Empowering Generations: Living Out the Gospel Together

Devotional

Day 1: The Gospel Still Changes Lives

The gospel is not just a message for the past; it is a living, active power that continues to transform hearts and lives today. God is still calling people to Himself, and every believer is invited to participate in this ongoing story of redemption. As you consider the vision for the future, let your heart be filled with anticipation and faith that God will use you to reach those who seem far from Him. Imagine the joy of seeing someone you love come to faith, experience baptism, and declare that Jesus has changed their life. This is not a distant hope, but a conviction that shapes our prayers, our actions, and our church community. [03:40]

Romans 1:16 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Reflection: Who is one person in your life you can specifically pray for today, asking God to open their heart to the transforming power of the gospel?

Day 2: Sharing Jesus Is Everyone’s Calling

Personal evangelism is not reserved for pastors or a select few; it is the calling and privilege of every follower of Jesus. Each of us has a unique sphere of influence—family, friends, colleagues—where God can work through us. The church is committed to equipping and supporting you to confidently share your faith, making it a normal and celebrated part of our life together. Whether sharing Jesus feels natural or daunting, take heart that you are not alone; the Holy Spirit partners with you, and together as a church, we declare that sharing Jesus is at the core of who we are. [07:12]

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Reflection: What is one practical way you can share Jesus with someone in your life this week, even if it feels outside your comfort zone?

Day 3: Growing in Faith Is a Lifelong Journey

Spiritual growth is not a one-time event but a continual pursuit of Jesus. The church is committed to creating clear pathways for discipleship, service, and leadership so that everyone knows their next step. No matter where you are on your journey, there is always room to grow deeper in faith, to serve others, and to step into new areas of leadership. Embrace a heart that is not content with staying where you are, but is eager to pursue spiritual maturity and greater involvement in God’s mission. [17:40]

Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Reflection: What is one area of your spiritual life where you sense God inviting you to take a next step of growth or involvement?

Day 4: Faithful Steps, Not Giant Leaps

God’s vision for our church and our lives unfolds through small, faithful steps rather than overwhelming leaps. The journey ahead may seem daunting, but God calls us to trust Him with each step, knowing that He is over it all. As you consider the big dreams and goals before you, remember that progress is made by consistently doing what God puts in front of you, trusting that He will bring about the results in His timing. [26:14]

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Reflection: What is one small, faithful action you can take today toward the vision God has placed before you?

Day 5: Using Your Gifts for God’s Kingdom

Every person is uniquely made and gifted by God, and each gift is needed for the church to grow and for God’s kingdom to advance. God invites you to use your abilities, time, and resources to serve others, build up the church, and help people discover the hope found in Jesus. As you pray and consider your next step, ask God for wisdom, boldness, and courage to invest your gifts where they will make an eternal difference. [29:08]

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Reflection: How can you intentionally use one of your God-given gifts this week to serve someone in your church or community?

Sermon Summary

Over the next five years, the focus is on living out the vision of “Jesus for generations” in practical, tangible ways. This means not just talking about faith, but actively pursuing the transformation of lives through the gospel. The heart of this journey is a conviction that the gospel still changes lives, and that every person in the church has a part to play in seeing friends and family come to know Jesus personally. By 2030, the hope is that each person who calls Horizon home will see at least one person in their world come to faith. This isn’t about pressure or guilt, but about faith, anticipation, and partnering with the Holy Spirit to see God move in ways only He can.

Personal evangelism is central to this vision. It’s not just the role of pastors or leaders, but of every believer. The aim is to equip everyone to confidently share their faith, to pray specifically for people in their lives, and to create a church culture where it’s normal to invite those who don’t know Jesus. The church will intentionally create spaces for people to explore faith, ask questions, and experience God’s presence in real ways. The goal is for Horizon to be a place where the gospel is clearly heard, and where everyone—regardless of where they are on their journey—is welcomed and loved.

Another key focus is building the “plumbing” of the church: the structures and systems that enable growth, service, and mission. By 2027, the aim is to have an operational and leadership structure that supports spiritual maturity, involvement, and mission. This includes clear pathways for community engagement, connection, discipleship, and leadership development. The desire is for everyone to know their next step, whether that’s joining, serving, leading, or simply growing in faith.

This journey is not about achieving big goals overnight, but about taking small, faithful steps together. It’s a five-year plan, and it will only happen through God’s help and our partnership with Him. Each person is encouraged to pray, consider their next step, and commit to being part of what God is doing—whether that’s praying for someone, joining a group, serving, or giving. The invitation is to take these goals home, pray over them, and have conversations about what it means to be part of a church that is truly living out the call of Jesus for generations to come.

