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Our Purpose as a Church
1. Gather to Worship God in spirit and in Truth, recognizing that Jesus, in Matthew 22: 37 – 38 said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
So we gather to worship God the Father and Jesus the Son with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2. Promote Fellowship within the Body of Christ.
In Matthew 22: 39-40 Jesus continued, saying, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So as we gather together we associate with, encourage, and lift up one another. Jesus said, in John 13: 34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
It is in our association together, in our strengthening of relationships, and in our sharing of one another’s burdens that we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), find purpose in service, and join together to carry out the great commission.
3. Obey Christ in carrying out the great commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus said that we are to go, make disciples, and “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” In that command we find our motivation and purpose for:
Evangelism, which is the outreach of the church to those who are lost and need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ: and
Discipleship, which is the teaching, training, modeling, and active application of the Word of God to each believer, with the goal that “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).”
It is our commitment to continually seek God’s will and God’s leading by His Holy Spirit as we fulfill the purpose for which we are bound together as a people of God.
Our Core Values as a Church
1. We value the authority of Scripture, looking to the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God to direct us in all pertinent matters of belief and behavior.
- 2 Timothy 3:16: 2 Peter 1:20-21; Isaiah 40:8
2. We value Bible exposition, regarding accurate and relevant teaching and preaching of the Scriptures as essential to the spiritual vitality of our church.
- 2 Timothy 4:1-2; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42
3. We value prayer, recognizing our church’s desperate need for God to guide, equip, and empower the church to accomplish its ministry aspirations.
- Acts 2:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
4. We value missions, understanding our church’s great responsibility to train ministers and laity worldwide to be more effective in ministry.
- Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5;19-20; Acts 1:8
5. We value discipleship, convinced each person in our church is called to follow Christ wholeheartedly and to help others do the same.
- Luke 9;23; Titus 2:1-6; 2 Timothy 2:2
6. We value evangelism, persuaded that people who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior are now separated from God and in danger of eternal condemnation.
- Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:19-20; Matthew 28:18-20
7. We value financial responsibility, humbled by the faithful giving of our people and convinced of our duty to be above reproach in all financial matters.
- 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:19-21; 9:6-8
8. We value compassion, fully aware of God’s call upon our church to meet the various and pressing needs of our community.
James 1:27; Galatians 2:10
9. We value a well-mobilized lay ministry, realizing our greatest ministry aspirations will be accomplished through the Spirit-led efforts of our people.
- Ephesians 4:11-13; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 2:9-10
10. We value community, believing that true spiritual growth happens best in the context of transparent, authentic relationships.
- Proverbs 27:17; Acts 2:46
Our Beliefs as a Church
GOD
We Believe that there is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
JESUS
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, was wholly God and wholly man, lived a sinless life, died in our place as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, was buried, arose bodily from the grave, and ascended into Heaven.
CHRIST'S RETURN
We believe that Jesus Christ will literally return to earth.
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that God the Holy Spirit is active in convincing unbelievers of their need for salvation, and is the Comforter and Guide Who lives in every believer.
BIBLE
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God without any error, the sole authority for life and faith.
MAN
We believe that man is a special creation of God, made in His image, but that through the sin of the first man, Adam, mankind fell so that all men are sinners and need salvation.
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a gift received through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
ASSURANCE
We believe that every person who is truly saved is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ.
ETERNITY
We believe that those persons who die in their sins without Christ spend eternity in Hell and those persons who die with their sins forgiven through Christ spend eternity in Heaven.
BAPTISM
We believe that water baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Christ and is by immersion after salvation.
CHURCH
We believe that the church is a local body of baptized believers with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head.
PRAYER
We believe that each believer has direct access to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
GOVERNMENT
We believe in the separation of church and state, but not in separation of God and government. Christians are salt and light in society.
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