Leadership in the church is a high calling and this requires a set of priorities.  The top priority is a leader’s spiritual life.  This must be number one.  A maturing, dynamic relationship with Christ is the very foundation of leadership.  The second priority must be one’s family.  Only by providing a healthy, stable and responsible household can one be prepared to lead in Christ’s church.  Finally, one must have a desire to serve as a leader with a sense of purpose and a humble heart.  Fulfillment and joy should come from service to the Lord.

     This focus on Christ requires that we model ourselves after His leadership.  Christ came with no earthly power.  His authority cam from following God’s commands and the relationships He established with people.  He came to serve, sacrifice for and love those around Him.  This is what inspired people to follow Him.  Only with this attitude of servant leadership can we hope to disciple others into a lifelong relationship with Christ.

     Our mission statement of “bringing today’s people into a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ” gives us focus.  Through this mission, derived from the Great Commandments and the Great Commission, we have been led to embrace the values of evangelism, discipleship, service and fellowship.  These are accomplished because we have an individual and a corporate purpose to worship God.

     To fulfill this mission, we must be a cohesive leadership team that has clarity of purpose, over-communicates and holds each other accountable.  We can only be a great team when we truly trust each other, are willing to engage in productive conflict that leads to decisions that have everyone’s commitment and to which we will hold each other accountable.  All the while, we must plan, set goals and focus on results.

     If we can engage the entire leadership in the principles outlined above, there is no stopping what God can accomplish at North Terrace.  There must be no confusion that this process is an empty one.  We must make our very first commitment to holding each other accountable.