Key Takeaways

1. The gospel’s power to transform lives is not just a truth to be believed, but a reality to be expected and pursued. Each of us is called to anticipate God’s work in the lives of those around us, trusting that He is still drawing people to Himself and that we have a role in that process. This vision is rooted in faith, not in our own ability, but in God’s ongoing activity in the world. [06:15]
2. Personal evangelism is not reserved for a select few; it is the calling and privilege of every believer. Sharing Jesus with others may feel daunting, but it is a core part of following Him. As we step out in faith, God equips us and uses our ordinary conversations and relationships to reveal His extraordinary love. [07:12]
3. Healthy church life requires intentional “plumbing”—the unseen structures and systems that support growth, service, and mission. Without these, even the most passionate vision can falter. Investing in leadership development, clear pathways for involvement, and community engagement ensures that everyone can find their place and take their next step in faith. [26:14]
4. Spiritual growth is a journey of continual next steps, not a destination to be reached. Whether it’s joining a group, serving, or leading, each step is significant and requires both faith and intentionality. God honors small, faithful actions taken in obedience, and it is through these incremental steps that lasting transformation happens. [26:14]
5. The fulfillment of God’s vision for the church is not dependent on our strength, but on our willingness to partner with Him. Prayer, boldness, and reliance on the Holy Spirit are essential. As we offer our unique gifts and abilities, God weaves them together for His glory, advancing His kingdom and drawing people into the hope and purpose found in Jesus. [29:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - Introducing the Five-Year Vision
[02:10] - Distributing the Vision Booklet
[03:00] - Five Mission Goals Overview
[04:20] - Mission Goal 1: Seeing People Come to Faith
[06:15] - The Power of the Gospel to Change Lives
[07:12] - Personal Evangelism: Everyone’s Role
[09:00] - Creating a Culture of Invitation
[11:30] - Equipping for Faith Sharing
[13:00] - Intentional Moments for Exploring Faith
[15:20] - Mission Goal 2: Mobilized for Service and Mission
[17:45] - The “Plumbing” of Church Life
[20:00] - Pathways: Community, Connection, Growth, Leadership
[23:30] - Everyone Knowing Their Next Step
[26:14] - Practical Steps and the 2030 Plan
[29:08] - Prayer and Commitment

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 28:18-20** (The Great Commission) <br> 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.”<br><br>2. **Acts 1:8 — But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

3. Ephesians 4:11-13
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Observation Questions

According to Matthew 28:18-20, what are the specific actions Jesus commands his followers to take?
In Acts 1:8, what is the source of power for being witnesses, and where are believers called to go?
From the sermon, what is the main goal for every person at Horizon by 2030? [06:15]
What are some of the “plumbing” or behind-the-scenes structures the church wants to build by 2027? [17:45]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus emphasizes “making disciples” of all nations, rather than just sharing information about him?
The sermon says personal evangelism is for every believer, not just pastors or leaders. Why might this feel daunting, and what does the sermon suggest is the key to overcoming that? [07:12]
The “plumbing” of church life is described as essential for growth and mission. How might having clear pathways for involvement and leadership help people grow spiritually? [17:45]
The vision is described as a journey of small, faithful steps rather than big overnight changes. Why is this approach important for both individuals and the church as a whole? [26:14]

Application Questions

The vision asks each person to pray for at least one friend or family member to come to faith by 2030. Who is one person in your life you could start praying for specifically? What would it look like to pray for them regularly? [06:15]
Sharing Jesus can feel intimidating. What is one practical step you could take this month to grow in confidence in sharing your faith? (For example: practicing your story, inviting someone to church, or asking a leader for help.) [07:12]
The church wants to create a culture where inviting people to explore faith is normal. When was the last time you invited someone to a church event or group? What holds you back, and what could help you take that step? [09:00]
The “plumbing” includes joining, serving, leading, or simply growing. Which of these next steps feels most relevant for you right now? What is one thing you could do this week to move forward? [20:00]
The sermon encourages everyone to take the vision home, pray over it, and have conversations about it. How could you involve your family or friends in this journey? Is there someone you could talk to about your next step? [26:14]
The vision is not about pressure or guilt, but about faith and partnership with the Holy Spirit. How can you remind yourself to rely on God’s power rather than your own efforts as you take steps forward? [29:08]
The church is investing in leadership development and community engagement. Is there a gift or ability you have that you haven’t used yet in church life? What would it look like to offer it for God’s purposes this year? [29:08]

Sermon Clips

Right at the heart of this vision of Jesus for generations is this truth that the gospel is still changing people's lives. We still believe that God is calling people to himself and that each one of us has a part to play in that. [00:02:30]

