There is power to praying together, even when we are physically apart. God recently led me to convert our mission, vision and values into prayers we can agree on together. Would you pray these with me? I added them in the notes on my phone and pinned them to the top so I can continue to pray for our church to grow into our calling. I need your help. Will you pray with me? – Todd

Vision and Mission Prayers for MVC

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. MSG (Mt 11:28–30)

Vision: Home for the wanderer.  Rest for the weary.  The restoration of all things.

God, make us a church where people who have wandered far from you are welcomed home with open arms, those weary of religion and perfectionism find rest in the finished work of Christ, and everyone in between works together in the mission of God.  Our dream is to see all things on earth restored to your intention, starting with every aspect of our own lives. Amen.

Values: Authenticity. Intimacy. Love. Restoration.

Father, give me the courage to face myself with authenticity, to draw near to you in the intimacy of your Son Jesus, to love each person in the power of your Holy Spirit and to be part of your restoration of all things on earth as in heaven. Amen.

Center: Jesus is the center of everything.

Christ Jesus, you are the center that unites us. You are the living water everyone needs. From beginning to end, all Scripture points to you, all promises are fulfilled in you and all creation is held together by you. You are the perfect picture of what God is like and the perfect prototype for what we are meant to be. Continue to reveal yourself to us and through us. Amen

Location: Partnership. Generosity. Favor. Creativity. 

Father, make us known in our city for partnership with business, generosity to those in need, favor with our neighbors, and as a center of creativity.  Help us embody the vision and values of authenticity, intimacy, love and restoration as we live in our city, for our city. Amen.

City Life: The Church in your city, for your city.

Jesus, give our church a presence in each city in South Orange County for the sake of that city. Help us connect to people in each city, care for the church community, and reach out together to our neighbors. As we gather around tables for fellowship and walk around our city to pray, give us vision to see as you see and to represent you wherever we go. Amen.

Worship Arts: Connecting every heart with Heaven.

Holy Spirit, align our hearts with the heart of God as we worship and pray together. Empower our creative expressions to retell the story of Jesus through music, media, light, movement, sound, space, Scripture and sacraments. Give each person a life changing encounter with you. Amen.

Leadership: We build big people.

Father, raise up leaders in our congregation and empower them to live into their full potential from a place of health. Bring interns to our church to be trained and released to start ministries, plant churches and serve in other contexts. Help us connect people with dreams and passions to others with experience and resources so together we can create a beautiful future. Amen.

Multiplication: Simple and Duplicatable.

God our creator, help us create simple structures and systems that can be replicated. Help us pass on our values to those who will follow us. Bring each leader an apprentice. Help each group give birth to another.  May we be fruitful and multiply disciples, groups and churches. Amen.

Blessing: We are blessed to be a blessing.

God, you have blessed us to be a blessing.  We carry your favor everywhere we go.  Help us to live in this awareness. Give us a heart to pray for people and tell them the good we see in them.  Help us bless and not curse. Amen.

Generosity: We are never more like God than when we give.

God, you are a giver.  We are like you when we are generous. We know you love to bless generous people.  Help us grow in our generosity, ever increasing our giving to stretch our faith and expand our capacity as individuals and as a church. Amen.

Diversity: What unites us is stronger than our differences.

Most Holy Three in One God. You created us in your image for unity in diversity. We share the same good Father, we have the same Spirit in each of us, and we follow the same Lord Jesus. That is more than enough to keep us together in our other differences. Help us learn from each other as we prioritize understanding over agreement and unity over uniformity.  May our church reflect your kingdom where every tribe and tongue and nation is in unity; where old and young, male and female of every economic class and ability come together as one family. Amen.

Wholeness: We care about the whole person, not just “saving souls”.

Father, make us healthy spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically and financially.  Humans are complex creatures, and restoration involves every aspect of our lives. Restore us Lord. Amen.

Sweet Spot: What you love, what you’re good at and what the world needs.

God, help each person in the church find their sweet spot so they can use the gifts and passions you have given them for the benefit of others.  You created us each with something in mind – good works you prepared for us to do. Help us find and follow our destiny. Amen.

Kids: We believe that Kids can.

Jesus, you welcomed children and said the kingdom belongs to them. Raise up parents, teachers and mentors to lead our kids to Jesus. May each child among us believe that they can hear your loving voice over their life, that they can stand on the truth that God is good, that they can see each person through the eyes of Jesus, and that they can impact their world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reconciliation: We bring peacemaking & positivity in a culture of division & negativity.

Father, you created and love all people.  Help us see your image in others and believe the best about their intentions. May we seek to understand first through active listening before we speak. May we bless and never curse.  When we speak, help us speak from the heart in an atmosphere of curiosity and honor. Holy Spirit, you alone can convict and change people. Help us simply love them and point them to Jesus regardless of race, religion, gender, political persuasion, or sexual orientation. Amen.

Outreach: We invest our first fruits in outreach beyond MVC.

Father, you have made us part of a family of churches that is planting churches, training leaders and sending missionaries all over the world.  Bless the larger mission of your church through our giving and partnerships globally and locally.  Bless our missionaries and mission teams. Help us do sustainable ministry with long term partners.  We also ask you to bless the underserved populations right here in San Juan Capistrano and especially Iglesia Monte Vista reaching the Latino community. Amen.

Media: We export our message and culture to the wider world using technology.

Holy Spirit, we ask you to bless our media content so the vision and values of our church get out into the world.  Expand our reach beyond our local community through the internet to people who need the good news of Jesus. Amen.

Alignment: We are one church with many programs.

Father, as you and your Son and Spirit are one, help us operate as one church, working together to serve all our people with programs that meet their particular stage of life needs.  Bless your kids, youth, young adults, men, women, moms, dads, people in recovery, people with disabilities, those in grief, those with anxiety and many other stages and life situations.  Help all our programs to carry our values of authenticity, intimacy, love and restoration. Amen.

Lord, Lead your church . . .

To REACH our neighbors with the good news of the gospel, Lord, lead us.

To CONNECT them with your family in the church, Lord, lead us.

To GROW them up into the image of Christ, Lord lead us.

To DEVELOP their gifts and sensitivity to your Spirit, Lord lead us.

To DEPLOY them in your work of restoring the world, Lord lead us.

Until your kingdom comes and your will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph 3:20–21.