As we look to the future we see a change in the concepts of the traditional church. We are just at the beginning of learning how to manage changes in the church and the community of its membership. Our communities are changing due to the influx of different cultures and backgrounds. We have a new challenge of appealing to those cultures, having systems in place to address theirs needs, and relating to today’s non-churched environment.

We are now serving in an age of paradigm shifts. In other words, church is not what church used to be. People who come to church now are not like the people who used to come in terms of issues and needs. We have transitioned from community to global and this age is more transient. It has been reported that this generation will change major careers at least five times. Loyalty for the sake of loyalty is not the mindset of this millennium. Look at the cell phone and microwave. In the beginning only doctors had the privilege of cell phone use and microwaves were thought to be cancer agents. Now, we pack first graders off to school with cell phones in their backpacks, with a microwave meal for the family in the evening. On the other hand, if it were not for cell phones and microwaves, many simply could not function.

To define paradigm shift is to suggest that things are changing without our personal permission. It is as if God has made the change and he did not consult any of us as members of the church. In Isaiah 43:19, God said, “See! I am doing a new thing.” So your only decision is to decide if you are getting on the train or are you going to be left at the station. For example we must use the technology of today to aid in the ministry of God. Overhead Screen Projectors where the announcements, Scriptures, Responsive Reading and Sermon note are projected for all who attend the worship service.

So I challenge you catch hold to the vision that God has for Mt. Enon Church Family. Vision is what God wants the church to look like when it is completed. Vision is a completed picture of ministries, a completed picture of leadership, a completed picture of evangelism, discipleship, and stewardship. Vision is directional knowledge from God. It is impossible to have vision that is not theologically empowered. Vision required seeing through knowing which is to say that vision knows where it is going but trusts God to get there.

So I stand ready assisted by the leadership and membership of this church to begin to build the capacity for the future. God has given us the vision now it’s up to us to make it happen. God is doing a “new thing” in the history of Mt. Enon Church.