Meadow Park Church of God
was founded in 1965 as a result of a vision conceived by the Fourth Avenue Church of God to reach the growing communities of Northwest Columbus. That vision remains the driving force of our fellowship amidst the dramatic change and continued growth of these surrounding communities. 
In the years since its inception, the vision of Meadow Park has been expressed with different words and ideas - all reflecting the core vision and all striving for relevance within their unique contexts. For the past number of years that expression has been:
To Know Christ, Grow in Christ, Care as Christ, and Share Christ’s Love Unconditionally.
As we move toward the future, we recognize that the future is rooted in the past and that we are entering a season of intensive concentration on the fourth component of our missional mandate – to Share Christ’s Love Unconditionally.
The clear and compelling vision of the future to which God is calling us strives to identify and express a picture of that future and what it will look like in the coming decade.
This is Meadow Park’s 2020 Vision.
The Relational Church—A Family of Families
The 2020 Vision emerges at the convergence point of three key areas of understanding – God’s Word, the character of the congregation and the needs of our contextual community.
- The journey begins with three key passages from God’s Word
- Continues with the spiritual gift of hospitality as evidenced in the character of the Meadow Park congregation
- Intersecting at the point of the expressed need for relationships in our community.
The convergence of God’s Word, the hospitality gift of the congregation and the community’s need for relational support reveals a call to become The Relational Church —A Family of Families.
A Family of Families
We see the Church as A Family of Families—a community where individuals are welcomed, accepted and loved just as they are; then connected and strengthened in personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That core relationship becomes the foundation for all other relationships as people are resourced, nurtured and strengthened in their most important personal connections with other human beings. We see the church as the hope of the family and the family as the hope of the church.
God is inviting us to join Him in His work of reconciling the world in relationship to Himself.
Will you join us?
The Relational Church—A Family of Families
MISSION: Relational Reconciliation - 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
To live as followers of Jesus Christ,
connecting and growing in relationships
with God, with His family and with the people He misses most.
VALUES: The Great Commandment – Matthew 22:37-40
Passionate love for God demonstrated by lives that declare His glory
- Spend time with God.
- Follow the life model of Jesus.
- Participate in God’s family.
- Carry out God’s mission.
Compassionate love for self demonstrated by a life that accepts God’s grace
- Seek progress not perfection.
- Please God more than people.
- Accept support from others.
- Embrace freedom to create, try, fail, succeed, try again.
- Serve according to opportunity, call, gifts and passion.
- Live with a sense of adventure, and enjoy God on the journey.
Impassioned love for people demonstrated by a faith community that proves God’s love
- Build God’s family before the buildings—Today’s Family.
- Give priority to the people God misses most—Tomorrow’s Family.
- Let purpose guide practice.
- Use resources to build relationships.
- Put people before programs.
- Participation is more important than perfection.
- Equip people for service and mentor toward maturity.
STRATEGY: A Pathway for Discipleship
PRACTICES: Action Steps – Matthew 7:24
To live as followers of Jesus Christ, connecting and growing in relationships…
with God
- Connect in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
- Grow in that relationship through prayer, Bible study, Christian community, spiritual discipline and sacrificial service.
- Use the principles and practices of a healthy relationship with God to build and strengthen all other relationships.
with His family (Today’s Family)
- Connect with God’s family as a vital member of the Body of Christ.
- Grow in relationships within His family by sharing life, resources, responsibilities and love with a small group of fellow followers of Christ.
- Live the love of God and the gift of family within your own life context.
and with the people He misses most (Tomorrow’s Family)
- Connect with others in personal relationships to show them the love of God.
- Grow in relationships with others through listening, sharing and sacrificial service.
- Welcome them into relationship with God and His family.
