INSIDE OUT

Have you ever stood in front of one of those carnival or distorting mirrors that change the way you look? All of the sudden you are taller, wider, or shaped a bit more like an “S” than you were before.

It’s possible to live our lives in a way that looks a lot like one of those mirrors. Even though things look one way, they aren’t actually how they appear. This is especially true when it comes to what’s happening on the outside compared to what’s happening on the inside.

Your marriage can look perfect on the outside but be collapsing internally. Your life can look like you have all the nicest possessions, but you’re actually buried in debt. Your walk with God can look like it’s thriving when you haven’t actually abided with Jesus in months. You have a picture-perfect smile on the outside, but inside you’re filled with pain and discontentment.

Evangel is guided by five core values: Family Focused, Live to Give, Future Minded, Bring our Best, and our theme for 2024, Inside Out. From the earliest prophets and kings in scripture all the way through to Jesus himself, the Bible is clear that what’s on the inside matters. "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

Thankfully, we worship the transforming, redeeming, life-changing God. When Jesus healed people, it was often from the inside out. The healing that comes from God is complete, transforming, and enduring. We have reason to hope! We are not trying to change on our own.

On your journey through this Vision Guide, we hope our goal for 2024 becomes abundantly clear. We believe God is asking us to live inside out. To be people of integrity. To be the real deal. To let healthy hearts shaped and formed by Jesus overflow into healthy lives. To let the transformation of our hearts be the catalyst to the transformation of our lives, our families, our communities, and our world.

This is the journey we believe God has for us as we continue to mature in Him in 2024.

Until all the world hears,

Pastors Josh and Jenaye