Reclaiming a vision for the Moravian Church in Battle Hill, Union, New Jersey.

摘要

Demographic changes have been one of the factors for the decline of The Battle Hill Community Moravian Church. The church was planted and grew as a new community developed around it. The original inhabitants of the community have largely passed away or moved elsewhere. The church struggles to be vibrant and this has been attributed to the lack of commitment and frequent leadership changes.;This project under the guidance of Rev. Dr. Stanley Menking at Drew University has focused my attention on the source of the problems articulated. In my research I found that the basic problem emanates from not understanding what God requires. I further discovered that the wider Moravian Church has become far removed from its birthright and has lost focus as it had to make choices between Christ and Culture.;This project was to create a mission statement which would reclaim a vision for the church based on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. A six week training program was devised to increase members understanding and to discern the will of God in the creation of the statement through prayer and discussion of denominational polity. Prior to and during the course of the project I prayed for a vision in light of recurring images from scriptures. I pictured Moses and Joshua leading the Israelites, and of Jesus calling, commissioning and sending the disciples throughout the world.;Research on eighteenth and nineteenth century Moravian History increased my understanding of their way of life and living and helped to highlight some possible causes for the issues facing Battle Hill Community Moravian Church. Supplementary reading on leadership, discipleship and church growth provided helpful pointers to reclaiming a vision for the church.;Frequent and fervent prayers, with information from the training sessions and many scriptural passages provided assistance in discerning the will of God in the production of the mission statement which received universal endorsement.;Come In! Learn the Life! Go Out and Live for Christ.;To God be the Glory.