by Keith Jainga
At the waiting room of a clinic, I noticed that one magazine featured an article on a popular actress. The cover refers to how faith plays a “huge, huge role” in the life of the actress. Being a pastor, that caught my interest. So I picked up the magazine and read the article. The actress …
An integral part of the church’s calling statement is its vision statement. Whereas the purpose statement provides a summary of the biblical mandate of the church, the vision statement paints a picture of how the church will live out its purpose within its specific context. The vision helps to focus the church and provide a …
Another declared value to guide the doing of ministry in Vallejo International is that we seek to be effective. Effectiveness is about achieving success in producing a desired or intended result. The critical basis of evaluating effectiveness is the goal of ministry. This points us back to the three-fold purpose of exalting God, empowering disciples, …
Church is about people. Not programs, not strategies, not buildings, not facilities, not equipment, but people; people reaching out and touching other people. Churches—like individuals—can be too absorbed with their own survival or success. Our overriding concern may be that we become the church that everyone likes. We focus on how many people attend our …
Evangelism is the activity of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. Its basic intent is to encourage the recipients or hearers of the message to establish and nurture a personal relationship with God the Father and to experience the life-transforming work of the Holy Spirit through submission to the lordship of Christ. In …
Tony Morgan, a pastor in Atlanta, observes: “When churches become married to their methods rather than their mission, the church plateaus and eventually declines.” On the other hand, vibrant churches “have the adaptability factor. They’re willing to change and try something new—even if some of those new initiatives fail.” Vallejo International seeks to do ministry …
The church is about ministry. It does not exist for itself, but for Christ and the accomplishment of God’s purpose in this world. Ministry is done in the name of Christ for the benefit of the world. And so, in addition to the foundational values that answer the question, “Who do we desire to be?” …
One core belief of Vallejo International is that the Christian Bible, consisting of 66 books, is the primary document of the church. This means that it is the primary resource to guide the faith and practice of the church. For this reason our fifth declared value is that we be biblical—our self-identity and fundamental character …
Life is about growth. To live life to the fullest, one must continue growing. Of course, I’m not referring to physical growth alone—although that is part of the human experience, up to a certain point. But we are to grow in every way if we are to enjoy the full benefit of what life can …
The third declared value of Vallejo International is that we desire to be a people who are faithful. A church that is truly Christ-centered and dependent on God will naturally be faithful to her Lord. Faithfulness is all about the Lord finding us loyal and trustworthy, reliable and dependable, constant and steadfast, to him and …
