When most people think of 'vision', they are looking for that one or two sentence statement that is supposed to fully communicate what it is that you are trying to get done. Well, I think its important from our perspective to give a short teaching on the subject of 'vision'. I believe it helps to have certain 'definitions' so that all who look at what we are trying to get done can have a clearer understanding of where we are coming from and where we plan to go.

So, sorry (not really, actually) for not having the short, pithy statements of grandeur on how the whole world is going to be touched by our greatness. I believe though if you will take a little time to read this short article, it will be able to help you get a grasp of what we are about.

Quick Definitions

When we use the term ‘vision’, we are defining what it is that we are called to do for God. The ‘vision’ then, is a description of what it is we’re going to accomplish, and how it is we are going to accomplish it.

Jesus Christ gave a few directions to His followers just before He was taken up to heaven. One place we can find His words is in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 18-20. Let’s see what He had to say.

"Then Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (That means He’s the boss…everywhere…all the time…forever!). Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Italics mine).

We see here a two-fold direction.
First...the Church is to go into all nations. Second...we are to teach His disciples, or followers, all that Jesus taught.

Jesus gave directions to impact every nation on earth, understanding it would be accomplished through local congregations. Goffstown, New Hampshire, and the other New England cities God has asked us to get involved in, is the part of the world that we personally have been sent to. And it is here in this area that we do the second part, which is to teach and walk out all that Jesus taught. We strive to fulfill the the general purpose for church and all that Christians are supposed to do right here in New England with our own style and flair the Lord has graced us with.

Why Did Jesus Come Here in the First Place

If you were to sum up all that Jesus said and what it is that He came to do in one statement, it would also be found in the gospel of Matthew. This time in chapter 1, verse 21.

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name ‘Jesus’, for He will save His people from their sins."

Jesus came to free people from their sincs. My sins. Your sins. Without going into detail now, the scriptures reveal that there was really only one barrier between us and God. Sin. Sin can be simply defined as our personal rebellion against God that can show up and be seen when we lie, cheat, steal, yell at our wives for not getting us another beer when the Bruins are playing...

So we can logically conclude that directly or indirectly, all that He(Jesus) taught and performed, was to illustrate to you and me what it is to be ‘saved’. To be ‘saved’, means that you were rescued from something. Jesus came to save/rescue us from our sin and reveal a lifestyle of freedom and liberation resulting from our renewed relationship with God.

To give you an example, it’s kind of like if you were to take a chainsaw out of your back pocket, and cut down a tree in your backyard. Once you cut the tree from the root system, it dies. The leaves die. The branches die. The only thing left for it to do is provide wood for your campfire to roast marshmallows on.

Jesus came to rescue us from being cut off from God. We need to be saved because all of us at some point have cut ourselves off from God. And guess what happened? Our leaves started to die…we got sick because no more of God’s life was flowing into our bodies. Different branches started to die…we get depressed or afraid because we have lost the security of having the protection and provision of God…we get angry, bitter, walk in unforgiveness, and scream at the guy driving to slow in the left lane, since we don’t know how to love because we have been cut off from the One Who is the very definition of love.

Ultimately our body totally dries up, and returns to the ground from which it was created. That's what dying is about. Our spirit, or the part of us that was created to live forever, leaves the body as simply as pulling your hand out of your gloves when you're done shoveling the snow off the sidewalk.The big problem is you couldn't go to God without this 'saving' that Jesus provided. This is because by our own choice, we separated ourselves from Him. If that doesn't change, all the good that God has and desires to give, is not accessible and you exist in a state forever that is opposite of all that God is.

This would be a totally depressing scene if not for the fact that Jesus came to reunite us with God. He came to save and rescue us from this horrendous process. And when His life reunites with us, which happens instantly the moment we ask Him for this salvation, or rescuing, we come alive again.

This brief description of the state of human beings was necessary so that you would be able to understand what should be being accomplished in church.

