As I have considered 2015 and the life of GBC one phrase came to mind right away: “punching above your weight”. I know, I usually move on from reflections after January in my blog but I was working on my submission for our annual report and it got me thinking (always a dangerous thing!). If you’re part of the GBC family or have listened to my messages on our podcast you may remember that I used this phrase in a teaching series some time ago so perhaps it was that which brought it to mind but regardless, I couldn’t shake the idea.
According to the urban Dictionary, the phrase ‘punching above your weight’ means to be in a situation that requires powers or abilities that one does not possess. What does it mean? –doing the seemingly impossible. In a more academic sense, it’s called disproportionate impact. There is a caveat in our case of course- this comes with help from God!
For Guelph Bible Chapel, disproportionate impact means we are an average size church seeking to do above-average things. Why? Is it self-promotion? No! We have a big heart and love the Lord. Our vision is to see God transforming lives. It sounds simple but it’s a powerful calling. Vision takes action, action takes people. When we, the church, are active, growing disciples of Jesus Christ, we will punch above our weight and have a disproportionate impact.
As I look back at the past year here at GBC I see this ideal lived out. We saw a number of changes here: a new sign, a new website and the reorganization of our music ministry are among the highlights. It’s easy to get caught up in surface things but they are an indication of the heart within. We as a church are growing to meet the needs of the reality of the context we minister within ….these are exciting times!!
Some of things I see coming out of the heart of this church is our desire to reach our community. We’ve made new friends and have brought the gospel to the Willow Road community. Our youth group is active and dynamic, serving within the community. Our Oasis ministry is now more than about one week of camp. It’s become a catalyst for relationship building and shining the light of Christ.
We look beyond our own church and seek to co-operate with other local ministries such as The Life Center through the Saturday Night Supper Ministry. We help to build the church within the broader community through our offering of Precept Bible studies and Awana ministry. And finally we build up our own family through social events such as ‘Soup to Nuts’ night and the family picnic, and groups like 50+ and Among Friends.
Then there are the things the GBC family does that will never make it into the public domain and the things I don’t even know about- the rides to doctor’s offices, the food for those not well or struggling, the visits and encouraging calls. We may not know but God knows. That is storing up treasure in Heaven like Jesus talked about in Matt.6, that is disproportionate impact. 2015 was an exciting year for GBC. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the year ahead!
According to the urban Dictionary, the phrase ‘punching above your weight’ means to be in a situation that requires powers or abilities that one does not possess. What does it mean? –doing the seemingly impossible. In a more academic sense, it’s called disproportionate impact. There is a caveat in our case of course- this comes with help from God!
For Guelph Bible Chapel, disproportionate impact means we are an average size church seeking to do above-average things. Why? Is it self-promotion? No! We have a big heart and love the Lord. Our vision is to see God transforming lives. It sounds simple but it’s a powerful calling. Vision takes action, action takes people. When we, the church, are active, growing disciples of Jesus Christ, we will punch above our weight and have a disproportionate impact.
As I look back at the past year here at GBC I see this ideal lived out. We saw a number of changes here: a new sign, a new website and the reorganization of our music ministry are among the highlights. It’s easy to get caught up in surface things but they are an indication of the heart within. We as a church are growing to meet the needs of the reality of the context we minister within ….these are exciting times!!
Some of things I see coming out of the heart of this church is our desire to reach our community. We’ve made new friends and have brought the gospel to the Willow Road community. Our youth group is active and dynamic, serving within the community. Our Oasis ministry is now more than about one week of camp. It’s become a catalyst for relationship building and shining the light of Christ.
We look beyond our own church and seek to co-operate with other local ministries such as The Life Center through the Saturday Night Supper Ministry. We help to build the church within the broader community through our offering of Precept Bible studies and Awana ministry. And finally we build up our own family through social events such as ‘Soup to Nuts’ night and the family picnic, and groups like 50+ and Among Friends.
Then there are the things the GBC family does that will never make it into the public domain and the things I don’t even know about- the rides to doctor’s offices, the food for those not well or struggling, the visits and encouraging calls. We may not know but God knows. That is storing up treasure in Heaven like Jesus talked about in Matt.6, that is disproportionate impact. 2015 was an exciting year for GBC. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the year ahead!