Vision Sunday 2025

Last spring I was driving to the store, stopped at a light, and noticed the street sign ahead looked a little blurry. I assumed I was just tired. But over the following weeks I paid closer attention and realized everything in the distance was blurry. It had been a couple of years — I needed my eyes checked.

I put it off for months, finally made the appointment, and sure enough the prescription had changed. So I ordered new glasses.

If you don’t wear glasses, you should know that a new pair feels strange for a few hours, sometimes a few days. Your eyes are so accustomed to the old prescription that even a better one feels off at first. So I wasn’t surprised when the technician put them on my face and things seemed odd. I figured I needed a couple of days.

A couple of days later it was still wrong. Distance was still blurry, and now everything at mid-range had gone fuzzy too — I’d sit at my desk and the monitor right in front of me was a smear. After three or four days of headaches I gave up, took the new glasses off, and put the old ones back on just so I could work.

Then I found out there was a thirty-day satisfaction guarantee. I called, got another consultation, we looked at things again — and I genuinely do not know whether the mistake was mine, the doctor’s, or the lab’s. But when the corrected pair arrived, everything was sharp.

For some reason that whole experience got me thinking about Riverwood. Are there things we’re doing that show we have a crystal-clear view of who God has called us to be? Or are there signs that things have gone slightly blurry?

A Year of Changes

2024 brought a lot of changes. We added a cafe coordinator to the team, and she has been a wonderful gift — she slotted into our monthly Sunday team meetings and merged in seamlessly.

We also had new people become part of the Riverwood family, especially students from Wartburg. Students, you are a big reason we felt God calling us to plant a church in Waverly. We think the college years are a critical window, and we want to help put a God-sized dream in front of you rather than let you get swept into an American one. Getting to know you and speak into your lives is an honor.

There were building changes too. You’re sitting in one of them — nobody has yet come to me saying they miss the old folding chairs. The sound booth was rebuilt, which looks far better and is genuinely safer, with no more cables where children can grab them. We got a drinking fountain, with a bottle filler, which we ordered roughly four years ago; it sat on backorder so long that when it finally showed up we stood there wondering what it was. And outside, the building got a facelift — fresh paint, a new sign before year’s end, and landscaping that was a real gift of labor from someone in this church.

All good things. But are they indicators that our vision is sharp, or that it has drifted? The only way to know is to go back and ask what God actually called us to.

The River in Ezekiel 47

If you have been part of Riverwood more than a year, you are not surprised that we turn to Ezekiel 47 on Vision Sunday. This is where we get both our name and our aim.

The setting: an angel is giving the prophet Ezekiel a guided tour of a temple in a vision. The tour began back in chapter 40; by chapter 47 we are near the end.

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east… Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep… Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. — Ezekiel 47:1, 4–5 (ESV)

The man measures out a thousand cubits at a time — a cubit is about eighteen inches, so roughly fifteen hundred feet — and each time leads Ezekiel through: ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then water too deep to cross. Then Ezekiel is led back to the bank and sees very many trees on both sides. Now you know where our name comes from.

The river flows east, down into the Arabah, into the Dead Sea — and the water there becomes fresh. Every living creature swarms and lives. Fishermen stand along the shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim, spreading their nets, and the fish are of many kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean. On both banks grow all kinds of trees for food, whose leaves never wither and whose fruit never fails, bearing fresh fruit every month, because the water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit is for food and their leaves for healing.

The River Is Jesus

I believe the river — the central character here — represents Jesus, for several reasons.

It comes from the temple, the place of worship and of God’s presence — and Jesus comes from heaven, the ultimate place of worship and presence. It flows past the altar, the place of sacrifice — and Jesus went to the cross, the place of sacrifice. It goes out through the east gate, and back in chapter 43 God declares that gate so holy, because He Himself entered through it, that no human may use it. Yet the river flows out that divine side.

Then it empties into the Dead Sea — a body of water so saturated with minerals that nothing lives in it. And when this river crashes in, the place teems with life. Jesus said He came to give life, and give it abundantly.

Four Depths

Ezekiel walks into that river four times, and each time he is deeper. We simply equate those depths with spiritual growth.

On the shore is the seeker — curious about the river, but not yet stepped in. Ephesians 2 tells us anyone who has not put their faith in Jesus is dead in their trespasses. If you are not a follower of Jesus, please don’t take that as an insult; it is simply a spiritual reality. Everyone in this room was born physically alive and spiritually dead, and death is disconnection from God.

