Churches have defined the terms “vision” and “mission” in many different ways. Often, they are thrown into the terminological blender and come out sounding beautiful, yet often leave us thinking, “what do we really do?” And, “how are we unique?”

We define these words in terms of the “ends” and the “means.” The vision is the “ends” whereas the mission is the “means.”

The mission is inextricably linked to the vision; they cannot be separated. The vision is the mission in action, or the accomplished mission. The mission concerns the organizing principles and priorities that get us to the vision.

We also believe it is important to see ourselves within the context of God’s broader plan. For this reason, we will first consider God’s vision and mission for all of creation and then turn to BRCC’s specific vision and mission.

God’s Vision for the World: God created our world with beauty and purpose. He created humanity with the unique capacity to know Him in a personal way. But through our selfishness humanity has consistently turned our backs on God. But God, in His mercy, has revealed a plan for a renewed earth and humanity all living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, glorifying God for eternity. Therefore, God’s final vision for the world is the redemption of His creation and the revelation of a renewed humanity. These are in process and will be fully realized following the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

God’s Mission for His People: Stemming from this vision, we don’t have to go very far to find the mission. Jesus gave it to us through His life. He showed us the true Way to live - a different way of being human - and called His followers to be a renewed people. He demonstrated kindness, love, self-sacrifice, humility, and compassion; yet, He did so with authority and judgment. He challenged us to adopt His mission (John 12:26, John 13:13-15) and to follow the plan of His life.

In carpentry there is a rule, “if you measure twice, you’ll only have to cut once.” This refers to the value of having a clear plan. As followers of Christ we seek to live by the Carpenter’s Rule, which is to live our lives modeled after Jesus Christ. We are the salt and light of the world.

“You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:13-14).

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for me shall find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

“For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

Through a brief glimpse of God’s broad vision and mission, we are able to view ourselves as participants in God’s great plan of redemption. We avoid seeping into the microcosm of our own daily lives. Instead, we are part of the salvation of the world.

Our specific vision and mission are what we, as a fellowship of believers, believe the Lord has called us to do in order to help fulfill God’s broader vision and mission for the world.

BRCC’s Vision Statement: We will strive to become an exemplary church, which reproduces other ministries with a similar heartbeat. All our key ministries, all our staffing, and all our strategic planning will keep this vision in mind. We seek to be a model church not because we are haughty or self-indulgent, but because we believe that we have a responsibility to share the transferable principles we have learned for effective local church ministry.

Our training will range from a young intern at our church, to a child in our fellowship, to a third-world pastor visiting a ministry center. We will bring to our campus students and international leaders; we will establish strategic international ministry centers; and we will travel the world to instruct Christian leaders.

BRCC’s Mission Statement: Our specific mission flows from God’s broader mission (to reflect God’s image to the world through following the life of Christ). We believe that life is all about knowing and sharing Christ. Jesus is the answer to all of life’s mysteries; Jesus is our Friend and Savior; Jesus is all in all.

Our society today is very experience oriented; however, we cannot live our Christian lives by experience alone. If we attempt to live only by experience we will be like a feather that the wind blows from place to place. We must ground our experience(s) beyond our immediate feelings and emotions. Experiences are wonderful and God given, but we need a solid foundation and context for them.

We encourage, instead, focusing on a relationship with Christ – knowing Him, which includes dimensions of experience. We are created to know God - this is the heart of the Christian journey. And to know Christ we must be immersed in His holy Word. When we begin to know Him, we cannot help but love Him. We will begin to share Him with others through words and actions of love. It must not be forgotten that the closer we draw to Christ the more our lives will be transformed. And as our lives are transformed we become “transforming agents” to the world. Everything and everyone with whom we have contact will be affected. We share with our words and our compassion; indeed, with our very lives.

“What is more, I consider everything a loss to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death” (Philippians 3:8-10).

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21).

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said to His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In order to begin their mission the disciples needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit indwelling them. The organizational vehicle for this mission was the Church, a New Community made up of those who were surrendered in allegiance to the King. In our local church, we are part of the same New Community. As we strive to fulfill our specific mission, we will also follow the Apostle Paul’s example by undergirding each area of our church in prayer requesting guidance from the Holy Spirit.

