A vision and a mission statement

A few months ago I was asked to articulate my vision for the Ohio District. My reply was a simple one, to make disciples by following Jesus. In an age where there are bullet points and power points, I have only one point to make. I want to follow Jesus so that others will follow Jesus. Life is all about following Jesus. The saints of the Old Testament were pilgrims in a foreign land, looking to follow Jesus. The disciples of the New Testament, scattered all throughout the world, looked to follow Jesus. That is all I want to do, follow Jesus. There is a great prayer in the LSB which prays: "Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" (#193, pg 311 LSB). If we don't know where we are going, and our paths are yet untrodden, how in the world can we have a vision statement saying that this is where we want to go? You see, it is all in the Lord's hands, He makes the plans, I only pray that He gives me a strong faith in Christ to follow faithfully. For at the end of the day, the only words I want to hear are the words from Jesus: "Well Done, Good and Faithful servant."