Revolution Vision

Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint.”

Without prophetically seeing the picture of God’s future, the people begin to lose hope. But prophetically seeing what God is doing and what He desires for us, without prophetically imagining God’s new world, the counter-society of His Kingdom invad- ing this society, people chaotically move through life, with no real meaning or purpose. Equally, when churches lack the prophetic vision, a prophetic imagination, that church community lacks meaning, purpose, and direction. It’s prophetic vision that creates purpose in it’s mission.

Prophetic vision is vital in directing and unifying us as a community of believers. In order for that community to express the Kingdom of God, there needs to be a common, prophetic vision that helps unite us in a common purpose and directs us in fulfilling the calling of God for us as a body of believers.

Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV) “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”

In seeing what God is revealing, as a leadership team, our job is to communicate what God is saying through the headship of this body. In communicating it, it must be plain and inspiring, with clear direction, so they that read it can do something about it. We are the team that runs with it, and in running with it, we inspire those around us (those that we have relationship and influence) to run with us in accomplishing the vi- sion God has given us.

Revolution Vision

“Making Kingdom disciples that make a difference.”

The vision of Revolution Youth is simple in statement, but profound in scope. It’s a declaration that encapsulates our Purpose and Mission together in one simple and straight-forward statement. Our vision for every believer who partners with Revolution is committing to becoming a disciple, continuing to further their discipleship, and mak- ing more disciples of the Kingdom of God and our Lord Jesus. If you are living the Kingdom of God, you will naturally impact the world around you for the glory of God. We can judge whether or not we are making disciples by observing the fruit. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples by the fruit we bear (John 15:8). It is also by the fruit that we bear as His disciples that our Father is glorified. We desire to give our lives to fulfilling that vision of making those kind of disciples, the disciples that bear the fruit of the Kingdom of God and so glorifying God. It is this vision that unifies us and directs us. It helps us narrow our focus and our efforts to fulfilling our purpose that God has given us. Everything we do is filtered through this vision. If we are to im- pact the world, making a difference in our lifetimes and leaving a legacy beyond our lifetimes, we must commit to the vision of making disciples of the Kingdom of God.

Our Model of Ministry

“Kingdom-Focused, Relationally-Driven, Organic Ministry”

A “Model” as it applies to ministry is a pattern or mode of structure or formation or a typical form or style. Simply put, our “Model of Ministry” is how we do ministry. Every thing we do is filtered through this model. How we do what we do is structured through this model. Our model of ministry is this: “Kingdom-focused, Relationally- driven, Organic Ministry”. Here is what we mean by this:

Kingdom-Focused

Matthew 6:33 (ESV) “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness…”

Jesus’ mission was singular: to usher in the Kingdom of God. Upon His resurrection and ascension, He gave us the mission of bringing His Kingdom “on earth as it is in Heaven.” Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, gave us the power to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and the power and authority to bring His Kingdom. The Christian life is to be devoted to bringing the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit into our lives and into our world. Therefore, ministry is to have the same focus. Our focus to seek first the Kingdom of God, which means everything that we do, we strive for it to be fulfilling one purpose: to bring the Kingdom of God in our lives and then through our lives into our world for the glory of the King of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ. It’s in us having this focus that we can be a part of the fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Relationally-Driven

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (God’s Word) “18God has done all this. He has restored our rela- tionship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. 19In

other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others.”

Everything in the Kingdom of God is about relationship. God, in the context of the Trinity, is personal and interpersonal, relational and inter-relational. Living in the King- dom is about living in personal relationship with this Trinitarian God and loving rela- tionship with people. The work of the Kingdom of God and salvation is about restoring these relationships to God’s original intent.

Our central vision that drives us is “Loving God and Loving people.” The DNA of Victory Life, Duane Sheriff Ministries is founded and driven on cultivating those King- dom relationships. Our desire is that by building relationship with each other, devel- oped organically, not organizationally, we can further the Kingdom together as partners. Relationships are journeys in which both parties learn to grow together, trust each other, and depend on one another for the furthering of the Kingdom. We desire to make that journey with you.

Organic Ministry

Most youth ministry has been event-based, or sensationally-driven. However, if eve- rything in the Kingdom of God is about relationship, we feel that being event-based or sensationally-driven works contrary to relationship, therefore does not fulfill the central focus of Christianity, seeking first the Kingdom of God. We are not against having events, but each event must fit within our model of ministry, which is to be Kingdom- focused and relationally-driven. We are focused on developing these Kingdom relation- ships organically and naturally as we work together within and for the Kingdom of God, and the way we cultivate these relationships is specifically through small group interaction. Our desire is to create a Kingdom-focused community, where each person belongs to an organism, not just an organization, bonded by love, known as “the Church.”

The Church, mostly since the 3rd Century, has been structured more like an organi- zation rather than an organism. Church structure typically has been rigid, stale and overall lifeless. But the Church was created to be a community of believers made up of living and breathing people, infilled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, maturing and growing into His likeness. This idea of the Church fits more of a description of an organism, where the focus is relationships developed, rather than just seats filled during service. The Church is to be a Kingdom-focused community, where we belong to some- thing bigger than ourselves; living life together with each other, encouraging, motivat- ing, strengthening, loving, and forgiving one another in our journey of salvation and relationship with the Lord Jesus, while working side-by-side with each other in & for the Kingdom. Church organization and structure is important, but if our organization is the focus, we lose the organic and communal element of the Church that makes it thrive as a relational, Kingdom-driven community.