“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”. Philippians 3:12-14
Paul believed in moving ahead. Moving ahead is the only way to avoid decline and failure. As a church we need to think about what it takes to move ahead. We must never be satisfied with the past or believe that what we are doing in the present is all that we can do or should do. To achieve all the things that God will give us the opportunity to do, we must move forward to meet the challenges of the future.
Ultimately, moving the church forward into the future involves every member. The church moves only as its people move.
Since we are the church, there are personal challenges for each of us. If we want a church that loves God, does God’s work, is friendly, makes generous gifts to many causes, brings others into fellowship, is loyal, loving and faithful in service, we must aspire to be all of the above
David Pritchard