I appreciate your taking the time to read this blog to see what this not-so-secret plan is!

Jesus Christ, whom the Bible identifies as the living Head of the spiritual Church of God (Colossians 1:18), gave many direct instructions for His disciples to proclaim the gospel, sharing the good news of the coming Kingdom of God (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 1:14-15). For us who follow Jesus, nothing is more important. When applied, the precious teachings of the Bible improve our lives, enabling us to truly live a full and abundant life (John 10:10). Those teachings also fill and sustain us with joyful hope about our life now and our future for all eternity (Romans 15:13).

But this world is filled with clutter and confusion. Thousands of daily distractions threaten to choke and obscure these precious biblical truths—it can be hard to keep these critical spiritual principles in front of us and top of mind.

So how would you follow the commands of Jesus to proclaim the gospel?

As president of the United Church of God—joined together with many dedicated ministers of Jesus Christ and enthusiastic staff members—what I do every day is guided by a carefully thought-out plan of work. That plan of work is designed to result in very tangible outcomes for those we care about most—including you! That not-so-secret plan deserves the prayers and support of all Christians, as it focuses on a ministry of spiritual transformation (Romans 12:1-2), of learning of and becoming more like God the Father and Jesus Christ with each passing breath we take.

What drives me in my job is the VISION of Jesus Christ. What is that vision, which is for all of us to embrace?

It is for you to achieve your incredible potential. That potential is for you to receive eternal life as a child in God's eternal family, as we read of God's awe-inspiring purpose "in bringing many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10)!

For this reason our MISSION is to daily preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, to make disciples and to provide care for those disciples.

The plan of work that will fulfill this vision and mission was developed over several years by our Church's Council of Elders, 12 men who have many years of service to Jesus Christ and His flock. Prior to being named as president of the Church, I served for more than a decade on that Council and had the privilege of helping to research and determine how we would establish guiding principles to achieve this vision and mission.

These biblical principles are critically important, because they apply to you. I invite you to read them and consider how they can become part of your life. They are:

• We believe that our Father has given us an incredible opportunity to build a RELATIONSHIP with Him, with Jesus Christ, with one another and with all mankind. We believe the immutable Word of God shows us how to build those loving relationships (John 17:20-23) and to become more like Jesus Christ.

• We believe God has a PLAN OF SALVATION for every individual—and yes, this includes you—who will yield to Him and His Son Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:4). That plan includes the calling and perfecting of those who are being converted now as well as those to be converted in the ages to come.

• We believe that every individual (of every race, nationality and gender) will, in God's time, have the OPPORTUNITY to hear the testimony of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection and the good news of the Kingdom of God.

• We believe that as we near the end of the age, HUMANITY IS IN URGENT NEED OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE in advance of the events surrounding Christ's return. We believe Jesus commissioned His Church to declare what is to come, to warn of the consequences of sin, to preach repentance and proclaim the hope of eternal salvation (Matthew 24:13-14, Matthew 24:21; Matthew 24:28:18-20).

From these principles, we believe that our Church, a body of Christians with the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, holds the responsibility to DO the following:

• Energize the entire Church in fulfilling its mission.

• Motivate people to transform their lives into brighter lights, living God's way of life as an example to the world.

• Provide in-depth biblical teaching.

• Provide Bible-based answers to the great questions of life—does God exist, who is God, what is God, what is His purpose, who is man, what is man, what is his purpose?

• Love God and keep His commandments (John 14:15; I John 5:3).

• Love one another as Christ loves us (John 13:34).

• Teach and live Christ-like service (Galatians 5:13; 6:2).

• Become one in God and Christ through the Holy Spirit (John 17:2-21).

• Speak the truth openly in godly love.

• Foster godly relationships.

As I mentioned earlier, this plan deserves the support of every Christian, of every person who desires to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join with us in achieving this, of bringing good spiritual tidings and a true message of peace to all of humanity (Isaiah 52:7-8). If you would like read more about this simple and straightforward plan, please click here.

If you've read this far, you can obviously see how passionate I am about the spiritual work we do in bringing real HOPE to this world. I recently delivered a message that provides more details, which you can watch or listen to by clicking here.

God Himself, together with His Son Jesus Christ, has a not-so-secret plan for you. I invite you to engage further with us in bringing that plan to life!