Mission and Vision

Our Mission :  “ New Hope Presbyterian Church exists to ignite a movement of the Gospel by transforming the lives of people by:

            Honoring the Lord

Offering the Gospel

Practicing Mercy

Enriching the Church.

Where?  In Vestal, the Triple Cities, the Southern Tier and beyond to the whole world

Our Vision:  “To ignite a passion for God, a love for one another and a burden for sharing the Best News.”

What Is The Mission Of A Church?

A church exists to advance Christ’s kingdom through the gathering and perfecting of the saints.  The church carries the Best News of the Good Shepherd to lost sheep who are mired in sin and desperately in need of a Savior:  “I am the Good Shepherd... and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).  Not only does the church gather lost sheep, but the church teaches the Good Shepherd’s sheep to walk in his ways -- for their good and his glory:  “…He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).

We are called to worship God, administer the sacraments (of Baptism and the Lord’s Table), lead Christians to maturity, be a gracious, forgiving community, spread the good news of the kingdom and meet tangible needs both within the community and outside.

Two passages of scripture which seem to encapsulate all the purposes of the church are Matthew 22:36-40 and Matthew 28:19-20

              The Great Commandment:  Matthew 22:36-40 - “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

              The Great Commission:  Matthew 28:18-20 – “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  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.”

Taken together we are told that as a church we are in mission together to:

          1.      Love the Lord your God with all our heart.

          2.      Go and make disciples.

          3.      Baptize them.

          4.      Teach them to obey.

          5.      Love our neighbor as ourselves.

When applied to us personally, the church’s mission can be stated as:

          1.      God wants me to worship him.

          2.      God wants me to be a member of his family, the church.

          3.      God wants me to mature in my understanding and application of the gospel.

          4.      God wants me to minister to others in the church.

          5.      God wants me to participate in his mission, the expanding of his kingdom.

      Our Mission contains the following components:

          1.      Worship

          2.      Membership, Fellowship and Pastoral Care

          3.      Maturity and Christian Education

          4.      Ministry Development

          5.      Outreach and Networking

          6.      Mercy Ministries

We need all six of these components.  Arranging the mission of our church in a sequential process like this encourages participation by giving us a road map we can hold on to.  Our objective is to develop disciples by the power of the gospel.  The results we expect are changed lives, a changed church, and a changed community.

To realize our mission we want to:

Take the Gospel to people in the Tri-City area in a culturally relevant way; 

Lead them to believe in Jesus Christ, to worship Him, and to embrace membership in His church;

Encourage and assist them to grow to Christian maturity in their faith; 

Equip them for ministry to one another in the church; 

Prepare them for service in mission to the world in order to glorify God.