The Bible says, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” (Proverbs
29:18a) Above you will find a link to a “Vision.” This is a document produced after
much prayer and it is given to you from a committed group of people who have been
praying and seeking God’s will and future for Christ’s church at Woodland.
When I think about the many Sunday afternoons spent praying and seeking this
“Vision,” I am reminded of the story of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. He was a
prophet in Judah and lived in a day when the people in his community and country felt
God was irrelevant in their daily lives. Habakkuk yearned for hearts to be turned
toward God, he mourned for the lack of spirituality in his friends and neighbors.
Habakkuk did not have a vision or plan of his own to reach the hearts of his brothers
and sisters in need, so he cried out to God saying: “I will stand at my watch and station
myself on the ramparts, I will look to see what He will say.” (Habakkuk 2:1a)
In similar ways, the group compiling this “Vision” and the Prayer Team spent
time throughout this process “standing and watching,” praying for the hearts of people
in our community and for those who will be reached through the future ministry
of Woodland. They gathered without agenda only praying that prayer of Jesus: “Yet
not what I want, but what you want.” (Matthew 26:39)
Looking back on the process and comparing our journey to that of the Old
Testament prophet mentioned above, I recall that when the Lord replied and gave
Habakkuk the vision for his day and time, God said, “Write the vision and make it
plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.” (Habakkuk 2:2) The prophet was
then filled with a sure and certain hope in God and he had the passion to share this
hope with his community in need.
In a similar way, it is my prayer that we will share with sure and certain hope
the witness of God’s love in Jesus Christ to those in our community. I pray that we
will unite toward a common vision and purpose as we effectively “Share God’s Hope,
Love and Healing,” with a world and community in need.
In Christ’s Service,
Rev. Cory Smith
What does the future hold for Woodland United Methodist Church? Where does God want us to be, and what does God want us to be doing five years from now? If we removed all our own ideas and asked God to let us see through His eyes His plan for this church, what would we behold? These are some of the questions faced by the Vision Committee as we began to seek God’s plan to move us from where we are now, to where God wants us to be five years from now.
With the support of our dedicated Prayer Team, and with spiritual strength gained from each other in devotion and supplication to God, we started this journey by enlisting the assistance of our church membership. Following our Sunday morning service the congregation gathered for lunch, and for a lengthy discussion of Woodland’s values, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Members were encouraged to continue to pray for the vision process, and to offer the committee any other ideas God would lay on their hearts in the weeks ahead.
The committee met ten times on Sunday evenings, every session including prayer and devotion. We considered every idea and suggestion from the church members as we began the process of developing Woodland’s Values, our Theme Statement, our Mission Statement, and eventually our Shared Goals. The Vision Plan was reviewed and received by the membership of Woodland United Methodist Church at its Charge Conference on December 4, 2005.
We express our deep appreciation for all the assistance provided by our congregation, and we are grateful for the worship experience gained from this process. We are especially thankful for the direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit in bringing this plan to completion. We pray that God will continue to have His hand on our church as we move forward, and that God will richly bless our individual and collective efforts in fulfilling Woodland’s mission.
Prayerfully,
Cam Stanton
Co-chair
Woodland's Mission Statement
At Woodland United Methodist Church our mission is to glorify God through life-changing worship, studying and living His word, making disciples, and serving our neighbors everywhere. We rely on prayer and the constant presence of the Holy Spirit to seek and embrace God's will. We reach out to others with the love of Jesus Christ who provides hope and healing for our daily lives.
