Henriet's Blog

Jesus' Mission Or Our Own?

Jesus sent his people on a mission - his mission. What is that mission? Before Jesus left earth to go back to his Father, he instructed his followers to go and tell. He wanted them, and us, to tell people about him and the true life he offers. He told his followers to go and make disciples - new followers of Jesus. Jesus' mission was, and still is, to reconcile people to God. He invited us to join him in this ministry of reconciliation.

Called to his mission

So the question I need to ask myself as one of his followers is, "Am I on Jesus' mission?" My initial answer is an unequivocal "yes!" However, if I honestly evaluate how I spend my time and energy, I discover that I am tempted to focus on a mission of my own making. It is so easy to get distracted by the tasks, ministries and resources that God designed to be used as part of Jesus' mission. Instead of focussing on Jesus, I find myself spending time and energy on mission focussed on the tool or task instead of Jesus. Only as I spend daily time with Jesus by praying and reading the Bible can I keep my focus on him and his mission.

As I lead the Semper Vita team and board, it is important that we ask ourselves the same question: "Are we focussed on the tool or are we on Jesus' mission?" Rest assured, we are committed to keep our eyes on Jesus and follow him absolutely. We are working on the tool, the Semper Vita web application, but we know it is all about and for Jesus!

Semper Vita now on Facebook and Twitter

Now there are more ways to stay current with Semper Vita and to participate with us in the online community. 

Are you on Facebook? Please check out our Facebook page and join the community. 

Love pictures? We posted an album on our Facebook page of our Northwest Ministry Conference launch in March, 2010. Like the page? You can help us out by signing up!

On Twitter? Please consider subscribing to our Twitter feed for the latest on us and our partners.

Do you Twitter? If you do, follow us and we'll follow you back.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane - No, It's Semper Vita!

A guest blog post by Tamara Dull, executive VP of Semper Vita

Hi there! Henriet asked me to jump in here and start talking about what's on the horizon for Semper Vita. I've been working with Henriet on everything Semper Vita since 2006, and one thing I can tell you is that the time is now. Folks are excited and ready, and we're hearing a lot more "Can we start using Semper Vita now?" vs. "Sounds great. Let us know when it's ready to go."

And that's why I'm here: To tell you when you can get your hands on Semper Vita. So hold onto your hats because that object you see in the sky is coming soon to a virtual street corner near you.

What is Semper Vita Exactly?

When Henriet talks about Semper Vita, she talks about its vision, its mission, its purpose and its core values - for both individuals and organizations. She often creates a "What if...?" picture to help consider the possibilities in a "Semper Vita world." This discussion is key to what Semper Vita is all about.

When I talk about Semper Vita, however, I tell a very different - but complementary - story. I usually focus on the technology - or rather, the website - that's going to make this Semper Vita world a reality. For those of you who have been so kind to let me babble on about Semper Vita, you know what I'm talking about!

So let's take a quick look at what you can expect from the Semper Vita website:

• It's a missional connectivity tool that will enable churches and those who want a richer volunteer experience to serve more effectively in the communities in which they live.
• It's a tool that will be used equally by everyday folks like you and me, as well as the non-profit organizations, including churches, who want to connect more effectively with the folks in their communities.
• It will provide tools to help you understand how you're uniquely wired so that you can find volunteer opportunities more suited to your liking - and find other like-minded folks to connect and serve with.

So that's the website in a nutshell.

When Is Semper Vita Going to Launch?

We're tentatively planning on releasing a beta version in early fall. Many "early adopters" have expressed interest in participating in this beta. If you're interested, please don't hesitate to contact us so that we can keep you in the loop.

As for the full-on production release, we are targeting early 2010. We are planning to make a big splash at the Northwest Ministry Conference in March - so ready or not, we'll be there!

If You're on Facebook

A good friend of ours, Alex Seidel, created a Facebook group called Friends of Semper Vita awhile back. We have over 200 friends in this group. In the next month, we'll also be creating an official Facebook "page" so that "fans" can stay more easily updated on everything Semper Vita. If you're on Facebook, we invite you to join the Friends of Semper Vita group for now - and then become a fan when we launch our Facebook page.

For Those Who Aren't Afraid of (or Bored with) Tech Talk

One thing is for sure: The website is going to be very interactive. To manage all this activity (and to keep our costs of running this non-profit down), we are using the open source Drupal content management system software to build out the website. We're securing some of the best Drupal resources out there to help us make this "dream" a living reality. We also have two professional graphic designers helping us with our logo, identity and look-&-feel of the website. We are in very good hands and are eager to see it all come to life.

So There You Have It (For Now)

I'll jump in every few weeks here and give you an update on where we're at, providing you with more details along the way. Thank you again for your ongoing support and enthusiasm! If you have any questions or "wish list" items you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to contact us. This site is for you and we want to make sure it works for you. Blessings!