When a light beam is driven through multiple prisms, forcing it to become narrower and sharper, then it becomes so intense that light itself becomes a tool with incredible uses. It becomes a laser.
A church will have to determine what kind of impact that it would like to have. It does not become more effective by adding additional programs and varied outreach efforts. What that does is diffuse the focus. Saying no is never easy, but it is essential, if focus is the goal.
Lately we have been working on just that - what is our heartbeat, along with the felt needs of our community, focussed on the parameters of scripture. Meeting with many people and spending many hours working out the details, we are getting closer to something that describes who we are and what sets us apart from any other church. It is necessary. It is the tool that we use to determine how well we are doing. And we desperately need to analzye that from time to time.
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