UNDERSTANDING THE VISION OF YOUR CHURCH

AND THE CALLING UPON YOUR PASTOR

Winifred. L Kakumba

Miracle Christian Fellowship Ministries has a vision and a mission on which it is founded. It also has a vision bearer.  All activities carried out in the church are in support of the main vision and the vision bearer. As sons and daughters of the ministry, we have our own expectations of the ministry, but there certain things, character and services that are expected of us too, thus the need to understand the vision so that we know how we can feed into it.

Our vision as MCFM is to; “To train and equip an army in the body of Christ to make war in the later days” which is rooted in Psalms 18:34 – “He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” And the vision bearer is Pr. James Victor Lubwama, so if you are a spiritual son or daughter of his, you should know the vision and statement of faith of this church by heart.

The calling upon the pastor is to train people in prayer and in spiritual warfare and every time he stands to speak, he describes how the children of his ministry should be. He says they;

·    - Are Shield bearers

·    - Bear the spirit of excellency

·   - Are always at the top wherever they go

·   - Are "Prayer warriors

·    - Don't delay at a stage, but move from one level to another in a short time

However, to partake of all the above and benefit from his calling and the anointing upon him that transforms people, you must understand what he was called to do!

Mathew 16:13-16 (NKJV)

"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

In the scripture above, Jesus asked his disciples what people call him. He wanted to know what the general public thought who he was; and actually they had different perceptions. They could not tell who he was or what his mission was. He turned and asked his own disciples what they thought he was and all could not explain except Peter. This implies that it's possible to serve under a servant of God but never get to understand his calling and anointing; and in that case you can easily be corrupted by what other people say about him. We should therefore seek to discover and get a revelation of what our churches stand for, and what the vision of our pastors is. That is how we shall be able to overcome the lies of the devil.

Understanding the mission and vision of your church, and the calling upon your Pastor is very key in the lives of the people seated under that leadership because if  you  do so, the devil won’t be able to manipulate you nor will he be able to to weaken the faith of those around you.

We have to be able to explain and defend what we believe in to the people outside our faith. 1 Peter 3:15 (ASV) says; ”………….but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you……”

Do you know the vision and mission of your church? Do you know the calling upon your Pastor or vision bearer? Are you seeing the church and vision bearer through what others say to you or you can ably explain it to them? By understanding all the above you will be able to support the calling upon your pastors and also edify others. This implies that you can be trusted into leadership to guide others just like Peter, as Jesus later declared in Mathew 16:13 that; ”.... and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

Isaiah 51:1-2 (NLT) “Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. 2 Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”

Which rock were you cut from? The rock stands for Jesus but in our life today, our Pastors represent Jesus. As Jesus said in Luke 10:16 (MSG) 16 “The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent me.” 
Do you know what rock (pastor) your life stands on? Pastor James Victor Lubwama is always telling his flock about the kind of people he wants to breed and nurture. He says under his ministry, there are no poor people, children of his house (ministry) will be job creators - have three or more jobs, will excel in all they do and they will not delay on levels because God will take them from one level to another quickly. You therefore should never be stressed about poverty or lack but just stand on the foundation of the rock under which you were cut and start claiming the things you need.

One thing you should know though is that before you get the above, you must be a child. You must understand, support and submit under the anointing. We come with our qualifications, knowledge, skills and experiences which we have to use to support the vision bearer and the vision so that we gain the promises attached to the ministry - that's what it means to understand the vision.

1 Peter 2:5-8 says; “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone…………...”

Do you believe in the stone or do you reject it?

The place where our church is built is an ancestral place and has a history of satanic practices. As children of the ministry, we should know the historical background of our church and the place on which it was grounded if we are to prevail against the devil. We must learn and be equipped in the body of Christ to make war (be shield bearers). We must learn to pray in order to excel so that the gates of hell do not prevail against us. We have to know the word of God by heart and how to pray to fight spiritual warfare for us to prevail.

The place in which the church structures were establishment previously had a gypsy (omusambwa) called 'nababirye', so ladies in this ministry struggle to serve, pray, minister(stumble a lot), get married, get jobs, to do business etc. but if you are well conversant with this, then you ably fight in prayer and when negative situations arise, you don't faint or give up but press on.

Our God is stronger. The anointing upon our Pastor is working under that power and we will win but you have to know that the devil is fighting and every time you feel discouraged to come to church, to pray, or read the bible that’s when you should start doing exactly what you are discouraged from doing because that’s an area the devil is at work in you.

When you get an understanding or revelation about your church's vision and the calling upon your pastor, then the devil cannot outwit you and you will be able to strengthen those around you.

God bless you!