João Pires

We see churches of real disciples, not part-time believers … people that love God as Father, follow Him as Rabbi, and honor Him as King … people that give themselves for one another, and the cause of the lost and the least. …churches of passion … people who stand so amazed at God’s grace that they can’t help but live lives of adventure and generosity. We see God leading us to spend ourselves for those who could never pay us back … strong with children, students, missions, and the poor. We have been sent. … churches where people feel like they can belong before they believe and believe before they behave. We also see bodies with too much brown to be called a white church, and too much Hispanic to be called a black church; with too many kids to be called an old church, and too many wise ones to be called a young church – churches that model the diversity of God’s kingdom. … congregations that love God with more than Sundays and care for people with more than words. We see characteristically Spirit-filled churches that move in undeniable power yet stay non-religious and creative. We see churches where people become whole – in spirit, soul, and body. … communities where the potential of all the members get realized, as people recognize that they are called, whether they work in a church building or the marketplace. We see teams that are led by people who are greater on the inside than they are on the outside. … a movement of disciples who reorient their lives around Jesus’ call to make more disciples. We see a multiplying network of churches and microchurches that unashamedly and fiercely love their neighbor both locally and globally. We see ordinary people mobilized to go and change the world. … mentoring churches and missions outposts, worshipping families and authentic communities. We see houses of prayer. We see a church as supernatural as its Master, because He promised nothing less.