The future of Neighborhood church is seeded in our past.
In order to understand what our future looks like, what our vision is for the next 20 years that will take us to our 75th anniversary in 2040, we must look back.
First, we look to Jesus, who gave his church a mission that will guide and inform any vision to which we would give ourselves. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his followers this GREAT COMMISSION…
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus is asking us to make disciples of all the nations
Literally meaning: all ethnic and cultural groups. He is sending us on a mission to use our lives to help people experience and share the life to the fullest that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). It is God’s heart for us to share the love and power of God with others, so that they may surrender their lives to Jesus and have their lives transformed. We still believe that if anyone gives their life to Christ, they become a new creation – the old things pass away and newness of life is found (2 Cor. 5:17). We still believe that when people surrender to Jesus that He has the power to change everything for the better.
This has always been the conviction of those who were leaders at Neighborhood Church.
Foundation of Neighborhood Church
Our founding pastor, Ken Backlund, had a heart to plant a church that would be a lighthouse to the valley, a regional worship center that through innovation and creativity discovered ways for people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. His heart was to reach far beyond the walls of the church. For example, for years the sermon was broadcast on local radio.
As a musician, Ken surrounded himself with artists and imagineers. Imagineers = imagination and engineering. Like Walt Disney had done just nine years prior, Ken planned to put in a railroad for kids to ride to get to Sunday School.
Adventure and Joy were core values for this visionary, evangelist pastor.
One of the first visions he had was to build a dome, a picture of being future oriented…like something out of the Jetsons. It was to be built as a cathedral of the valley. It would allow thousands of people to attend large events like musicals where the gospel would be shared.
First lady of Neighborhood Church
Wava, as the first lady of Neighborhood Church, passionately led the charge in telling the stories of missions to children in our Sunday School. She also made sure that missionaries who were visiting from overseas could tell their stories to all ages in the hope that people from Chico would get a heart for the nations.
Together God used Ken and Wava to build a complete vision to reach from the neighborhood to the nations.
Building on Ken’s foundation 1992-2010
Larry Lane became the Lead Pastor in 1992 and began to build on the foundation that Ken laid here. Larry brought an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and a passion for seeing our city be transformed by the love and the power of God.
Under Larry’s leadership, many of the large events were set aside, and much more effort was given to try to influence and bless other churches, other ministries, and especially for the body of Christ to begin working together in unity.
Realigning and reshaping for a clearer vision
For the past nine years, as the Lead Pastor, I have been realigning and reshaping our structure, technology, and staff, as well as becoming clearer on our vision for the next era.
I believe that the vision ahead of us builds on the passion of the founders for evangelism and missions, while embracing the love and power of God moving in and through us.
While we honor and celebrate our past, we will not live there or try to recreate what has gone before.
Who is the author of Neighborhoods Vision?
Ken wasn’t the author, Larry wasn’t the author, and I am not the author of the vision of this church, but rather God called and used each of us to express His vision through God’s gifting and calling on our lives. He gives us strategic plans and vision for the appropriate time, for such a time as this…
For the next six weeks we will be sharing vision on Sunday mornings at Neighborhood Church and I encourage you to attend or to watch our videocast online or listen to our audio podcast. We are very excited about explaining how our hearts will be tuned to reaching the nations in our midst and around the world.
We are looking forward to rallying the Body of Christ to a clear and compelling vision for our future!
If you missed last Sunday’s message, click here to watch the podcast.
