The Pastor's Vision
The vision the pastor has for Northside Baptist Church comes from a combination of factors, such as the history of the church, the demographics of the county, the Biblical mandate to make disciples, and his own personal zeal for growth and evangelism. In five years of leadership at the church, the pastor has experienced the unity and passion of the church for reaching people and growing. The church’s history concerning paying off debt and taking bold steps for the future was one of the appealing things for the pastor to come to this church.
The church has acted under the pastor’s leadership to purchase nearly thirty acres on Highway 99 on the west side of I-95. The pastor’s vision is to relocate the church onto this property in the future. In our current location the church is limited in how much we can grow due to space issues with education and parking. In moving to the new location, those barriers for growth would be removed, and the growth of the church would be sparked, while no longer facing the existing barriers. The church would also be planted in the projected fastest growing area of our county.
Although there are current obstacles to relocating, that does not preclude us as a church from praying and preparing for our future relocation. The pastor believes in God’s timing, and therefore is prepared to wait on God to open doors to make the relocation a reality. In the meantime, the church should be preparing through every means possible for relocating and praying for God’s provision. We will need a buyer for the current property, and it is necessary that we prepare a master plan for the new property. Securing a master plan will help cast the vision of what we want to build in the future and give encouragement and stimulus to the membership. The property on Highway 99 should currently be used for every recreational and social event possible. The church and community need to begin to identify Northside Baptist Church with our property on Highway 99.
With a future relocation to the property on Highway 99, the current hindrances of parking and educational space would be eliminated, and the church would be poised for substantial growth. Of course, growth is not automatic, and the church would need to continue with a zeal for evangelism and growth to reach our community for Christ.
