Helping People See Jesus
Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus, who was a very important tax collector, and he was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because he was too short to see above the crowd. 4He ran ahead to a place where Jesus would come, and he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him. 5When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6Zacchaeus came down quickly and welcomed him gladly. 7All the people saw this and began to complain, “Jesus is staying with a sinner!”
8But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times more.”
9Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, because this man also belongs to the family of Abraham. 10The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
Luke 19:1-10
Our vision statement “Helping People See Jesus” is based on the text in Luke 19:1-10 where Jesus is traveling down a village road and encounters Zacheus who has climbed a Sycamore tree in an effort to see the Savior. The significance of this text to our mission is fairly simple. We as a family of believers provide support to one another and our community in an effort to help people see Jesus. We are like the Sycamore tree climbed by Zacheus. We seek as the vessel to deliver the good news of Jesus Christ.
To further elaborate on this vision statement, the ministers wrote an acrostic as shown below.
L – Living the Commission
I – Impacting through Compassion
F – Finding Community
E – Encountering the Christ
We hold fast to the belief that Christianity is best modeled. We live the LIFE before others. As Paul said to the Ephesians, “Live a LIFE worthy of the calling.” If evangelism occurs best through relationships, then LIFE Groups are the frontline of our ministry of reconciliation. We are pursuing the reconciliation of all men before God, so that we can come before Him in purity. This life is achieved through the four “C Words.” We live the commission, we impact our neighborhoods and world through compassion, we seek community for all, and we ultimately desire for everyone encounter the Christ. We pray for others to enjoy the rich blessings we have received by being followers of Christ.