 full-time missionaries.  We will dedicate 25% of the church's giving to missions touching people outside our family of faith.
  • We will work to invite 500 new visitors per year and discipe at least 25% of them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our EVANGELISM strategies include outreach to people using the church property, our neighborhoods and those with common interests and needs.
  • We will ASSIMILATE 800 worshippers into ministers serving the body.  Each believer's unique spiritual gifts and talents will be matched with training and ministry roles that coincide with their passion, comfort and calling.
  • We pray our All the Children of the World Academy will grow to offer a Preschool through 5th grade CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. By integrating school and church events we anticipate 50 ATC families will encounter the love of Christ yearly and each child will hear the gospel weekly.

•MY HEART'S DESIRE•

MY INVESTMENT IN OUR MOUNTAIN MOVING MIRACLE

It is my heart's desire to invest in Our Mountain Moving Miracle to make Jesus famous in the following ways.

  • To pursue the Lord in devotional time with him, to make Sunday morning celebrations my highest Sunday morning priority and to be faithful to how the Lord leads me in gathering with others in a small group or class throughout the week.
  • To invest my time, talents and gifts into others in our family of faith by involvement in a Northside ministry that will build up others and impact the fulfillment of our mission.
  • To make it my way of life to invite others in our family of faith, new or existing members, to participation in groups or events where they can receive ministry and into contexts where they can extend ministry to others.
  • To seek others who need to know Christ just as he sought me.  To invest in the lives of those around me who need Christ just as he invested in me.  To invite those without a church home to Northside celebrations, groups or events where they can encounter Christ and connect with his body.
  • To consistenly pray for the Lord to guide me and empower me for all of the above.

 Sign ________________________________   Date ____________________