On a practical level, by 2030 we're believing that each person who calls Horizon Home will see at least one of their family or friends come to have a personal relationship with Jesus. We're believing for that—that every single one of us would have one person that we know that right now isn't following Jesus, doesn't have that relationship with him, that by 2030 will. [00:02:55]

These mission focuses—these are things that we're striving for that will take faith and they will take God's involvement. None of these things that we're going to talk about today are things that we can do in and of ourselves. All of them are going to be about us partnering with the Holy Spirit who we know ultimately does the work of seeing people's hearts changed and transformed and as seeing people brought to Jesus. [00:03:52]

I want you to just imagine for a moment, just to pause for a second and picture someone in your life—maybe it's someone who is in your view far from God or maybe it's someone who's already taking those kind of initial steps of their faith journey. I want you to imagine what it would feel like and what it would look like when they give their heart to Jesus. [00:04:22]

I want you to imagine the excitement you'd feel as you see them following Jesus into the waters of baptism as they declare openly that the relationship with Jesus has changed their life. I want you to get a sense of the excitement of that. [00:04:44]

We want Horizon to be a place where it is normal for you to bring someone who doesn't know Jesus. And we want it to be a place where those people hear the gospel really, really clearly, but are also loved and cared for and included and welcomed as part of the church family. [00:06:09]

Over the next couple of weeks, what I'd encourage you to do, church, is start praying. Start asking God who that person is in your world, who that person is, the specific person that you are praying and believing over the next five years is going to come to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. [00:06:33]

We want you to be able to pray specifically. I think often we pray broadly and there's nothing wrong with that. That's good. We pray for our friends and our family, but we want to start praying specifically for people we're going to commit to walking alongside over this next five years. [00:06:54]

This is about our church family. This is a Horizon has always been about the people of the church. And so this is something for each one of us. And my part is this declaration that I share Jesus with others. [00:07:19]

We're going to clear that together as a church over the next five years that that is a core part of who we are—that we share Jesus with others. [00:07:42]

We're becoming a church mobilized for service and mission. If you have a look at it on face value it doesn't quite seem as exciting as some of the others. It doesn't have kind of what might appear like a really ambitious dream that God has put in our hearts. It is probably a bit more boring and maybe in some ways for some of you a bit vaguer. But this is what we would call the plumbing of the church—the plumbing of the church. And this is one of those key areas that actually enables all of the other stuff to work. [00:17:19]

By 2027, so in only a couple of years time, we'll have an operational and leadership structure that drives spiritual maturity, church involvement and mission in our congregation. [00:18:14]

We want to make sure that everyone who calls Horizon home or is coming to check out Horizon, whether that's now or in the coming months, that they would know their next step—that they wouldn't come and just kind of join the community and think, well, I don't know what happens now, like I've joined the church, I've been coming, but what do I do now? How do I grow in my faith? [00:18:54]

Our hope and our plan is that we'll develop structures that will actually enable that to happen and we're going to restructure the way that we think about teams and about leadership in church life and about where different people fit on their journey around these four sequential steps. [00:19:15]

We need to provide those pathways for discipleship, for serving, for deeper faith formation. We want those people who are really going on in their faith to know what their next step is. [00:20:17]

All of this comes from a desire to ensure that each person who calls Horizon knows their part and is able to, without pressure but by invitation, be involved, to be growing, to be serving, to be leading. [00:20:50]

Our declaration, our conviction, your part, my part in it is this ownership over: I am growing in my faith. It's this heart that says I'm not just comfortable with where it's at now, I'm going to be pursuing Jesus, I'm going to be pursuing spiritual growth. [00:21:08]

Don't forget this is a 2030 plan, so don't look at this and think that is so big and it's scary and there's some really big goals there, some dreams and they sound great, but how are we going to do this? I don't know. But I do know that God is over it and I do know that we will do it by small incremental steps as we faithfully follow him. [00:26:54]

That's all we've ever done right from when this church was 10 people in a lounge room, that's all we've ever done is we've just faithfully done what God put in front of us and so we're going to keep doing that. [00:27:21]

It'll only happen through God's help and through our partnership with it. And that's why we've put here my first step—what is a step that each of us can take? Firstly, that we'll commit to praying for someone we know that we want to see come to know Jesus. [00:27:36]

Take this home with you. Read over it. Pray over it. Have conversations about it. This week in connect groups, we're going to be unpacking the vision. In two fortnight in connect groups, we're going to be unpacking this as well. And so that's another opportunity to have some really good conversations about what this might look like. [00:28:36]

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