A Note from Pastor Andrew

Over five years ago, I had my first staff meeting here at St. Stephen Martyr. At that meeting, we did something that I had never done with any other churches I served; we recited our mission and vision statement. Other churches I’ve served talked about it, posted it in public areas, and had sermon series based on it, but never had a weekly recitation of it.

Quite honestly, many churches tend to spend a lot of time fashioning a mission statement when marking a change in a church’s direction. They invest a significant amount of time and thought into it because it establishes a framework for decision-making and moving forward as a congregation. Yet, after all that work, strangely, many churches relegate their mission and vision statements to the last page of newsletters, never to be heard or spoken of again. That is not true at St. Stephen.

There are many lasting impacts Pastor Bruce has made here in 25 years of ministry. I’ve been here for some; many came before I arrived. I suspect that we’ll discover more of those impacts now that he’s retired because it’s inevitable that there will be things that Pastor Bruce has been doing that, all these years, we haven’t thought about until they don’t get done. Now we’ve been doing a lot to fill in those gaps, but sometimes you never know all the contributions people make until they’re gone.

Of all the contributions Pastor Bruce has made, one especially I intend to keep as the Interim Head of Staff is the weekly recitation of our mission, vision, and values. I will continue to keep it “top of mind,” as they say, in our congregation during this transition period, because during such times, it doesn’t take much to be distracted by one thing or another. But keeping that which has helped frame our decision-making efforts all these years is a good way to keep moving ahead during this interim period. Seafaring metaphors are often used in describing the church and Christ. I can offer another: our Christ-centered, biblically focused mission, vision, and values are the keel of our ship. It keeps the boat from listing too far one way or another.

Just one more seafaring metaphor: we have a capable crew, a strong mast, wide sails, the wind behind us, and the sea before us. So, in the immortal words of Burt Lancaster’s The Crimson Pirate, (Not that I’m suggesting we’re pirates or we ought to conduct any other mutinous behavior), “Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round!” Say it with me now:

Our Mission: is to help you experience God’s love so you can grow to love like Christ.

Our Vision: is to be an exceptional community of believers, committed to sharing Christ’s love so that our

priorities more closely reflect the Kingdom of God.

Our Values Include: Gracious Generosity; Real Relationships; Outward Mission; Authentic Worship;

Faithful Teaching; Honoring God and Neighbor.

Keeping the Faith,

Pastor Andrew