Henriet's Blog

So Close to Realizing the Semper Vita Dream!

3.75 years and counting!

It's been three years and nine months since God laid this vision and concept on my heart. Much has happened - both with Semper Vita and in my personal life. Answering a call from God is an adventure with significant highs and lows. Obstacles litter the path that follows God's call. Suffering is part of the journey.

Often this truth is not told to prospective Christians or even good church-going folks: Faith requires courage and stamina. Following Jesus is hard. Researcher and author George Barna states that the kind of people who radically follow Jesus (he calls them Revolutionaries) recognize that there is a huge price to pay in this lifetime—but they are mindful of the eternal pay-off as well" (Revolution, page 15). I guess I'm a revolutionary...but I'm not alone!

It takes a volunteer team!

To make Semper Vita become a reality has required a volunteer team that lives out their call and faith with the same commitment and stamina. One such volunteer is Tamara Dull. Do you know that she has quit her well-paying job to guide the completion of our software application? That's crazy, right? Well, maybe. She's sure that is what God has called her to do.

We are in the final stages of completing the software application. Tamara's been shepherding the process and working long hours with our developer. She can't wait for this project to be over because she needs to get back to work and receive a paycheck!  She's also created our new marketing site and set up our blogs...this is one of them. The other is On The Front Porch with Semper Vita. She's recruited Bree Baich to co-author the On The Front Porch blog.

When you visit them on the front porch, you'll be able to hear and tell stories: "Stories about people helping people. Stories about churches doing great things in the community. Stories about non-profits and churches banding together to serve the community." Check it out for yourself and join the conversation on the porch!

Besides Tamara, there are many others who have donated hours, time and energy to make Semper Vita happen. More volunteer stories later!

Why?

That begs the question: "Why are people giving so much time and energy to Semper Vita?" Well, it's a call. It's a passion. It's the work of God in our lives! Semper Vita exists not for itself or for us. It exists to:

• help people give back and live their passion
• help organizations accomplish their mission
• help the church be the church
• practically demonstrate the love of Jesus to all people

Join us on the journey!

How about you? Do you have a story? Do you have a question? Are you ready to jump in and make a difference with us? Please leave a comment, tell us your (volunteer) stories or share your adventures. Thanks for journeying with us!

One Month Away From Our Launch!

We are nearing the date when we will see Semper Vita become a reality. This is so exciting! After three years of dreaming, planning and working, the day is getting close. Next month, we will have a booth at the Northwest Ministry Conference in Redmond. We’ve ordered banners and booth wear. We have also ordered pens and water bottles to give away. Now we have materials to print and partner packets to assemble.

At the show, people can discover how the can do more serious good by partnering with Semper Vita. We will have presentations that illustrate how Semper Vita will work with volunteers. We will also make clear how we will partner with churches and non-profits.

These are full and intense days. The software won’t be fully ready and that’s frustrating, but we are moving forward in faith. God knows how he wants this to play out. We have prayed diligently and worked steadily.

Watch for us next month!

This Is The Year We Launch Semper Vita

Semper Vita has been a dream and vision for over three years. We have talked about the possibilities, worked behind the scenes on the software and written about the ideas involved.

This is the year that we are launching Semper Vita. We are unveiling this non-profit and missional ministry at the Northwest Ministry Conference held at Overlake Christian Church, March 18-20, 2010.

There have been lots of ups and downs along the way. The team that is making Semper Vita happen has faced personal challenges of all varieties - including financial, relational, emotional, and spiritual. God has used each trial and obstacle to grow our character and strengthen our resolve.

The ups and downs were not limited to just our personal lives. We have had set backs in the software development. The alpha version of this web-based software was supposed to be ready at the end of December 2009. Things did not go as planned but we are still going strong!

What is the software? As a building is to a church, so the software is to Semper Vita. It will allow us to provide people with the opportunity to quickly and easily connect to volunteer activities, other like-minded volunteers, and partner organizations that that desire to have an impact in the community. It's the online expression of Semper Vita. The physical reality will be lived out by partners and volunteers in local communities.

The vision is exciting and the mission worthwhile. We know that we are following God's call. All in all, we are still very sure that we are following God on the mission he has for us. We might have had delays and challenges but we absolutely know that we are not behind according to God's time table!

Stay connected to us and watch our progress as we get ready to launch this organization.

Moving Forward, Getting Ready

It's been too long but we're on track.

Quiet but not still

We've been working hard on the key infrastructure to make the Semper Vita vision a reality. Things are moving forward. We are getting ready. Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks...

Preparing ourselves

In the midst of preparing for the software we're learning that God values the refining of our character, focus and calling. Our passion is to provide the ability for people to connect to missional volunteer opportunities and to each other. On this journey, we're learning that it's necessary to be the right people first.

As we continue I'll be sharing the things I'm learning as God continues to shape me. I want to sign off with the following quote from UnChristian by David Kinnaman:

"...Christ followers must learn to respond to people in the way Jesus did...We have to be defined by our service and sacrifice, by lives that exude humility and grace."

Happy New Year - Let's Dream Big

Here's to a great new year, full of promises, hopes and dreams; let's together commit to making a difference by serving in community.

