In the 158th year of the First Presbyterian Church of Morrison, IL, the congregation seeks to transition from a declining to a thriving church. The power to transform is held within the two Great Commandments: to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbor as our self. These commandments compel us to learn to understand who we are, who our neighbor is, and how we belong to God. In order to thrive, we must actively pursue loving our neighbor as our self in all aspects of our mission and ministry. By studying and growing within our relation to the Triune God and all creation, we embark upon a vision seeking process that will allow us to build a missional focus and conviction, allowing us to realize and actively reach our potential to be Christ’s true stewards and disciples. The impediments faced in this vision seeking process fall under the realms of relevance, concepts and terminology, relationships, leadership, and change. During this vision seeking time period, we will seek to articulate who we are, who our neighbor is, how we belong to God, and where God is calling us. This will be evaluated by the accomplishment of the steps of the process, but most of all, by the increased understanding within the congregation of loving our neighbor as our self and the creation of a vision statement that articulates the church’s understanding of how they are being called to be Christ’s stewards and disciples.
