Vision of Parkside Christian Chapel
Our vision is capsulated in three simple words: Love, Truth, & People. These represent the three short phrases of our vision:
Engage in Love:
Our desire is to engage our community through love. This means we try to help when a need arises, we don’t cast judgment because we all have “stuff” in our lives we are working on, and we make it personal. Christ came to save each person and desires a friendship with each individual. That is why even though Jesus often spoke to large crowds he also took time to speak personally with individuals. We put that example into practice at Parkside. You are not a number to us. We think of Parkside not as a club or a group but a family. We get to know each other, help each other, and love one another. It’s personal.
Proclaim the Truth:
Our message is simple. God knows you. He made you. He knows all about your past. Still, God loves you just as you are. You don’t have to get your act together to come to church or to meet God. He loves you for who are: His cherished individual creation. Lastly, God has a plan for you. God promises this about our future, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” God’s plan for us is to help us have a full life on Earth and eternal life in heaven with God. That’s truth that can change your life. (For more about the Truth we proclaim, see our Beliefs section.)
Empower People:
Our goal is to help empower people to live a godly life. We find this often involves three steps: restore, equip, & release.
Most of us have “stuff” from our past or even still currently causing issues in our lives. God wants to bringing healing and restoration to those areas of our lives. We can’t go back in time and make better decisions or change things that have happened to us, but we don’t have to suffer from those things anymore. The Bible records a prayer for all Christians, May God fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of His Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). God wants to restore us to live a new life with Him, full of joy, peace, trust, and hope.
Equipping is a key thing. This involves growing in your relationship with the Lord through prayer, reading Scripture, and other personal disciplines. Additionally, being equipped for God’s purposes involves understanding your own personal talents and abilities and learning how to use them to serve God rather than serving ourselves. We call these talents and abilities “spiritual gifts.” God gives everyone talents and abilities. Since they are gifts from God, we believe we should use them for God.
As people grow in the Lord and develop their spiritual gifts, we release them to use these gifts within the church to help grow and support the ministries and programs of the church. We also encourage and help people find ways to use their spiritual gifts outside the church, in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, etc. Jesus said, “Go.” Sometimes we serve for Christ in the church but more often we represent Christ to our community outside the church.