Ankle-deep is the new believer. To step into the river is to find life — putting all your faith and identity in Christ, understanding He died on the cross and rose from the dead, and did it for you.

But notice the river keeps flowing. It has a current, and that current is the Holy Spirit calling you deeper. The fancy word is sanctification — God continuing to work in you and grow you.

Knee-deep is the growing believer: someone pursuing personal spiritual disciplines like Bible reading and prayer, and growing through relationships with other believers who encourage them to follow Jesus as they do the same in return.

Waist-deep is the serving believer — someone giving what I’d call their FIST: their Finances, their Influence, their Skills, and their Time. Taking what God has given them and using it to bless the people around them.

Immersed is the last depth, where Ezekiel could no longer touch bottom. If you are in a river with a strong current and your feet are off the ground, the river is in control — it can take you wherever it wants. That is what we want for you: so in love with God and trusting Him so completely that you are willing to pick up your feet and let Him send you — into your work, your neighborhood, your dorm, other cities, other nations — carrying this life-changing message so you can invite others to step in and find life too.

And the Trees Are Us

Verse 12 describes trees along both banks, and I believe those represent Christ followers. They draw their nourishment from the river, just as we draw ours from Christ — from His word, from the gospel. Colossians 2:6–7 tells us to sink our roots into Him, because He is our firm foundation and our nourishment.

And as we find that nourishment, fruit comes. We want to see the fruit of the Spirit emerge naturally in you. The text says that fruit is for food — providing nourishment to people — and the leaves are for healing, bringing comfort.

That is the vision: to invite people to step into the life-changing river of Jesus, and to go deeper with Him by getting their roots into Christ, so God can do a tremendous work through them, for His glory, their joy, and the blessing of others.

The way we say it at Riverwood is this: our mission is to invite the spiritually disconnected to find and follow Jesus. Find Him — step into the river. Follow Him — go deeper in it.

Who Are the “Spiritually Disconnected”?

People sometimes get stuck on that phrase and ask whether it just means non-believers. Yes — someone who does not yet follow Jesus is spiritually disconnected, because Scripture says they are spiritually dead, and death is the truest disconnection. Jesus came to give life abundantly, to restore connection with God. Helping people who don’t know Him step into that river is a huge part of our mission.

And this is not about running up our own numbers. We do it because God loves them and because that is where their deepest joy will be found. It is for their benefit, for the good of the world, and for God’s glory.

But there is more to it. Plenty of people step into the river — they know who Jesus is, they know what He did, they have given their lives to Him — and can still identify areas where they feel disconnected. They keep running back to an addiction. They still say angry words, or tell lies, or handle money in ways that don’t honor God. There are seasons and corners of life where the connection just isn’t there.

We believe that the same Jesus who brings a stranger into connection with God is exactly who those already in the river need in order to go deeper. The more connected to God you are, the more you overcome these things, the greater your joy, and the more you become the blessing to the world He calls you to be.

So “inviting the spiritually disconnected” is not only about unbelievers. It is about anyone with an area not yet fully surrendered.

Where We Saw Clearly

So how did we do? Reviewing the year while putting together the annual report, I’d say we were at about 80 to 90% clarity. Which also means 10 to 20% where things weren’t quite right.

First, the clear part. Last September we talked about Jake moving from half time to three-quarter time, with much of that extra capacity going toward discipleship. He worked with the elders to build resources matched to those four depths — ankle, knee, waist, immersed — to help someone take the next step.

We did that because we had become convicted that we elders had been too hands-off. I don’t want to micromanage your spiritual growth — you all have different fingerprints, and I believe God works uniquely in each of you. But we had swung too far the other way, essentially saying, “Great, you love Jesus, read your Bible, you’re good.” And people were left with real questions. Growth groups fill much of that gap, but we recognized we were not being good shepherds. A good shepherd leads the sheep to pasture — he just doesn’t force their heads down into the grass.

So we built resource sheets for each depth, with suggestions of things to read, watch, and do — aiming at head, heart, and hand, because you might know something intellectually and still not be living it. Those resources sit right outside the office. If you have ever walked past and wondered what that display is, that’s it. We have dreams of building something around the pillar in the lobby to make them more central, because helping you go deeper with Christ is core to who we are.

