Tonight was the annual Vision Banquet for our church, Second Presbyterian. I always look forward to this evening with great anticipation as one of the highlights of the year. It is easy to ask why we take this evening to celebrate and look forward to what God has in store for us each year. However, if you have attended only once you will know how God moves year in and year out through the testimony and vision offered in this one evening. Tonight was no exception as my spirit and heart were lifted by our congregation’s celebration this evening.
Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Prov 29:18 KJV
The evening began with a review of some of the vital statistics within our congregation and church. Some of the more impressive statistics were represented by the growth that we are seeing in so many areas of the church. We are seeing growth of members within our own walls; 4.2% of the members considered inactive have been moved to active membership. We have seen an 89% growth in new child births in the church over the last five years. We are seeing our current facilities busting at the seams as parking, nursery, and hallway space are at 100% capacity. And the Crossroads congregational community (college class) has grown 131% this past year.
In addition to the inward growth we are experiencing we are seeing outward growth as well. This year we saw 111 new conversions on the college campuses where Campus Outreach is involved. We saw 27 student conversions at the EDGE this year. And we saw 20 children converted through other children’s ministries.
We are so excited to see the fruits of what the Holy Spirit is doing in our congregation; however we are continually challenged to further the Gospel and to reach the lost of Memphis and the world. Sandy Willson, senior pastor, laid out a vision for 2PC which reaches across three realms.
The first of those realms is Every Member Matters. Three years ago we began an initiative to reclaim fringe members of our church and to refold them back into congregational life. After three years we have seen significant improvements. We were able to celebrate tonight knowing that so many of our brothers and sisters are more involved in the community that makes up Second Presbyterian. The highlight of this celebration was a video of three of our families testifying to the care that they received during hard times. Each of them tearfully and joyfully shared how their congregational communities (Sunday school classes) came along side them during times of sickness and bereavement. Each family or member expressed how they could not imagine facing the struggles they have been through without the love, care, and attention they received from the family of Second. We were challenged to continue to draw our family closer together and to continue to draw in those members on the edge of our community.
Next, we celebrated our volunteer ministries. This year 2PC adopted Berclair Elementary, one of Memphis’ public schools. Over 250 members have been actively involved with the efforts at Berclair. We have had 265 members participate in 17 world mission trips. The vision is to mobilize 2PC to go out into our communities and serve. Once again we were treated to a video testimony from several members who were involved in these ministries. It was truly a privilege to witness first hand the joy they had received from participating in these volunteer efforts.
Last we focused on Evangelism. Earlier this year the Session of 2PC adopted a ten year master plan of evangelism to not just improve in evangelism at Second, but to become masterful at it. We have initiated the hiring of two full time staff positions that will lead and train our congregation in these efforts and have taken on other initiatives that will help our family to improve in fulfilling the Great Commission. In addition to adopting the master plan the Session has formed the Evangelism Leadership Team, made up of members that are passionate about seeing 2PC become better at evangelism.
The evening ended with a good ole fashion say so. For those of you that have never been to a Young Life camp at the end of each week kids that have invited Christ into their hearts are invited to stand and “say so.” The purpose is two-fold. One, it helps to mark in the heart of a new believer the time and place that they gave their life to Christ. Additionally, there is something powerful about telling others that you have invited Christ into your life. Second, the “say so” is incredibly encouraging to the body of Christ seeing new believers stand and profess their faith. I have never been to a week of camp when I did not cry at the “say so.”
Tonight I witnessed nearly 50 college and high school age kids walk across the stage, introduce themselves, and announce the date that they accepted Christ. All of them were introduced to our Savior through ministries supported by our church; FCA, Campus Outreach, EDGE, and Vacation Bible School. As usual, I was brought to tears of joy knowing that I would spend eternity with each and everyone of them.
I was renewed tonight, brought alive by the vision the Holy Spirit has for our congregation. I was refreshed by the encouragement of our family; I was invigorated by our movement into the community; and was inspired by the testimony of so many new believers. Praise the LORD!
Update: Audio is now available from the banquet
Thanks Pat! Great to hear your comments. It was a tremendous night.