CPC 1998 Annual Report:
From the Associate Pastor
Rev. Jerome D. Cooper

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Hopefully, we are all aware of our church's mission statement, since it is not only printed on every bulletin each Sunday, but it is now even displayed prominently in our new building. But just in case you missed it, our mission is "MOVING PEOPLE TOWARD CHRIST." Another way of saying the same thing, is that "We are in the business of growing mature disciples of Jesus Christ."

Paul, the Apostle, had a mission statement that sounded very similar to ours. Listen to him as he shares it with the church in Colossae: "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1:28-29)

This mission is a high calling. It is not an easy task. And we must continually ask the questions: Are we living out our mission? Where are we succeeding? Where are the weaknesses? How can we do better? These are some of the questions that the leadership at Central has been asking and struggling with this past year.

Ron spoke in his annual report about the Core Values that the Session developed with the assistance of The Navigators Church Discipleship Ministry. But that was not the only consultation we had with The Navigators. We also spent three full days with a consultant on the issue of "Leadership Development", which was one of the areas that the Elders and Deacons identified as a strategic need at our annual retreat in January 1998.

The fruit from that Leadership Consultation was both valuable and challenging. It began with identifying what kind of leaders we are looking for at Central. We developed a Leadership Profile that listed specific qualities in four different areas:

What we ended up with was a wonderful description of the perfect leader. But it was more than that. It was really a marvelous description of a mature disciple of Jesus Christ. It is a profile that every one of us should strive for, whether we are ever called to be a "leader" or not.

Another part of the process was to look at every single program at Central, and ask the question: How is this contributing to the development of leaders? Thankfully, we found that we were offering many valuable opportunities for growth in Christian maturity. We also found that most of those opportunities were only very informally connected to each other. The implicit assumption was that everyone instinctively knows what they need to grow. But that is not necessarily the case with any of us. Growth as a disciple of Christ takes great effort and intentionality, as Paul so clearly communicated in his own mission statement above.

So we have been challenged as staff and leaders to be more purposeful in our ministry activity and the goals toward which we strive. I, personally, have been provoked to think more purposefully about how my life and ministry are contributing to the growth of mature disciples.

In fact, you may want to join me in an important exercise that will improve our spiritual health. Get your hands on a copy of the Leadership Profile, and go through it asking: How do I measure up? What are the areas in my life where I need to grow? What steps should I take to move forward? If each of us will do this, there is no telling what the Lord will be able to do with us! But it will make us far more effective at fulfilling our mission of "MOVING PEOPLE TOWARD CHRIST!"

In God's Grace, Jerry