Vision
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To make reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ whose ongoing spiritual transformation results in an inter-connected network of five life-giving, missional Christian communities in Montrose and the inner loop area by December 2010. (Short form: disciples of Jesus living in missional communities.)
To make reproducing disciples whose ongoing spiritual transformation...we believe our mission and vision will be accomplished as we embrace inside-out transformation that is focused on reproducing disciples. Ongoing personal transformation is currently fostered at Harbor in three ways:
• Clusters of believers who live together in intentional Christian community, studying the Scriptures, sharing fellowship, praying and serving together;
• Discipleship groups that are aggressively focused on personal spiritual growth and embrace a culture of authenticity and accountability;
• Mentor relationships with mature believers who coach, instruct, discipline, and support in prayer.
Each person who is committed to the mission/vision of Harbor is encouraged to commit to his/her personal transformation through participation in a discipleship group. The evidence of personal transformation is:
• Increasing faithfulness to living out of the true self;
• From that position increasingly choosing to live in authentic community with other believers;
• From that base, leading others to become growing disciples of Jesus.
....results in an inter-connected network of five life-giving, missional Christian communities... we believe that discipleship is about all of life (Romans 12:1-2). We don’t just pastor churches and have church services. We live in a New Testament community of people who share life and who share some portion of what is needed to sustain the life of the community’s members. The nature of community requires that its size be limited to no more than 20-30 people. Each of these communities will have those designated to pastor or shepherd that community – both in its common life and in its corporate mission. Each missional community is autonomous – it is its own part. Yet, it is also connected – it is a part of a larger Body.
Christian community refers to a level of interaction with other followers of Christ that makes a high level of personal accountability possible. Based on Jesus’ model with the first 12 disciples (Matthew 4:19) and on the first church (Acts 2:42), we seek to study, pray, and serve together daily.
Missional means that the gathered community has a corporate mission in the functioning of the church and/or the transformation of the community. It means that it is intentionally pursuing that mission. Each community functions as a church in the traditional sense of the word – in other words, on a weekly basis participants in a community come together for a worship service. But, each community is much more than that.
....in Montrose and the inner loop area by December 2010.... as noted above, Harbor’s base is in the Montrose area. Since our inception churches have formed out of our core in Houston’s Spring Branch area and in the Katy area. We view the launching of Hope House as a providential act of God and will continue to be open to His leadership in taking new initiatives. Our heart focuses on the inner-loop because of God’s heart for the poor, the widow, and the alien in our land.