We live in a world that feels more and more disconnected. People feel disconnected from themselves, no longer knowing who they are or where they are going. In an increasingly mobile society, people feel increasingly disconnected from family, friends and neighbors. Beyond all of this is a feeling of disconnect from God. We live with this uneasy sense of the absence of God. We hear Bible stories about a bush that burns but is not consumed, or the Red Sea parting, but rarely experience such things in our day-to-day lives. The result is a society of people who feel as though we are wandering aimlessly through time until the end of our days arrive. They feel like the guy in the Verizon commercials wandering around asking, “Can you hear me now?”

But this is not how God desires life to be. He has created us to know, and be known, by Him. He loves us and wants us to have a meaningful, real-life relationship with Him. In fact, He sent His Son Jesus to planet Earth to take disconnected people and reconnect them to themselves, to one another, and to Himself. This is our first and primary goal as a church…Connecting with Jesus. As people connect with Jesus, they are reconnected not only with God but with the larger body of Christ. So whether you are a believer or a seeker, our goal is to help each person to reconnect with God and one another by connecting with Jesus.

Connecting with Jesus is not the end of the road. In fact, it is actually the beginning of a much longer journey to an intimate, maturing relationship with God. Like any other relationship in life, our relationship with God is designed to be dynamic and growing. His presence in our daily life is to become as meaningful and real as the air we breathe. So our ultimate goal for each person is not just helping them connect with Jesus, but also to be Growing In Jesus. We desire that each person becomes “conformed to the image of Christ.” (Rom. 8:29) Our goal is to help each member to be “clothed with Christ.” (Gal. 3:27) Our prayer for each person is similar to the Apostle Paul’s prayer to the Ephesian believers…

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:16-19)

This is God’s goal for us…to enter our lives and empower our actions. He will not rest until we are all that He wants us to become. That doesn’t mean God will love us more as we mature. God loves us just as we are. However, He also loves us too much to leave us there. In His book Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado puts it this way, “God’s plan for you is nothing short of a new heart. If you were a car, God would want to control your engine. If you were a computer, God would claim the software and the hard drive. If you were an airplane, he’d take his seat in the cockpit. But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart.” It is our desire to walk with you on this journey so that together we discover the greatness and the glory of growing in Jesus.

One mistake that we as believers need to avoid is the idea that the Christian life is ultimately about “Me.” It is so easy in an individualistic society as ours to begin to think that everything revolves around me. When this happens, the goal of the Christian faith is less about glorifying God and more about advancing myself. Rather than seeing myself as a part of God’s kingdom, I can easily begin to see God as a part of my kingdom. Over time, I begin to think that the church exists to serve my needs and my desires. When the church can no longer help me become all that I want to become, like a consumer at a retail store, I simply change locations. This approach to the Christian life not only destroys the idea of authentic community, it also misses the central goal of the Christian life.

The ultimate goal of the Christian life is not simply to connect with Jesus. For that matter, growing in Jesus is not the final destination of our journey with Christ. The ultimate goal is Serving For Jesus. As we take the role of a servant, we take the very role that Jesus Himself accepted for the pattern of His own life. Jesus Himself said, “I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:27) In Matthew 20:28 Jesus proclaimed, “The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Jesus life was a life of service. So it’s not surprising to hear that Jesus called His disciples to a life of a servant. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…” (Matt. 20:26) And the motivation for this service is not to advance ourselves. The goal is to draw attention to the greatness and glory of God. As Jesus said, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)

This, then, is the vision of our church. It is to help disconnected people reconnect with God and one another by connecting with Jesus. It is to help those connected with Jesus to be growing in Jesus as they seek to be rooted and established in Him. Finally, those connected with Jesus and growing in Jesus enter the world serving for Jesus. Out of this service, our prayer is that God would be glorified and those served might themselves become connected with Jesus. In this way, people are reached, equipped and sent. This is the vision of Community Bible Church.