And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18 NIV)
While we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:13-14 NIV)
The Church of Pentecost, both nationally and internationally, has become a respected institution; thanks for the exceptional work done by our forebears and great leaders. However, when we match our achievements with the standards set by the early church (Acts 2:42-47) and what God can do through us, we come to the realisation that there is more to be done.
“I Will Build My Church”, is the first part of Vision 2023, with the overarching theme, “Possessing the Nations: Equipping the Church to transform every sphere of society with the values and principles of the Kingdom of God”.
The purpose of this theme, “I Will Build My Church”, is to help bring to the fore the understanding of the dual identity of the Church; that the church is called out of the world to belong to God and sent back into the world to witness and to serve. If the church is able to rediscover its identity as originally given by God in the Scriptures, and made alive and relevant by the Spirit of God, we could be in the most exciting times in the history of the church. Everything depends on our ability to understand the Church as it ought to be, our willingness to change where necessary and above all, our determination to keep our lives continually opened to spiritual freshness. The energy then derived could help us do more for the Kingdom of God. This is because the transformation of the society cannot take place without the transformation of the church. Society will listen to the testimony of a credible church, a church living out the values and principles of Christ.
This theme is to help awaken ministers, local leaders and the entire church towards freshness in our worship life and to march out in the power of the Holy Spirit to possess the nations with the values and principles of the Kingdom of God.
For the Church to send and our members to go as Jesus commands (John 20:21), there is the need for freshness in our understanding of the Church as the embassy of God’s Kingdom, expected to be a true representative of God by bringing transformation not only to communities but to the nations.