Twickenham

In 2009, the shepherds asked a group of people to come together and participate in a long range planning exercise. The group consisted of about 20 men and women including several of the shepherds and staff members and a cross section of Twickenham members. The group was challenged to consider who Twickenham is as a body and where we should go in the future. Initial discussions centered on what we do and how we do it. The natural tendency was to begin where we are and then tweak or adjust operations and methods out of a genuine desire to improve. The group met every couple of weeks and began to pray for God's leading and wisdom. During that process, the focus of discussion changed from the "what" and the "how" to the "who" as the group began to focus more and more on our need for a real and ever deeper relationship with God that will continue to shape "what" we do and "how" we do it. In other words, it is the relationship that drives the mission, an inside-out approach that begins with lives yielded to God's will and committed to his ways. Over a span of months the long range planning team participated in a challenging and rewarding journey as God continued to work in their hearts.

Our approach initially is to focus on Core Beliefs and Core Values. Our prayer is that as we focus on our relationship with God and his mission for us, the Lord will lead us into ministry opportunities and practices that are in tune with his heart and accomplished for his glory.

To that end, we developed a series called "The Journey" that has been taught in our Sunday morning classes during January-May 2011 and is reviewed with all new members. This is not a destination, a declaration or a program but rather the continuation of a journey of faith, grounded in God's word, empowered by his Spirit and focused on his eternal purpose.

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