The Bible prophesied that disciples having dreams and visions would be a mark of God’s coming kingdom. Without vision, the Bible is clear that God’s people will drift away from their faith. When there are not many visions, it is because the word of the Lord is rare. The word “vision” in these scriptures doesn’t simply mean dreams we come up with in our own minds that are noble aspirations. The word literally means “a divine revelation from God,” meaning that as God’s people receive his word, God gives them his visions and dreams. Certainly, being restored in our day is Jesus’ vision of an evangelized world in our generation. Young men and women are capturing the dream and joining the revolution to see this dream accomplished. The New England Revolution is our local motivating vision. Phase 1 is to evangelize every major college campus, while Phase 2 is to get a Bible Talk in every neighborhood of Boston and region of New Hampshire. Goals are a means to accomplishing the vision. As a church leadership we have prayed and want to put before the congregation 20 goals or plans that will contribute to fulfilling God’s vision of evangelizing New England and in turn the world.
1. “During these days Peter stood up among the brothers- the number of people who were together was about 120…” Acts 1:15
120 in 2020 is the number we believe God has put on our hearts to grow to this year. 120 disciples made up the foundation of the Jerusalem church, which would propel a worldwide movement in the first century. The 120 consisted of Jesus’ eleven faithful apostles, the seventy ‘apostles’, and his family. They were the ones who received the global vision and waited for the Spirit of God to usher in the kingdom. We believe in 2020, God will solidify our membership allowing us to grow to 120 members by 2021.
2. “Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.” 2 Corinthians 10:15-16
It has been amazing to have a growing House Church in New Hampshire. Paul wrote to the Corinth church his desire for their sphere of activity to spread to regions beyond as their faith grew. It is our hope that by the end of the year, the New Hampshire House Church will officially become a region, having an inaugural service and hosting Sunday morning church services more consistently. This has already begun to be initiated with the sending of full-time leaders, Aaron Viscichini (Evangelist) and Sharmayne Viscichini (Women’s Ministry Leader).
3. “…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6
The International College of Christian Ministry is an accredited college out of Los Angeles that trains and equips God’s people for works of service in his kingdom by offering Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees. The specific accreditation allows us to award these degrees according to our biblical convictions and doctrine. ICCM Boston has produced great ministers historically, such as Rafael and Melissa Jerez who currently lead the Syracuse church, and Peter and Jessica Markarian who led the Gainesville church and are currently serving in the ministry in Miami. It is our prayer goal to reinitiate the ICCM Boston extension once again to raise up more leaders to serve God’s kingdom.
4. “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15
God’s plan is for the Evangelist to plant and grow the church, and to raise up men and women to become Shepherds to take care of the flock (Ephesians 4:11-12- “pastors” NIV). These servants are to have the highest quality of character and spirituality as outlined by the Bible (1 Timothy 3:1-7). It is our goal to appoint at least one shepherding couple in 2020 to continue to mature God’s people.
5. “Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.” Psalm 33:2
God desires his people to use their talents to glorify him. It is this year that we want to kick off our Arts Media and Sports (AMS) ministry! This ministry will focus on reaching artist who can help contribute to building the church’s worship band, online media, and athletics ministry. In time, it would allow us to also start a “daytime midweek” in order to meet the needs of those who work late night jobs (as many artists do). Excitingly, the first AMS Conference in our movement is set to take place in New York City in April, God-willing!
6. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer’…” Matthew 21:13
Jesus said the church would be a house of prayer for all nations. God desires his church to be a praying community that prays grand and global prayers. It is our vision to establish a “Prayer Warriors” ministry which would initiate “Prayer Stations” that meet throughout the city to offer Bostonians a refuge and place of hope to pray.
7. “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 22:16
MERCY Worldwide is our congregation’s charitable arm that works to meet the needs of the poor and needy. We put before God the desire to have a monthly MERCY project that will help build the church’s relationship with the local community and be evangelistic in nature.
