Churches often yield to the avenue of only bringing their strengths into light. However, Paul has a point when he makes the shocking statement, "I will not boast, except of my weaknesses." At the risk of sounding too contrite, allow us to share a few of our growth areas.

•  We sometimes fall into the rut of being number driven . Worship services cannot be measured by church attendance. Success can't be measured by budgets. We aspire to be a people who choose to use a different measuring stick--one that focuses on worship and formation.

•  We are still learning how to love our neighbors better. We refuse to allow cultural and language barriers to hinder us from living out and sharing the good news about Jesus.

•  We are like many churches; we are attached to our buildings and pews . We would rather bring the lost to us so that they can learn about Jesus on our time and on our turf. However, the life and ministry of Jesus compels us to live differently. We want to see the harvest around us.

•  One of our strengths is also one of our major growth areas--we are a church that is diverse racially and socio-economically . This provides many challenges, and we want to embrace this reality more faithfully.