It's a New Year

As I reflected on the first lines of this post, the words "I love starting over" came to mind. And I do. It's exciting to begin again. Clean pages in a journal, new goals, a whole year full of promises. Last year's post on my personal blog, the predecessor to this one, I wrote that "I love to celebrate the start of a new year. The idea of starting over." Everyone can start over at any time during the year but New Year's seems just the perfect time.

For me it starts with the countdown and ringing in the New Year. Then on January 1, I spend time praying, reading my Bible and thinking about the year ahead. After my time with God, I write in my journal - the brand new one with clean pages - and write down my hopes, dreams and goals.

Hopes rather than resolutions

This year I established personal plans but also wrote my goals and dreams for Semper Vita. What do I hope to achieve personally? It includes spiritual growth, living each day to the full, staying organized, vacation, and of course...weight loss and exercise. No New Year's goals are complete without diet and exercise, right?

What about Semper Vita?

 Here are some of my goals for this brand new non-profit:

• invite hundreds of people to join the Semper Vita volunteer force
• helpdf people to discover their wiring and find their best self through training
• release version 1 of the software
• officially launch Semper Vita as a missional entity
• raise $200,000
• partner with churches and non-profits to collaborate for a better community

I believe that together we can make a difference in our communities and in the world. Together we can begin a new year, starting with the best resolution: to love much, live well, and give back this coming year.

Live Well. Spread The Light.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."                         

Edith Wharton

Semper Vita wants everyone to experience life through service in community. Volunteering is just one practical way to be the mirror that reflects light. Won't you join us?

Semper Vita's Vision: The Story

The tale of how the picture was given to a person who cannot see.

The Fuller Connection

It happened during the first day of class - October 2, 2006. I attended a required course on organizational dynamics as part of the MAGL program at Fuller Theological Seminary. The professor spoke of the importance of vision. Nothing new necessarily, I had heard it all before. Then she proceeded to push us to come up with good vision statements for our organizations or ministries. If the statement contained a verb, she told us to try again. She said that a true vision created a picture, something you could see.

That's where it always broke down for me in the past. Why? Well, because I don't see. I'm not visual. In fact, I don't see pictures; I hear words. The professor continued with illustrations. She presented example after example of good vision statements. The entire group got into it. Even me who does not see. I dared to dream and I wondered...could it happen for me? The examples helped. I heard the words people spoke and then - I heard it! In fact, I could almost see it. The essence of the statement was: A prepared missional community of trained people connected to serve others in the love of Christ. The original vision statement was longer than that...it was too long. But it inspired me!

It Takes A Team

When the afternoon class ended, I virtually bounded back to my hotel room. My friend Tamara had come with me to Fuller to take a vacation. As I entered the hotel room, Tamara sensed my enthusiasm and listened to my story. She heard the vision and could see the picture. (She is very visual.) The next day, she suggested a name - Semper Vita - meaning 'always life' in Latin. We knew that this was it. Semper Vita began emerging. After my week-long class in Pasadena, I came home and shared the vision with my husband, Fred. He embraced it and became part of the equation. Now there were three of us - envisioning a new future.

Over the next few months, Tamara and I spoke of Semper Vita weekly and sometimes daily. She started her Fuller MAGL degree program. We targeted our learning to benefit the development of the vision - working to make Semper Vita a reality. In March 2007, at a training event, we met Del and Jeremy. We learned that they shared our passion. They embraced the vision and joined the Semper Vita journey soon after. Later in 2007, Ed and Darrell joined the team to help us launch this new venture.

Refining The Vision

In November 2007, we started meeting monthly as a team. We wrestled through concepts and revisited the vision. Over time, with much discussion and prayer, the refined vision was born. We decided that the core of Semper Vita's vision is to see everyone experience Jesus through service in community. This is the vision that we're all about.

The team now meets every three weeks to continue working on making this vision a reality. It takes much prayer. We need your support - both in your prayers and your donations, but mostly with your participation. You are what Semper Vita is all about. Without you, we won't be able to fulfill the dream and make Semper Vita a reality.

It started in a classroom and now we've stepped out into the world.

Why Semper Vita?

Answering the question some of you are thinking, but might be too nice to ask

Semper Vita's vision centers around you. We want everyone to "experience Jesus through service in community."

What Does That Mean?

We exist to serve you. Our purpose is to provide easy pathways to volunteering and connecting. Why? Because we want to make it convenient for you to find ways to give back. We also want to help you safely and easily connect with others so that you can do life in a community of friends and neighbors.

It doesn't stop there! Our vision includes churches and non-profit organizations. We want to unite churches with each other and bring non-profits together. Why? So that they can share best practices to benefit your community, be more strategic to provide help to your neighbors, and have a greater impact with your dollars.

Our Picture: Individuals, Churches and Non-Profits

We picture a network of individuals, churches and non-profit organizations in your local community pulling together to benefit those in need.

Life In Community

We believe that Jesus is at the center of our vision because he called us to live in community—loving each other, serving each other and making a difference for good and for God in the world. At Semper Vita, we believe that the best way to experience this life is through genuine relationships while volunteering with others who love what you love.

It’s about you. It's about community. It's about volunteering. It's about doing life together. It’s about Jesus.