Based on Acts 1:8, this theme was strategically chosen because it reflects God’s heart for the church to have a growing impact for good beyond its walls. Our desire is to courageously follow God as He leads us into the future. Our theology instructs us that a healthy church gathers for worship, community, inspiration, and training and then intentionally scatters to bring blessing and hope to others.  Building on the momentum of our church’s exciting 2020 Vision, we believe God is calling us to expand our capacity for an even greater kingdom impact upon our city, region, and world.  This vision, then, reflects our desire to never get comfortable or lose our outward focus as a church. Complacency is not an option! We’ve been blessed to be a blessing to others.

Each of the 12 objectives were prayerfully chosen to ensure that we have an even greater kingdom impact beyond our walls in the years ahead. Whether by attracting more people (who are currently outside our walls) to our building by meeting practical needs for encouragement, hope, and belonging in the lives of children, families, and newcomers to Canada; or, by launching fresh initiatives to strengthen Christ-centered families and deepen more believers in their faith, the result will be a much greater overall impact beyond our walls. As individuals and families live out their faith, we see God’s light shining even brighter through their positive witness in our communities, neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces. This impact will also certainly be seen as we generously invest more of our time and resources to strengthen our local and global partners, while also encouraging and serving the church (capital C) in our region and beyond.

Beyond our Walls is meant to represent the next chapter in Hillside’s unfolding story. Realizing that things are changing so rapidly in today’s world, a 3-4 year vision still represents a significant roadmap to guide us over the next few years, while also allowing for some flexibility as needed to navigate our ever-changing world. Building upon the great success of our 2020 Vision, the year 2020 will serve as a crossover year as we progress from the completion of the 2020 Vision and then begin to move into 2021-2023. There is great excitement as we move into this next chapter.

Change is always inevitable with growth, however, maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. As a Great Commission church, there are 150,000 people in the Greater Moncton area and the vast majority of them (80-90%) do not have a meaningful connection to a community of faith. Each number has a name and represents a son, daughter, friend, neighbour, colleague, classmate, or grandchild who matters to God and therefore matters to us. Given this significant spiritual need, how can we not respond with an even greater desire to share the Good news of God’s love with others in our city? As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:14, “The love of Christ compels us”. Now, with the anticipated growth, our vision is to maintain and even deepen the sense of community we enjoy as a church family. In fact, several of the objectives speak to the importance of strengthening community. This includes opportunities for more fellowship during peak attendance times as well as new systems and strategies to make it easier for every Hillsider to get connected to a meaningful serve and a meaningful growth group. Don’t forget, too, that the early church was essentially a mega church from Day 1 (Acts 2:42-47) when 3,000 people became believers. Like the early church, we have a commitment to grow larger AND smaller at the same time.

That’s a great question! If the Vision Team had clarity on how each of these objectives would be resourced and led from the outset, then the likelihood is that our vision is too small. We intend to continue to prayerfully seek God together as we further discern, rally, and take next steps during the crossover year and beyond. It’s our intent to trust that God will continue to raise up champions and teams to see these initiatives fulfilled. We also realize that given the size and scope of the vision, it won’t all be implemented overnight. Rather, it will be implemented in phases as the Lord leads over the next few years. We intend to trust God one step at a time knowing that as He has faithfully led us in the past, He will continue to lead us into the future.

Ultimately, nothing great ever happens without passion. As a high devotion church with a heart to reach out beyond our walls, it will take all of us as Hillsiders to be fully engaged in order to see this vision become a reality. The expectations for every Hillsider are represented in our 3 C’s. If every Hillsider committed to the 3 C’s it would certainly go a long way toward seeing the beyond our walls vision for greater kingdom impact become a reality. The 3 C’s are: “Celebrate” (prioritize weekly worship); “Connect” (participate in a Growth Group); and “Contribute” (by generously serving and giving to support our shared ministry). Therefore, beyond seeking to significantly raise the level of 3 C’s engagement within our whole church family, we will also be inviting people to prayerfully consider which of the objectives speaks to their heart. From there, they will be encouraged to take steps toward helping in those areas of personal calling and giftedness.