Editor’s Note: As we bring to a close our celebration of our 125th year, this issue will feature a few “oldies but goodies.” Here is an article on vision from nearly 20 years ago (March 1991).

Statement of Mission from the Testimony of the RPCNA “It is the mission of the church to preserve, maintain, and proclaim to the whole world the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the whole counsel of God; to gather into her fellowship those of every race and people who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and promise obedience to Him; to build them up in their most holy faith, and train them to be faithful witnesses for Christ in all his offices; to maintain the ordinances of divine worship in their purity; witness against all evil; and in every way to seek the advancement of the Kingdom of God on earth” (Chap. 25:2).

Twenty years later, is the RPCNA’s mission our mission?

We have watched them with fascination. In fact, we looked at their church building before they bought it. But it was not for us. It was for them.

Into the heart of “The City of Churches” (Wilkinsburg, Pa.) they came, about 300 or so, and began a serious renovation of what we had thought looked pretty good. When we inquired as to the intent behind the hundreds of thousands being spent for the new carpeting and all, they told us they were planning for a congregation of one thousand. They did not recount all their plans; they just shared their vision with a warm smile.

Their assurance in God’s provision and blessing was contagious. We hoped their dream would come true. Last spring, about three years from their occupancy, they hosted at two services some fifteen hundred persons on Easter Sunday.

What’s their secret? Well, they would no doubt say there’s no secret to it. Look across the continent and see for yourself. Many evangelical groups are experiencing growth. And before we conclude they are suspect, let me quote one of my favorite proverbs: “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18:13). Watch them for yourself. Probably you will find them expecting and doing some things we could all imitate.

This leads me without equivocating to call us to setting our own sights on growth. I believe as a denomination the RPCNA is in the early stages of a transition in that direction already. And I can give plenty of support for such a vision.

Let me first offer a word about vision in general. Many years ago when I was worshiping and listening to a meditation on Psalm 128, I was arrested by the words, “May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life” (v.5). Vision has to do with what we see. My thoughts turned to the prayer of Psalm 106: “Visit me with Thy salvation, that I may see the prosperity of Thy chosen ones” (vv. 4-5).

As I sat there that morning, I asked the Lord to make my wife and me that kind of people. I wanted our sons to grow up in an environment where the “prosperity” of the church was being experienced and talked about. I wanted that blessing!

God answered me. He has given me that vision. Sometimes my close friends tell me I wear rose-colored glasses, but I remember that morning when I prayed. And I wait. Vision in the kingdom is not the shadowy profile of some dream or hope we have. Rather, vision parallels our view of Jesus Christ and His involvement in our everyday life. Better, it has to do with our involvement in His everyday life and our expectations. Consequently, I do not find myself comparing my ministry or our congregation or our denomination with megachurches. (I’m not sure I want their problems!) Rather I compare their vision of Jesus Christ on a daily basis with mine. Usually I find ways I can grow.

For generations the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America has heralded the message of the kingship of Christ. I praise God for letting me share in the legacy. That is the basis for my vision for growth: Jesus is King. Whatever He wants, He brings about. As Psalm 22 broadcasts His intention to capture the ends of the earth, so it confirms His triumph: “He has performed it.” Thus I look to see us begin to preach Christ’s kingship in a new way. We are not only going to unfold the doctrine from the pulpit and podium; we are going to watch Jesus turn the hearts of hundreds and thousands to Him and His church!

When people begin to catch a clearer and closer vision of Jesus, they begin to see things previously unnoticed. When I was a deckhand in the Navy at the end of World War II, I had the crow’s nest watch. I didn’t look down when first climbing up to my mast-table cubicle; I was well above the bridge. There with my binoculars I first experienced the actual curvature of the earth. I could certainly see farther than the skipper on the bridge. When I caught sight of another vessel, I always saw the top of its mast first, the bridge and hull still hidden below the horizon. And I would inform the bridge on the intercom.

I like that memory. It reminds me how my perspective is affected by my position in relation to Christ. He sees it all, of course. As I activate my union with Him, I find new insights and new ideas relating to perceiving His strategy. It is then that I find courage to trust Him and venture. My hope for the future is entirely based on Jesus’ power and promises. And I see that vision growing in others. So why would I not expect growth? “The Lord reigns!”

Let me approach this from another angle. Some of us are serving on a committee of the RPCNA Synod giving attention to priorities and administration. That boils down to what vision we as a Synod are pursuing and how we pursue it. Many have told us that we need a fresh sense of our mission as a church, so we listened. What, after all, is Christ’s vision for us? We received many good suggestions, but we settled on the one which took us right back to the mission statement in the Testimony of the RPCNA. (See sidebar.) It is the best statement of mission I have ever read. But we are not to be satisfied with statements. We must be moved. A true vision grips a person’s soul! It’s what he lives—and dies—for.

