I am a Christian, so I use Apple.
I have always been fascinated with the story of Apple. In October 1983, a young, inexperienced Steve Jobs was trying to recruit John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, when he asked him, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?”
Those type of questions hit you in the gut.
This past weekend our church celebrated ten years of God’s faithfulness to our church. Just a decade ago a bunch of yahoos gathered with a crazy dream. Frankly, all we had going for us was the fact we didn’t know, what we didn’t know. Or as my dad would say, “we had just enough knowledge to be dangerous.” However, we have learned that God plus anything is a profound majority.
Now with ten years behind us, we step into a fresh decade full of possibilities. As we take this next step, we embark on our boldest mission as a church since our launch in 2006. We are calling this mission, TEN. The mission of TEN stands for “Touch Eternity Now” and will take the next decade of our lives.
Too many people spend their lives trying to change the future when Christ beckons us to touch eternity. TEN is acknowledging we are finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. Yes, we are just flat out done with that, and we are committed to touching eternity now.
The mission of TEN is broad yet focused in its scope. First, we are determined to plant ten healthy churches, some in our backyard. We believe every town should have more Bible teaching churches than Starbucks (you can find that verse in Leviticus). Second, we are committed to building out and paying off our new property in the next ten years. This land locks us, forcing us to grow through new churches.
Lastly, we are committed to the adoption of ten teenage orphans from around the world. During the next ten years, we will bring them one-by-one to America and our church home. We will give each of them an education and an opportunity, by paying for them to attend The Master’s University and earn a world-class Bible education. Upon their graduation, we will send them back to their community to turn their country upside down with the Gospel.
So here is the question we must each answer, “Do you want just to do church for the next ten years, or do you want to come with us and touch eternity?”
We presume nothing, pray about everything, as we make these plans knowing God is sovereign and will direct our steps.
The next move is yours.