A vision for 2026 and beyond…
A vision for 2026 and beyond…
The first Sunday of a new year naturally invites fresh energy, fresh goals, and fresh expectations. As we step into 2026, it’s tempting to focus only on what lies immediately ahead. But what if our vision stretched further? What if, instead of thinking only about this year, we lifted our eyes toward the next five?
When we look toward 2030, we gain clarity. A long view helps us understand the strategic steps needed along the way. That’s why this moment matters. This is not just the beginning of a new calendar year—it’s a vision moment. And the vision is simple but powerful: feed the Church so that the Church can seed the world.
The High Calling of the Church
In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul paints a picture of the Church that is far bigger than a weekly gathering or a physical location. He reminds believers that Christ reigns over everything—galaxies, governments, powers, and time itself—and that at the very center of His rule is the Church.
The Church is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the Church. Through the Church, Christ speaks, acts, and fills everything with His presence. This means being a Christian is more than attending services or adding church to a busy schedule. It’s about participating in what God is actively doing in the world.
The Church is not a collection of “extras” in God’s story. It is the primary way He moves, redeems, and restores. And that raises an important question for each of us: Am I fully participating in God’s mission, or merely present around it?
Feeding the Church
If God’s plan to bless the world flows through His Church, then our responsibility becomes clear. We must feed the Church so it can be sent into the world with strength and purpose.
So what does a well-fed Cumberland look like five years from now?
It looks like a completed campus that serves as a headquarters for good news—an inviting, functional space that visibly exists for the good of the community. It looks like a weekly rhythm of serving neighbors, where compassion and generosity aren’t limited to Sundays but spill into every day of the week. It looks like intentional training that prepares people not just to gather, but to scatter—living missionally in workplaces, neighborhoods, and online spaces.
Most importantly, it looks like individuals who understand how the gospel shapes their lives personally. People who know who God has called them to be, how He has called them to live, and who He has placed in their sphere of influence.
A Five-Year Vision
Reaching that future requires focus. Over the next five years, the path is clear: embracing the Spirit, equipping people, empowering gifts, exporting the gospel, and exalting the King. Each year builds toward a church that is spiritually deep, numerically growing, financially strong, and strategically mobilized.
The goal isn’t growth for growth’s sake. The goal is faithfulness.
When the Church is nourished—rooted in Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and aligned under His kingship—it becomes a powerful force for good. And from that place of health, the gospel naturally spreads.
Feed the Church.
Seed the world.