We did fail on one piece: we talked about getting this onto the website with a simple survey to help you identify your depth and see suggested resources, and we didn’t get it done. At minimum we can convert them to PDFs and make them available digitally.

Second, the new believers discipleship curriculum I mentioned last fall. My goal was to finish it by the end of September. I didn’t. Nor October, November, or December. Working on this Vision Sunday message, it hit me that we simply needed it done — so I finished it about two weeks ago. It has been edited, printed, and handed to Jake, Ed, and Matt to speak into. Once we fold in their input, that rough draft becomes version 1.0 — and then we want to involve you.

Here is the thinking. God’s call to the church — not just Riverwood, every church — is to make disciples who make disciples. It is not solely the pastor’s job. Scripture speaks of the priesthood of believers, which means if you follow Christ you have a role in helping other people find and follow Him. We want to equip you for that.

This curriculum is designed for you to take a friend or family member through. So we want to run a short-term growth group, eight weeks long to match the curriculum, and walk through it together exactly as if you were leading a new believer. You tell us what works and what doesn’t, we build the improved version, and then you take it and sit down one-on-one with a brand new believer to help them take those first steps from ankle-deep to knee-deep.

Prayerfully consider being part of that. Write “new believers class” on your connection card or email me and we’ll find a time. And parents — one of our team looked at it and thought it would work well with her own kids, so if you have been wanting to disciple your children, you might consider it for that.

There is more I could point to: our 21 days of prayer, the intentionality behind our sermon series, the growth group fair in September, and the fact that I estimate roughly 70% of our church family is in some kind of growth group. That is fantastic, and I want to see it climb.

Where Things Got Blurry

Then the year-end numbers came in, and two of them stopped me.

We have no record of anyone putting their faith in Jesus last year. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen — but if it did, either no one told us, or they told us and we failed to capture it. Either way that is on us. If our mission is to invite people to find Jesus, we need to see people stepping in, and then help them go deeper.

It makes me wonder whether we got a little too excited about new chairs and a new sign and an excellent sound booth, and patted ourselves on the back. Honestly, I would trade every bit of it to see dozens of people put their faith in Jesus. He did not come to give us nice chairs. He came to give us new life. When I read the last verse of Acts 2 — that day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved — something in me says that is what I want to see.

We cannot make anyone believe; that is the Holy Spirit’s work entirely. But did we fail to provide the avenues that make this clear?

The second number: only two baptisms. Don’t misunderstand me — that November Sunday was wonderful, hearing two people share their stories and be baptized. It was one of the highlights of my year.

I do not believe baptism is required for salvation; salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But when you understand the gospel, Scripture carries an underlying expectation that you will be baptized — because it honors God, puts the spotlight on Him, and proclaims the gospel with your body. Stepping into the water says: I identify with the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

I raise it because some of you have not been baptized. If you were baptized as a child and that is significant to you, I am not going to argue with you about it. But some of you are holding back because you’ve followed Jesus so long you’d be embarrassed, or you feel you’re past the age for it, or you think your family would be upset.

I am on the verge of arm-twisting here, and I want to be careful, because this must be the Holy Spirit’s conviction in you and not because you felt pressured by me. I never want to baptize someone for the wrong reasons — not to make God happier with you, because the cross means He already delights in you; and not so other people will like you, because we are going to love you either way. I want you to do it because you say: Jesus died for me and rose again — how can I not proclaim my love for Him?

If that is you, write “baptism” on your connection card or email me and let’s talk. We don’t even own a baptismal tank yet — and I would love an excuse to go spend money on one because we needed it every quarter, every month. Why not dream bigger: every week.

What I Want to Say Next January

Overall I think we did a genuinely good job last year. But when I stand here a year from now, I would love for us to simply praise God — for the dozens of people who put their faith in Jesus, the dozens baptized, the dozens connected into growth groups, the marriages and finances and bodies we saw healed.

I want us to be a church willing not only to step into the river, but to let the Holy Spirit keep calling us deeper — until we are the church that picks up its feet and says: God, send us. Use us.

This mission is so much bigger than us. Some of us are only here for four years at Wartburg. Some until a job takes us elsewhere. Some for twenty or thirty years, and then we pass on. But this mission isn’t unique to Riverwood — it is what God gives His church. We just want to be faithful to it.

So if our vision has drifted, take off the old glasses and give us new ones, so we can see You clearly and see what You are calling us to. And don’t let us be a church that only talks about these things — make us one that lives them.