8. “…He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.” Acts 19:9
Campus ministry will be the focus of all our efforts this year as a church. On college campuses we will reach the future leaders of tomorrow; the young men and women who will be raised up to be great leaders in God’s kingdom. We put before God the goal of having a solid campus ministry of 20 enrolled students by the end of 2020.
9. “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
We believe there is an incredible opportunity before us with our “120 in 2020” vision to see many restored to God. We are asking God for 20 of the additions this year to be restorations of our fallen brothers and sisters.
10. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers…” 1 Timothy 4:12
Some of the greatest heroes in the Bible were teens, from Daniel to Jesus’ Apostles. God loves to call people in their youth to do great things for him. We’re praying for God in 2020 to give us a thriving teen ministry. Not only will this save more teens but also bring more families into the church.
11. “The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.” Acts 13:49
God not only wants us to grow numerically but also geographically. With New Hampshire becoming its own region this year, we are asking God for another House Church to form that will lay the seeds for another region of New England to be planted. This could be in Providence, Worcester, etc. We are believing in and working for God in 2020 to continue to spread the message of his kingdom throughout New England.
12. “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 9:14
We want to hire two full-time interns early on in 2020 to help build up our campus ministry. The more full-time workers a church has, the greater amount of fruit that can potentially come.
13. “…making the most of every opportunity…” Ephesians 5:16
There are so many opportunities in our community to be evangelistic. Though “cold-contact” evangelism is effective and necessary, many times it is relational evangelism that is the most effective. We want to see every disciple in the Boston church involved in community activities in order to have a pool of relationships they can reach out to. This could be sports, service projects, hobbies, volunteer work, etc.
14. “…we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Acts 2:11
Boston’s Hispanic community makes up about 20 percent of the city’s population. This presents a huge opportunity for us as a church to reach out through a Spanish-speaking ministry. We believe God will start a Spanish-speaking ministry in 2020!
15. “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13
Not only do we want to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), but we also want to keep the saved, saved. Retention of our membership is important to God and is one of the functions of shepherding one another in the church. In order to achieve the goal of retaining our membership, we are asking the shepherds-in-training to have every newly baptized, restored, or placed membership disciple over to their home within the first week after the addition.
16. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
It is the goal of the Boston church to see every member grow and mature in their personal walk with God. This includes in their depth of Bible knowledge, quiet times, and prayer life. God’s plan is for every disciple to be transformed and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
17. “Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.” Luke 10:1 NASB
Jesus of course had his twelve apostles who was his core group of leaders he discipled. In our church, the ICCM functions as this type of group. Jesus also chose seventy others whom he did not directly disciple but wanted to train and influence. We want to start a group for those with an ambition to lead called “The Lion’s Den”. It will focus on raising up more leaders who may not be directly discipled by the lead couple but have potential to be in the future.
18. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.” Psalm 107:13-14
The drug epidemic in our country is perhaps one of Satan’s most powerful forms of demonic oppression. The Chemical Recovery (CR) ministry has helped many find healing from their past addictions. One can repent of sin and still not be totally healed from its allure. One of the Boston church’s goals is to begin a CR ministry in 2020!
19. “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” Acts 17:21
Paul had an effective ministry in Athens of converting key opinion leaders because he went to the Areopagus where the people talked about the latest ideas. We want to begin a “Forum” event where we talk about current issues and how they relate to the Bible. This will occur at the Boston Public Library four times a year and will be a community outreach event that can bear much fruit. Forum topics could be current events, deep Bible study, doctrinal issues, apologetics, etc.
20. “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
We want to see more dating and engaged couples in the Boston church in 2020! We believe this will be accomplished by having a powerful Singles and Single Professionals Ministry that helps singles develop personal life skills and raise up in their career.
Let us together offer up the 2020 Boston Church prayer goals to our Heavenly Father, knowing that if we commit our plans to Him, they will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). What is your personal vision and goal for 2020? God is the giver of dreams and visions which is a promise for disciples in his Heavenly Kingdom. To God be all the glory!
Lead Evangelist,
Mike Patterson