Well, it’s been a long journey. Your church has grown in faith and spiritual maturity as you have partnered with Christ in accomplishing God sized goals. The journey started with carefully, prayerfully selecting a strategic focus vision for your churches missions outreach. Patiently, as your congregation grew in knowledge and respect of that special strategic ministry, you saw God give spiritual fruit for your labors.

Now is the time to go back to those original goals. Ask (or research):

• What were the parameters and expectations of the strategic focus?
• In what ways were those original goals or expectations modified with additional experience, or change of circumstances, or change of personnel over time?
• What were the key observable milestones as it all developed and move toward completion?
• What new things were learned in the process?, What virtues developed?, What new perspectives?
• How does your team better understand God’s sovereignty?, Field ministry?, Church planting?, Caring for missionaries?
• In what ways is God using completion of this strategic focus in the ministry of your church?, The field ministry?, The missionaries involved?, The ministry target people?

Try to appoint a task force to spearhead the celebration process and/or services marking the completion of your strategic focus. This is indeed a milestone for your church every bit as significant as the dedication of a new building, or the installation of a new pastor, or the mortgage burning ceremony showing release from the long-term debt. With just as much care and energy as you originally promoted the strategic focus and recruited resources as widely as possible, you should enthusiastically enlist the cooperation of all parties involved in the celebration events. Don’t forget to celebrate on both sides of the water, at home and on the field.

Make sure you recognize God as the hero of the story. Without His help in enabling, without His desire to see Jesus exalted among all nations, without His endowment of resources, talent, stamina, and grace, none of this would’ve happened. The kind of stories you tell in celebration of completion of your strategic missions focus are the legends and models for your church corporately and your congregants individually for years to come. Celebrate with great joy and relief in this wonderful accomplishment. Give God glory!

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