“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26
“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40
What We Believe
A. The Bible: We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s infallible and equally inspired Word, inerrant in the original writings. It was written by men who were uniquely moved by the Holy Spirit1 and it is our final authority in all matters.2
B. God: We believe there is one true God,3 Creator of heaven and earth,4 eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.5 They are identical in their essential nature and attributes.
1. God the Father is the first person of the Trinity, and sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption.6 He is the author and giver of every perfect thing.7 He is the initiator of relationships and His children call Him Father.8 He graciously concerns Himself in the affairs of people, hears and answers prayer,9 and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ.10
2. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is God’s only begotten Son born of a virgin.11 He lived a sinless life,12 and being Himself fully God and fully man,13 atoned for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross.14 He bodily rose from the dead,15 ascended into heaven,16 and sits at the right hand of God where, as High Priest, He intercedes for His people.17 He is Lord over all18 and will personally and visibly return to the world to establish His Kingdom on Earth.19
3. God the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.20 He baptizes believers into the body of Christ,21 permanently indwells them at the time of regeneration,22 and preserves believers until Christ’s return.23 He is progressively sanctifying,24 instructing, and empowering the believer for service and godly living.25
C. Humanity: We believe that humans are created in the image of God26 and were originally without sin. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, all people incurred physical and spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by nature and by choice.27
D. Satan: We believe that Satan is a supernatural being and the open, declared enemy of God and people. He will be eternally punished.28
E. Salvation: We believe that humanity is saved from the eternal penalty of sin by confessing with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believing in their heart God raised Him from the dead.29 Jesus died for our sins as our representative and substitutionary sacrifice.30 All who accept Him as their Savior are justified by faith alone on the ground of His shed blood, and not by any works or external ordinances by any person.31
F. The Church: We believe that the church is made up of every born again believer since Pentecost, regardless of race, gender, or national origin and will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.32 The local church is an organized body of regenerated believers voluntarily associated together for teaching, fellowship, worship, prayer, service, and the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ throughout the world. It observes the biblical ordinances (Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper).33 The church is enabled in its mission by the exercise of spiritual gifts, distributed by the Holy Spirit according to His sovereign will and purposes34 to all believers, to progressively sanctify the body of Christ.35
G. Eternity: We believe in the sudden, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Millennial Kingdom.36 There will be a bodily resurrection of both the believing saved and the non-believing lost. The saved will enjoy the wonders of God’s presence forever, and the lost will be punished through eternal separation from God in Hell in conscious eternal punishment.37
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1. II Peter 1:21
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16. Acts 1:9 23. Ephesians 1:13 25. John 14:26; Acts 1:8 28. Ezekiel 28:1-19; Isaiah 14:12-17 I Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10
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31. Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7 I Corinthians 11:23-26 34: I Corinthians 12:11-30, 13:8-10 35. Ephesians 4:16 36. Mark 13:32-27 Titus 2:13 Revelation 20:2-6 |
Mission & Vision
Our Mission
Love God, Love People, Make Disciples
Our mission is to fulfill the Great Commission mandate with a Great Commandment Passion!
GREAT COMMISSION: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19 & 20
GREAT COMMANDMENT: “And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’” Matthew 22:37-40
Our Vision
Following Jesus Together
A DISCIPLE IS A FULLY DEVOTED FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
“We proclaim Him, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” Colossians 1:28-29
Guiding Principles
1. What does the Bible say? We are a people identified by the Word of God, and we want to base all matters of faith and practice on what the Bible has revealed without taking away or adding anything to it.
2. Have we prayed about it? We need to precede, do, and conclude everything in an attitude of prayerful dependence upon the Lord. This is God’s work and needs His leading, His anointing, and His blessing in order for us to accomplish what He wants.
3. Will this support families and bring us closer together as a church body? We are a church that comprises all generations and sees that both biblically and historically, the family of God has always included every generation as disciples of Christ. Our ministry should assist families and members of all generations to become more fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
4. How does God want this to look? How we get there is as important as our destination. Towards that end, there is the need to promote unity through sharing the truth in love, having a clearly defined decision-making process, and doing God’s will His way as quickly and efficiently as we can with both excellence and a sense of urgency.
5. Who should we bring together to do the work? We value the way we build relationships while we do things together. As part of a church community we appreciate laughing together and enjoying the humor and fun of being a Christian and the life God gives us to live. As such, it is the responsibility of every member to know and use their spiritual gifts, passions, and resources, and learn how to work well together.
6. What can we do to help people in our community hear, understand and apply the unchanging truth of the Bible? Just as a missionary must understand the culture and seek ways to adapt his ministry and manners to reach people for Christ so we must do the same. The message of the Gospel does not change but methods and ministries must be constantly evaluated and adjusted to have the greatest impact on the people we are seeking to reach for Christ.
Our Core Values
Worship
– “Magnify, Exalting Christ, Glorifying God in all we do. Includes Knowing Christ, Growing in Christ, Serving Christ, Sharing Christ, Exalting Christ”
~Glorifying God with everything we’ve got~
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30
Fellowship
– “Membership, Knowing Christ, Fellowship with God and with Each Other. Includes Prayer and The Ordinances (Baptism and Communion), and Membership”
~Sharing truth in context of loving relationships~
”Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25
Discipleship
– “Maturing, Growing in Christ. Includes Bible reading and teaching.”
~Pursuing Christ-likeness as evidenced by a changing life~
“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Colossians 1:28 & 29
Ministry
– “Serving Christ, Equipping. Includes SHAPE, serving / ministry in the body of Christ.”
~Serving our church according to spiritual gifts and passions~
”Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…” I Peter 4:10
Evangelism
– “Missions, Sharing Christ. Includes locally (witnessing) and globally (missions).”
~Testifying to the saving work of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to the Heavenly Father~
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8