Our Distinctives
Our mission is the governing commitments of our church. All that we are and do is to be in alignment with, in submission to and expressive of our commitment to:
Exalt God, Edify Believers, and Engage the Community…with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Exalting God
Exalting the Lord should be the chief end of all that the church is and does (Ephesians 1:6,12,14). The glory of God is displayed in His exalted Son Jesus Christ who is the foundation and head of the church (Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 1:9-11). God has created man to enjoy the worship of Him through Christ in all of life, valuing Him and His glory above all else (Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
Edifying the Church
The building-up and edifying of the church in the Spirit of Christ is the inward focus of the church (Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:28-29). When Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, He instructed His followers to make other followers of Christ who are committed to the life of the church. A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who follows Jesus through His teaching and His word, having been regenerated by His Spirit, and acknowledging Him as the Master of his life. All Christians are disciples; all are to be obedient to Christ in all things (Acts 11:26, cf. Acts 4:32 & 6:2;6:7, 9:26; 14:21-22).
Engaging The Community
The church is to glorify God in its primary mandate to make disciples – to be the instrument to bring others into a redeemed relationship with their Creator. This mandate includes the proclamation of the Word of God and living as the unique people of God who adorn the gospel with holy, obedient, word-centered and loving lives. To support this mandate, the church needs to treasure and worship God and love one another within the church in ways that are apparent to a watching world (cf. John 13:34-35). The primary means for redeeming those alienated from God is through the proclamation of the Word of God through people who adorn the gospel with holy, obedient lives. The Word in all its fullness is to be applied to all areas of the believer’s life, who are in contact with the world, with the final end of pointing others to repent and acknowledge God and glorify Him (Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12; 3:1).
We Will Preach and Teach Expositionally
Because we believe every word of God is inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), “breathed out” by God’s Spirit, we teach the bible verse-by-verse, within a historical-grammatical hermeneutic.
We Will Preach And Teach Expositionally
Because we believe every word of God is inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), “breathed out” by God’s Spirit, we teach the bible verse-by-verse, within a historical-grammatical hermeneutic.
We Base Our Ministry On The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16; 16:25-27), and the foundation of what we teach. The truths contained in the gospel are those that provide the theological framework for who we are as Christians, how we are to live, providing for our hope.
We Value Connection With Every Person
We believe that the Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. In fact, it can’t be lived privately as one’s personal spiritual journey, without being vitally connected to the other members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). Each believer needs other believers in order to experience the fullness of Christ’s presence in the church. As a result, we encourage each person to be vitally connected to others, and to small group opportunities where mutual ministry to one another takes place.
We Encourage Every Member To Minister Their Spiritual Gift(s)
Every member of the body of Christ has been “gifted” by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministering to, and building up the other members in the faith (I Cor. 12:7-11). When every member functions according to his/her giftedness, the body functions properly and grows normally (Ephesians 2:10; 4:15-16).
We Commit To Loving God, And One Another
Our singular devotion and affection is for our God, and is our highest priority individually and in our corporate assembly. Our “outward” focus is to follow Christ’s example by pursuing opportunities to engage with the lost and share the gospel message in word and deed. This will involve attention given to both the physical and spiritual needs of those among us, and around us. (I Thes. 2:4)
We Are Shepherded By Godly Elders
Biblically, the focal point of all church leadership is the elder. An elder is one of a plurality of biblically qualified leaders who jointly shepherd and oversee a local body of believers.
We Focus Our Efforts On The Spiritual Growth Of Our Members
We are less concerned about “religion”, and more concerned for the personal growth of every individual, helping them grow into full participation in the redemptive purpose and mission of God. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be learning from him, so our ministry is focused on bringing every person into that place of vital connection to Jesus, where His life is increasingly lived through ours.
We Share Accountability & Practice Church Discipline
We accept the responsibility to encourage each other in righteousness, and are watchful to that end. But, a Christian will sometimes find himself/herself ensnared by sin through ignorance of the Scripture, or willful disobedience to it. It then becomes necessary for the church, and particularly the elders, to actively seek the repentance and restoration of that Christian to a right relationship with the Lord and His will. The means by which the church seeks to lovingly restore wandering (sinning) believers is the process of church discipline as explained by Christ In Matthew 18.
