Before I say anything about the future, I simply want to say thank you. What our church family did for Jeni and me this past Sunday to celebrate twenty years of ministry meant more to us than I could possibly express. The kind words, cards, gifts, and countless expressions of love were overwhelming. We walked away from the day feeling incredibly loved and deeply grateful. It has been one of the greatest privileges of our lives to spend these twenty years serving alongside the people of Fellowship Baptist Church. You have loved our family, prayed for us, encouraged us, been patient with us, and allowed us the privilege of sharing life and ministry with you. We will never forget what you did for us this weekend. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

But as I said Sunday morning, as grateful as I am for the past twenty years, I find myself thinking much more about the next twenty. I preached from Colossians 1:23–29 because I believe that passage gives us a compelling picture of what faithful gospel ministry should look like. And if God gives us another twenty years together, there are three things I pray will increasingly define us as a church.

First, I want us to be a church deeply grounded in the gospel. I don't simply want the gospel to remain in our statement of faith. I want the person and work of Jesus Christ to increasingly shape everything we do. I want our preaching, singing, teaching, parenting, serving, counseling, and relationships with one another to continually bring us back to who Christ is and what He has done for us. I never want us to assume that the gospel is something we eventually graduate from. The longer we walk with Christ, the more deeply rooted in His grace we ought to become.

Second, I want us to be a church that faithfully proclaims Christ from God's Word. Paul said, “Him we proclaim.” That must remain at the heart of Fellowship. I want Christ proclaimed clearly from this pulpit, taught faithfully in our classrooms, spoken around our kitchen tables, and shared naturally with our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and families. Every generation brings new people into our lives who desperately need the same gospel someone once shared with us. We cannot coast on the evangelism of the generation before us. We have been entrusted with the gospel now, and it is our responsibility to faithfully hand it to the generation coming behind us.

Third, I want us to become a church where every member labors for the spiritual maturity of others. Paul's goal wasn't merely converts. He wanted to “present everyone mature in Christ.” He wanted to see people grow all the way up into Christ. And he said accomplishing that required him to “toil” and “struggle.” That's the vision I want us to embrace together. I don't want discipleship at Fellowship to be something that flows only from a handful of pastors to hundreds of people. I want it multiplying throughout the entire church—member to member, family to family, generation to generation. I want moms and dads discipling their children. I want men opening the Bible with other men and women doing the same with women. I want mature Christians intentionally investing in younger Christians. I want longtime members seeking out newer families. I want the believer who has walked with Christ for years asking, “Who can I help take their next step toward maturity in Christ?”

In other words, I don't want us merely to attend Fellowship. I want us to increasingly take responsibility for one another. That kind of church will require something from all of us. It means moving beyond asking only, “What am I receiving from my church?” and beginning to ask, “Who am I helping become more like Jesus?” It means refusing to settle into Christianity as spectators or consumers and embracing the privilege of laboring together for the spiritual good of others.
And thankfully, we don't have to accomplish any of this in our own strength. Paul said he Paul said he toiled and struggled “with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” The vision is bigger than our ability, but it isn't bigger than God's power.

So after an anniversary weekend filled with looking back, I want to ask our church to look forward. By God's grace, may the next twenty years find us more grounded in the gospel, more faithful in proclaiming Christ, and more committed to helping one another grow into spiritual maturity than we have ever been before.

I don't know everything God has planned for Fellowship over the next twenty years. But I know the kind of church I want us to become. And I pray we'll labor together to become it.