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (Ephesians 1:15-17).

We have developed five focus areas that permeate and govern each ministry. These will function in and out – in our own church fellowship and out as we reach outwards toward others. These focus areas will also be incorporated into the core of each model church referred to in our vision.

“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things, and then enter His glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

“And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).

The uncompromising commitment to preach and teach the Word of God is a hallmark feature of our church. Sadly, this is uncommon in churches today. At BRCC, the Bible will be the foundation of every ministry and the focus of the worship services. Moreover, we will emphasize that all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ – we are Christ-centered. We believe that biblical teaching provides effective evangelism; and if we want to know Christ more, we must be immersed in His Word.

Our worldview determines much of how we think and act. The Bible provides answers to our worldview questions, such as “where do we come from, why is there evil, why is there good, what is the purpose to life, what are “right” and “wrong,” what happens when we die?” Furthermore, when our worldview is saturated in the Word of God, many of our life’s priorities fall into proper light. Although we may not remember the details of every sermon or Bible study, we will find that the truths of Scripture have seeped into our minds building and reinforcing the Christian worldview over and against our society’s radical secularism.

This focus on Christ-centered biblical preaching and teaching is also one of the priority features of the reproductive model of our ministry. We will show others how to preach and teach God’s Word and demonstrate its importance as the foundation of local church ministry. When the Word of God is taught and obeyed, it becomes an essential ingredient in a truly vibrant church, cultivating healthy relationships, marriages, and families.

“And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, ‘All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21).

Jesus called disciples, and He called them to make disciples. Jesus is the light of the world. When He lives in us, we are to reflect that light. We are participants in the beautiful story of a God who loves His creation so much that He would rescue His people through the sacrifice of Himself.

We believe that living the Christian life is the best life to live; we have the answers to life. In our love for others, we will seek to share that Good News. In all of our ministries at BRCC, we will challenge those around us to surrender to the Kingship of Jesus Christ. This is our mission, to know Christ and to share Him with others. We are rescued rescuers!

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23).

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus showed us how to live as a true human through His self-sacrificial love and giving. He cared not only for the spiritual lives of the people, but also for their physical well-being. By healing the sick, we saw His power, but also His compassion. He demonstrated that the true God is not some distant, disinterested ruler who is unconcerned with our infirmities, but He is a God (Emmanuel) who came to walk our walk, cry our tears, and die our death.

If we desire to show Jesus to the world, we should not only speak His truths, but also follow His example of physical touches of compassionate love. At BRCC our ministries will seek to demonstrate care and compassion. Our care will be for our own church family but will extend outward as well. Even as we reach out to touch the physical and emotional needs of unbelievers, we are reaching into their souls creating receptivity in their hearts toward the Gospel.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

We aspire to provide practical ministry training as well as academic training in the Word of God, church history, and theology. At BRCC, we wish to train those within our own community of believers, as well as believers around the world. Not only will we train our own church family through Sunday’s biblical preaching, various mid-week courses, Sunday school classes, the Christian School, and other small group resources, BRCC will also become a training center for national and foreign ministry students and interns. Additionally, we will invest our learning and resources in ministry centers around the world.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-47).

In the New Testament we find that Jesus focused much of His ministry on a small group of disciples. Moreover, the early church met in small groups. Even so today, it is vital, especially in large churches, to establish small groups where we can build deeper relationships with each other and Christ. Our society is very individualized, but this is not how God created us. He created us for relationships – with Himself and others. BRCC will provide a wide-range of small group opportunities, including life-stage oriented Sunday Schools, care groups, discipleship groups, and Bible studies.

We have listed some of the values we treasure as we seek to carry out our mission. Our ministry values represent qualities that will be held in high esteem throughout each ministry division at BRCC.

» Leadership integrity
» Balance between traditional and contemporary
» Passionate and celebratory worship
» Pursuit of excellence
» Purpose-driven programming
» Spiritual gift based ministry service
» Technologically relevant
» Discipleship seen as the investment of life in another
» Relationship focus on prayer