Our Services, Our Style,  and What We Want to Get Done

Our services are geared to teach and walk out this ‘new life’ or as Jesus called it, ‘new birth’, in three main areas.The first area… is the spiritual area. 'Eternal, or everlasting, life', is the name given in the bible for the life that God has and that which He gives out.

In the gospel of John, chapter three, verses three and sixteen, Jesus says

"Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven…"v.3

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever  believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."v.16

When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us which provides His salvation from sin, we are reunited with God. The first place this life enters is into your spirit. We all know that our body will not function forever, and all of us will someday die. Yet the bible teaches that we will live forever. This 'eternal life' is what will allow us to live forever in the presence of God, not separated from Him. We are supposed to learn how to cooperate with this life inside of us, and not wait until we get to heaven.

So we teach that you must be saved, or ‘born again’, as Jesus called it in the gospel of John, chapter three, verse three. Many go to church and leave totally confused because they are trying to understand a way of life that they have never asked to become a part of. From the outside, people watch the customs and practices of the church, yet leave no more changed or impacted by them. It's sad that some churches actually accept that as normal and create customs and traditions that have turned their churches into museum pieces, not a vital, dynamic experience.

The second area… is in the area of the mind. Peter, who was one of the original followers of Jesus and was with Him during His ministry, had this to say.

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus ourLord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who called us by His glory and virtue…" II Peter, chapter one, verses two and three.

This new life is awesome. And God has given us everything it takes to live with God as His children. This new life brings you into an enormous inheritance that you will live with and in forever.

Let’s say a man had a million dollars in the bank. He had inherited five cars. Tuition for college for himself and all his children was paid for. He would never again lack for anything. There is only one problem…no one told him.

All the wealth in the world to your name means nothing if you don’t know it was given to you and/or you weren’t taught how to use it wisely.

The same is true about the kingdom of God. All that God provided, His life, His comfort, His strength…does you no good unless you know you have it and how you can walk in it. So many, perhaps even you, have blown off going to church, because it just seemed to not make sense, or all they did was make you feel terrible by being there.

That’s not what church is to be about at all. We’ve been given "...all things pertaining to life and godliness..." and God wants you to know how to live in these things through the knowledge of Him. Instead of a place where you catch up on your weekend rest, church should be the most exciting event of the week as you leave there knowing more how to live in your inheritance! This inheritance is so grand, that it will never run out, forever and ever!

So our services are geared to fill that gray matter of ours with not just the knowledge itself, but thirdly…to give you opportunity to walk in what you have been given. The church was never designed to be a spectator sport. It is a contradiction in terms to say that we are Christians, and not to serve in some capacity.

The pastor of the church in Jerusalem, James, in his letter made this statement.

"But be doers of the word, and not just hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." James, chapter one, verses 22-24

Those of us who have been out of school awhile know very well that if we were handed a junior year test on geometry theorems, we would fail miserably. By not using the information, what was even good and practical information, became useless...simply because we stopped taking the information and applying it to our daily lives.The same is true with our walk with God. That guy we talked about earlier that had the million, and the cars… once he learned that he had an inheritance he would begin to look and act differently. He would regularly walk out and practice his status as being a millionaire.

We believe church is not a place that we punch in at the clock to report for weekly religion duty because we think that that is what God wants. The church is the place we gather to learn to live in a new kingdom governed by the Creator and King of the universe Himself, Jesus.

The only way you and I cannot forget the kind of man (or women), we have been made in God, is to have regular opportunities to exercise what we have learned. The messages that you hear from the pulpit are to be the descriptions of the type of person God has made you. Then you put it to action. Here at Goffstown Harvest, we have everything from mission trips to foreign countries like India and Africa, community outreaches in Goffstown and other New England towns, to just being at the door to greet someone and shake their hand when they walk in the door.

Well, I trust that you have an idea now of what and why we do what we do.

As a local church and a ministry to the region of New England. I trust you will stop by and say hello. Please email us if you have any questions, prayer requests, or overall observations.

God bless you