Goals for our church

What does God want Astoria Community Church to look like five years from now?
That is the question our elders and pastors asked during a planning retreat we attended in August. With much prayer we reviewed the history of ACC, studied information about Western Queens and discussed the mission and core values of our church. Then we set out to form 1-year, 3-year and 5-year goals. During the months of September and October, we shared our thoughts with other church leaders, asking them to help us discern the will of God for our church.
Here is what we sense God calling us to do. In the next five years we want to work toward three basic goals ...
1) A Healthier Church.
The biblical ideal is for every member of a local church to be “rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith ... and overflowing with thankfulness” (Col. 2:7.) By God’s mercy this is happening among us, but we want to see it happen more and more.
Therefore, one goal for ACC is to develop a comprehensive equipping program for our church members. Such a program would involve classes, seminars, ministry experiences and spiritual mentoring. Subject matters to be learned include: basic principles of discipleship, growth in godly character, fundamental knowledge of Scripture, understanding of church history, competence in spiritual disciplines, effective personal evangelism, use of spiritual gifts, etc. Our goal is to develop this plan in 2008 and then gradually implement it in the following years. ACC members with experience in curriculum development, Bible teaching or one-to-one discipleship will be needed to help with this goal.
Another goal for ACC is to see a yearly increase in the number of Fellowship Groups. (In 2008 we would like to see at least two new groups formed.) Fellowship Groups are the most effective venue in our church for Christian growth and shepherding to take place. They are absolutely vital for the accomplishment of our mission. Our health as a church depends on the health of our small groups.
2) A Bigger Harvest.
Jesus referred to spiritually needy people as a harvest waiting to be gleaned (Mat. 9:37, John 4:35). He calls his church to be actively involved in the world, bringing others to know his salvation and love. Over 300,000 people live in Western Queens (Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside and Sunnyside.) With such a large harvest field, we want to reach more people for the Lord.
Studies consistently show that the most effective way to do this is to form new churches. There are various ways to capture this ‘church planting dynamic.’ Here are some ways we would like to see new worshiping congregations formed:
a. 2nd worship service – An alternate worship opportunity will allow us to reach more people than we currently do. One reality of urban life is that different people’s schedules have different time constraints. Another reality is that some people find one style of worship more meaningful than others. Because of this, we would like to start another worship service at ACC in 2008 (with the same sermon preached at both.) Plans are already underway to give this a try during the season of Lent by providing an alternate Sunday service with a greater emphasis on traditional liturgy and hymns.
b. Non-English worship service – 65% of the residents of our neighborhood speak a language other than English at home. A 3-year goal for ACC is to begin a worship service in a new language. With a growing Hispanic fellowship at our church we may be able to start a weekly service in Spanish. We would also like to reach out to our neighbors who speak Portuguese.
c. Satellite congregation – Another 3-year goal for our church is to help establish a worshipping congregation in another location in Western Queens. Though they will function administratively as part of ACC, they will be a new congregation with their own identity reaching another neighborhood with the gospel. To do this we will need to add to our pastoral staff, bringing in another pastor with church planting skills. By doing this we can reach more and more people for the Lord.
3) A transformed neighborhood.
Our third basic goal has to do with ways we want our neighborhood to change. A 5-year goal for our church is for the ACC office facilities to be large enough to house a number of effective mercy ministries that are targeted directly toward people’s needs in our community. These ministries might include: English as a Second Language, immigration services, Mothers of Preschoolers, recovery groups, financial counseling, after-school tutoring, artist fellowships, etc.
We would like to see these ministries operating throughout the week, so that our neighbors might see a continual witness to the mercy of God. The ministries would be staffed by volunteers from several congregations and overseen by a full-time paid director. Incorporating the community center as a non-profit organization distinct from the church would empower it to raise funds and apply for financial grants. In order to ensure that it would operate in line with the vision of ACC, care would be taken to structure its board to include a majority of ACC leaders. It may be possible for the community center’s facilities to be large enough to house not only these various mercy ministries, but also to provide space for ACC’s administrative offices and worship services.
So these are the goals we are setting for our church. Personally, I find them thrilling and a little frightening. They will certainly stretch our faith.
A special service of thanksgiving and praise is being planned for Sunday, November 18. Following that service there will be a question and answer time in which you can learn more about these goals.