If this is our church’s mission, then that is what it lives for. Otherwise, it ought to die. What we must ask ourselves is whether or not this vision grips the soul of our congregations. Being called to such renewal, I am encouraged to believe this is our reason for existence. And if so, then there are some strong implications with which we must reckon.

Incumbent in the statement is the vision of growth. It suggests a steady response as a rule to the proclaimed gospel, with persons being gathered in, trained, and equipped to be witnesses. And the Spirit of God has been moving us to see that the essential way to this mission is through church planting.

It bears note that the Synod has agreed with the Home Mission Board that priority be given to church planting. We are accepting that to be the norm, not the exception. And I expect to see this multiply in the coming 20 years. We are shifting priorities.

There looms here a very stark reality that we as a church may be feeling more keenly: persons not believing in Christ are lost and need to be saved from hell. There’s no conflict here with predestinating grace, and the church that hides from its mission behind that precious truth deserves at least sharp rebuke. “You have forgotten your first love,” said Christ to His church at Ephesus. “Repent and do the deeds you did at first” (Rev. 2:4-5).

I have had to confess my own guilt in this regard, and have now changed my schedule to arrange for time with the unsaved on a weekly basis. The lost are lost! And we have a debt to pay. Any church worth its salt, pun intended, will be around for a long time if it’s busy with that concern of soul. Lord, move us with Your compassion!

Let me point out another factor for setting our sights on growth: prayer. Some years ago when I was director of Christian education for the Synod, I visited a particular church and engaged in conversation with a serious elder. He wanted to know what I thought was “the problem of the church.” (That cliché, by the way, has bugged me long enough. I asked God to let me see the prosperity of the church, not the problems!) In response to the elder, I asked about his prayer life. He said he didn’t pray very much.

“When do you pray?” I pressed.

He replied by saying he prayed as he warmed up his car. I learned he had a Chevy, and it was July.

“Is there no time when you get alone and ask God’s power on your church, your pastor, your family?” I asked again.

“No,” he admitted.

“That,” I said, “is your answer to the problem of the church.”

And then in a somewhat curious way he said, “But there must be some basic reason.” I have never forgotten that revelation.

Recently I read of a church in Kansas City, one of the megachurches I referred to earlier. They have a large staff and all kinds of ministries. I paused when I read of their daily prayer groups all over the city and noted that every staff member is expected to attend one of those one-hour prayer groups daily. It’s in their job descriptions! How does that strike you? Rather than put me on a guilt trip, I take heart in that. How wonderful to know of such a church! That’s good news for Kansas City, and we can learn from it. James says in his terse way, “You have not because you ask not” (Jas. 4:2). At this last Synod I saw men eager to invest precious time in meaningful prayer. That bodes well for the future. We are being caught up in a worldwide movement of Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is King. They may not carry banners, but they pray. And Jesus is answering! And worldwide revival is on its way because the Spirit is moving people to ask for it.

I am convinced that 20 years from now we will sense a whole new mentality on how we lay hold of Christ’s kingship. Declare it we may, but appropriate it we must. Otherwise our proclamation will flag.

It’s not the revival of the prayer meeting we need. It’s the revival of churches who will pray seven days a week. And when people are moved to believe Christ, they begin to pray, as Calvin asserts in his Institutes: “Prayer, the Principal Exercise of Faith, and the Medium of Our Daily Reception of Divine Blessings.” That’s the title of Chapter 20. Simply put, that’s why Paul Cho in Seoul, Korea, says their congregation numbers over 700,000. It started with all-night prayer on Fridays in an army tent. And to this day that church gathers thousands weekly who pray all night on Fridays. It’s no secret. But it requires faith.

I am committed to the vision of growth. And my prayer for the future of this and all true denominations envisions a coalition of congregations that are healthy, growing, and multiplying. Personally I do not see the Reformed Presbyterian Church as large enough to contain the vision God has given me. Nor as I read our church Constitution do I find a stated vision so limited. Rather, our vision embraces the kingdom of Christ in which we find ourselves by His mercy and grace. Our vision focuses on Jesus Christ and His dominion. We are to pray, “Thy Kingdom come. ” And as we do, it will! We will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of our life. As Psalm 128 ends, there rises a vision:

“Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!” (v.6).

–Kenneth G. Smith