In this message, we looked at what God has called us to be as a church through the picture of planting, watering, and leaving the growth to God from 1 Corinthians 3:5–9. The message also shared part of the pastor’s personal story and how God has gradually revealed a vision for the church over many years.
Our vision is built around two ideas: we are a church that plants and waters and leaves the growth to God, and we are a church that walks with people one step at a time, joining them wherever they are and accepting them for who they are at that moment.
Being planters and waterers means being more concerned with trying than succeeding, trusting God with the results. It means choosing grace over justice, recognizing that God’s justice is greater than anything we could give someone. And it means choosing love over our rights, being willing to set aside what we feel entitled to in order to love and serve people.
Ultimately, this vision is about removing barriers to Jesus, helping people take their first or next step with Him, and walking alongside people wherever God has placed them. We plant, we water, we walk with people—and we trust God to grow them.