The following is a post by one of our elders, summarizing the content from this past Sunday's Adult Bible Study Hour. In the class, we are going through eight different aspects of our Planting Joy vision. Consider joining us this Sunday at 9:30am in the sanctuary.

Kingdom advancing ventures have to be one of the most exciting aspects of our Planting Joy vision. King Jesus describes the nature of His kingdom in Matthew 13:31-32; “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” In this parable Jesus explains that by design the kingdom of God was not intended to come in an immediate and full sense. God plans for His kingdom to start small, then to grow. The very nature of His kingdom is to always be growing on this earth until Jesus comes again. His kingdom is unstoppable, it’s powerful, and it’s continually spreading and advancing!

Because God prizes growth in His kingdom, it only makes sense that His people should prize kingdom growth as much as He does. Seed planting, gospel centered, Holy Spirit accomplishing growth that is designed by our God so that He receives all the glory. It is this kind of growth that is built into the Five Points Mission Statement that we prize. Thus, our Planting Joy vision of growth flows directly from our desire to “pursue our joy in Christ alone, so that our neighbors and the nations worship Him with us now and forever.” We want to see the Kingdom of Christ advancing in Oakland County and around the world!

As Pastor Brent rightly stated, “When the Spirit of God opens hearts to repent of sin and trust in Christ for salvation, it is not long before many kingdom advancing ventures spring up in the minds of the saints.” What kinds of mustard seed, kingdom advancing ventures have you thought or dreamed about that God might be pleased to use in our midst to grow His kingdom? Here are some new and some current ventures we mentioned in class:
- Church planting
- Mercy ministries
- College initiatives  (OU, OCC)
- Friends Group
- Missions initiatives
- Petra
- Children’s ministries
- Raising up leaders and equipping them to be used to advance the kingdom

So two questions emerge as we consider the growth of God’s kingdom and our Planting Joy vision:  1.) Would a new building help us with these current and future kingdom advancing ventures?  2.) Do we see a direct connect between every dollar sacrificially pledged or given by faith to the Planting Joy vision as a clear investment in the advancing kingdom of God? May the God who prizes the growth of His kingdom cause our hearts to collectively say “yes” to both of these questions and free us to give with joy to the Planting Joy vision.