THE KIND OF CHURCH I DREAM WE CAN BE

Here is how I see the church. I see the Apostolic Assembly as a healthy, growing, Spirit-filled, Apostolic, Cellular Church.

That is the vision statement that will direct my term as President of the Apostolic Assembly. Ideally, here is how I see the Apostolic Assembly. I see the church as a healthy, growing, Spirit-filled Apostolic, Cellular Church. This is the dream we are going to pursue for four years.

Let Me Explain What This Statement Means

By HEALTHY I mean at least three things. First, a healthy church is a loving church. By that, I mean a church that loves God passionately and that without discrimination loves people. Love is essential because Jesus said that it was by this one virtue that all men would know that we are His disciples (John 13:35). Love is the clearest sign that we are His. That is essential.

Second, a healthy church is a united church. President Fortino made Christian unity a central theme of his administration with the themes that he gave the church, which always included the word UNITED. Love is essential to Christian unity and unity is essential to the mission of the church. We cannot be effective without unity. Love unites the church and hence testifies to the truthfulness of our claim that the God who loved the world and gave Himself for it lives in us. A loving church is a united church (Philippians 1:1-2).

Third, healthy families are essential to the church’s well-being. Roadmap, the vision that was presented to the Pastors during the first administration of President Daniel Sanchez (2005 - 2011) put the health of the Pastoral Family at the center of the church’s mission. Healthy marriages and healthy families made a healthy church. That is a truth that we must keep at the center of our agendas. What good does it do us if we are effectively winning people and at the same time losing our children or even in some cases our marriages? Healthy Pastoral homes are essential to the long-term success of our ministries. In our efforts to grow the church we must not forget that the Pastoral Family is essential to that growth.

By GROWING, I mean a church that is growing spiritually and numerically. Jesus envisioned a growing church. He often spoke of the growth of the church (Matthew 13:31-33; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 4:2629; Luke 8:1). In fact, the great commission foresees both numerical and qualitative growth. In the mind of Jesus, as seen through the lens of the great commission, the church was growing until entire nations were converted. The Apostolic Assembly must be a growing church.