We had a map for two reasons.  1. To navigate and learn how to journey to places we’d never been to.  2.  To always know where we were at.  You see, even though the entire day was spent in towns and areas we had never been in before, we never felt lost.  We always knew where we were at on the map.  We were at ease.  We were content.  We explored with confidence.

And in two short years of living there, we found that we had a very good understanding of all that Connecticut had to offer (along with a bit of Rhode Island and Massachusetts).  We found that we had a good understanding of how everything fit together and where things were located.

We haven’t been as good at exploring since those pre-children years of our marriage.  And we’ve come to recognize that we don’t fully know all there is around us when we spend all of our time at home, work or church.  Our comfort becomes routine.  We never have to check the map.  We know exactly where we’ll be at every moment of our week.  In many ways, it’s the same as our journey of faith.  We can find ourselves in a “groove” of life.  We’ve lost a desire to check the map.

I’ve found that the times that I’m most discontent in life are the times that I haven’t checked the map recently.  I haven’t spent time with God and allowed Him to show me where I’m at in my faith journey.  Usually, I know intellectually that I’m not where I’m supposed to be.  And it will probably be uncomfortable to take intentional steps to get to where He desires me to be.  Checking the map and following the map is exactly what God desires of us.  God desires us to desire Him.  He wants us to follow His lead.

At ACC, we are convinced that we need to follow God’s lead about where He wants us to be on His map.  We are convinced that we need to align our direction as a community of faith with God’s direction for us.

Jesus gave us a command to love God and other people and a commission to lead other people to encounter life-change.  “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Matthew 28:29-20.

We desire to be intentional.  And we desire to be clear with our community of faith what we’re all about, where we’re going and how we’re going to get there.  Not by accident.  But through being intentional.

We will continue to explore God’s vision and direction for ACC on the map; the journey of faith.  We call it Vision 1.0.  We are convinced that God will be leading us to places we’ve never been to.  We are convinced that His vision for us will reveal to us where we’re always at.  God’s vision is our map.