Dreams And Goals
Our Vision
The vision of Harbor Uptown Church is to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ so fill San Diego that the people of the city are changed in every dimension—spiritually, socially and culturally.
The 8 Dreams
In August of 2009, the minstry team directors and other key leaders at Uptown gathered to discuss the Vision of Harbor Church and the areas we feel God leading Uptown to focus on in order to most effectively advance that vision. We identified eight Dreams which we want to achieve over the next 5 years. To guide our ministry efforts for the Fall 2009 - Fall 2010 year, we have set 1-year goals for each of the Dreams. Click on one of the Dreams to jump down to the goals we have set and find out how you can get involved!
Children & Families
Community Groups
Church Life
LGBT
Engaging Non-Christians
Mercy
Faith & Work
Discipleship
We are excited about where God is leading Uptown! You can join in helping make these Dreams become reality by getting involved with a ministry from the list below, and praying that God would continue to guide Uptown and supply all our needs.
Goals Fall 2009 - Fall 2010
Children & Families
Our 5-Year Dream:
Uptown will grow our Children's Ministry to powerfully impact the spiritual lives of our children and attract families to join Uptown.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | By 11/15, determine the best service time for Uptown—4:30PM, 5:00PM, or 6:00PM. |
| • | By 9/30 Complete and distribute research to make an informed decision. |
| • | By 10/15 Spend devoted time in prayer, seeking God's will in the matter. |
| • | By 10/27 Discuss the options with those most affected. |
| • | By 11/15 Make the decision. Any change will be implemented at the beginning of the new year. |
| (2) | By 12/25 Begin implementing an age-appropriate Discipleship plan for Children. |
| (3) | By 3/2010 Develop discipleship resources for parents and parents-to-be. |
Get Involved! Contact
Community Groups
Our 5-Year Dream:
Uptown will expand and grow our Community Group ministry.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Start 2 New Groups this year, increasing participation from 30 to 50 people. |
| • | By 12/25 Start the first new group. |
| • | By 6/2010 Start the second group. |
| • | 1 new group studying GLBT/Church issues. |
| • | New Men's and Women's groups. |
| • | Help short-term Faith & Work groups continue as Community Groups |
| (2) | Train Community Group Leaders at Uptown |
| • | Provide training for potential new leaders |
| • | Determine needs and offer training for existing leaders |
Get Involved! Contact
Church Life
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will develop a regular calendar of social events that will provide opportunities for deeper relationships with each other and our extended network of family, friends, neighbors and coworkers.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Form a team that will brainstorm, plan and execute events |
| (2) | Support the teams which have already scheduled events |
| • | 9/27 AIDS Walk (Mercy Team) |
| • | 10/30 Pumpkin Carve (Community Groups) |
| • | 4/2010 Dining Out For Life (Mercy Team) |
| • | 8/2010 Art Show (Harbor Art) |
| (3) | Plan and execute other events throughout the year as appropriate |
| • | Wiffleball Tournament, Blood Drive, etc |
| (4) | Help build a culture of including others |
| • | Create a Facebook page |
| • | Include Community Group leaders in the promotion of events |
| • | Encourage easy-to-plan community-building events (dinner, walks, games, etc) |
Get Involved! Contact
LGBT
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will love the homosexual community and develop ministries to bless it.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Prepare the church |
| • | Form a team of folks interested in helping with this ministry |
| • | Launch a small group, open to all, discussing Church/LGBT issues |
| • | Provide training on bridge-building between church and LGBT community |
| • | Sermon series on understanding other perspectives |
| (2) | Bless the community |
| • | Form relationships, love our neighbors and learn |
| • | Actively invite LGBT community to events like our art show |
| • | Increase UT's 2009 AIDS Walk participation |
| • | Increase UT's 2010 Dining Out For Life participation |
| • | Meet with Todd Gloria or Ben Hueso (Gay and Christian City Council members) to learn more about how we can serve the city as a church |
Get Involved! Contact
Engaging Non-Christians
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will be a safe place for non-believers to explore Christianity and interact with the church community.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Maintain a vibe at Uptown that welcomes non-Christians |
| • | Avoid “Christian-eze” language and references |
| • | Promote a culture of honesty about struggles from all leaders, and demonstrate gospel application for those struggles |
| • | Pastors apply Scripture for benefit of both Christians and non-Christians |
| • | Provide opportunities for feedback to the pastor & leadership |
| (2) | Love and include non-Christians |
| • | Host events that appeal to both Christians and non-Christians (Coordinate with Church Life, Mercy, Harbor Art teams) |
| • | Offer resources for non-Christians to connect with Jesus and the community of the church (Christianity Explored, Christianity Experienced, Community Groups, etc) |
| • | Get feedback from non-Christians about their experience at Uptown |
| (3) | Equip Christians |
| • | Provide training on how to help others understand and be blessed by your faith |
| • | Provide training on prayer |
| • | Provide training on understanding, respecting and answering non-Christian perspectives |
| • | Help Christians understand and be blessed by what we have in common with non-Christians |
| (4) | Help newcomers connect to the community of the church |
Get Involved! Contact
Mercy
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will proclaim the good news of the gospel through deeds of love and kindness, done in Jesus' name toward the people of our city, taking extra care to serve the poor, the sick and the oppressed.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Develop a Mercy Team to help brainstorm, plan and execute Mercy Ministries at Uptown |
| (2) | Continue to bless people who suffer from HIV/AIDS |
| • | Participate in AIDS Walk |
| • | Participate in Dining Out For Life |
| • | Participate in Mama's Kitchen |
| (3) | Continue to bless the working poor through Food Bank |
| (4) | Continue to assist GenerateHope in appropriate ways |
| (5) | Help UT learn about and reflect God's heart for mercy |
| • | Sponsor small groups and/or Community Group studies |
| • | Help the pastor develop a Mercy sermon series |
| • | Plan and executre Mercy Month in the Spring |
Get Involved! Contact
Faith & Work
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will partner with Harbor's Faith & Work ministry in order to transform people, their work, and their workplaces by bringing the truth of the gospel to bear on the marketplace.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | Understand Uptown so we can target ministries to meet needs |
| • | What professions are represented at UT? |
| • | What are people's interests and needs in the F&W realm? |
| (2) | Preach sermon series on Faith & Work |
| • | Determined by leadership and results of #1 above |
| (3) | Create small groups to meet discipleship needs |
| • | Vocares, Strengths Assessment, F&W Issues |
| (4) | Promote and participate in Harbor-wide F&W events |
Get Involved! Contact
Discipleship
Our 5-year Dream:
Uptown will develop a discipleship program to help people at Uptown grow and maintain a gospel-driven spiritual life, and enable them to help others grow as well.
Our 1-Year Goals:
| (1) | By 12/25, Develop the Discipleship plan, present it to Uptown leadership to integrate with other Uptown ministries. |
| (2) | By 2/2010, Present the Plan to all of Uptown, encouraging participation and showing people how to use it. |
| (3) | By 9/2010, Train leaders to help people plug into discipleship |
Get Involved! Contact
