Mission, Vision & Core Values

As a church body, it is our privilege to view every day, every thought, every breath as an opportunity to live out what is commanded in the Scriptures, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31) God created us to fulfill a specific purpose—to reflect His glory (Isa. 43:7). It is the motivation and guiding influence behind everything we do. We glorify God by rejoicing in the supreme perfection of His glory, and by living lives of faith and obedience that reflect His glory (Ps. 115:1; Rom. 8:18, 12:1-2, 15:6; 1 Cor. 6:20; Eph. 1:3-14; Col. 1:18, 27; 2 Thess. 1:11-12; 1 Pet. 4:10-11).

We humbly seek all that God wants to say to us through His Word, making it the lens through which we view our relationships, circumstances, and decisions. God has graciously revealed Himself to us through the breathing out of His written Word (2 Pet. 1:19-21). We learn and live solely by the timeless standard of God’s infallible, inerrant, inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God has sovereignly ordained the teaching of His inspired word in the power of the Holy Spirit as a primary means of grace, whereby His church may grow and flourish toward spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:13-14; Col. 1:28). The goal of such teaching is to communicate the clear meaning of the Biblical text, and its relevant application to every aspect of our lives (Heb. 4:12).

We see worship not simply as an activity or event, as much as a way of life for every believer (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 10:31). The essence of worship is valuing God more than all the world has to offer (Col. 3:1). Because God is eternal and created us for an eternal relationship with Him, we worship Him by living for His everlasting purposes (Ps. 90:2, 93:2; Eph. 5:15-16; Col. 3:1-4; Rev. 22:13). Since believers are linked to one another (Eph. 2:11- 22), we also worship God corporately as His people. This corporate worship should be God-ward focused, as believers participate in exalting God the Father, Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, and the Holy Spirit of God in ways which engage both our hearts and our minds (“…in spirit and in truth.” Jn. 4:24). Expositional biblical teaching is essential to proper corporate worship (2 Tim. 2:15), as is sacrificial giving of all our God-given re- sources (Rom. 12:1; Phil. 4:18; Heb. 13:15-16).

We can accomplish nothing of lasting spiritual value that magnifies God’s glorious grace apart from the power of Jesus Christ working in and through us by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 15:5). We see prayer as a means of demonstrating our dependence upon God, rather than a means of requesting God to fulfill our wishes. We pray to God in recognition of His holiness and supremacy, and as a confession of our humanity and need—and He rewards us with a deeper knowledge and experience of Himself (Jn. 4:4-26; 1 Thess. 5:16-18). We believe that God desires His people to pray, and that He hears and answers prayer (Mt. 7:7–11; Jas. 5:13–18). Prayer for others, for oneself and family, for our nation, its leaders, for the nations of the world, and for the ministry of the church is crucial to all that the church is and does (1 Tim. 2:1-8). Therefore, the ministries and activities of our church in their conception, planning, and implementation are characterized by prayerful reliance on Him.

We are committed to growing into fully devoted, developed, and mature followers of Jesus Christ who love God intimately and love others intense- ly (Matt.22:37,38; Luke 10:27). God’s unconditional acceptance and full forgiveness through Jesus Christ, rather than guilt, shame, and duty should motivate us to love and service in a grace-oriented community (Jn. 13:34-35; Rom. 12:3-8; Eph. 1:2-10, 2:1-10, 4:2-16). Spiritual maturity can only happen in the context of gathered community that emphasizes authentic relationships of encouragement and accountability with other followers of Jesus (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). In this community of believers, we seek to provide an atmosphere that strengthens, rather than fractures marriages and families as God’s Word is taught and lived out. We seek to preserve the unity of the spirit and maintain harmony within the Body (Eph. 4:3).

We believe that the Incarnation of Christ, His sacrificial death on the cross, and His bodily resurrection is the heart and soul of Christianity (1 Cor. 1:18-25, 2:2, 15:1-5). The Gospel of Christ is of first importance to us, our only hope, and the message that we seek to proclaim to the world (Mt. 5:13-16; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 15:1-8, 14; 2 Tim. 1:10). Therefore, we attempt to both integrate the Gospel into every facet of Christian living and teach- ing (Rom. 6-8). We seek to communicate the Gospel message to those who have yet to hear by giving, praying, and intentionally sharing the Gospel to our community and to the “ends of the earth” with the intent that lost people be saved (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Phil. 4:15-20; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). Our motivation for the task is that “the love of God controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). We prepare future leaders by the intentional transfer of the Gospel from person to person and generation to generation (Romans 15:14; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Ephesians 6:4; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Pet. 3:15- 16).

Jesus Christ has commissioned and commanded us to go and make fully devoted followers of Jesus (Mt. 28:19-20). God intends for believers to undergo a life-long process of transformation by the Holy Spirit, which aims for being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). This process involves investing our lives spiritually in others that they in turn might do the same. Therefore, we will intentionally develop means and methods whereby all who profess to follow the Lord can progress from spiritual birth to spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity involves reproducing itself in future generations of believers who love God intimately and love others intensely as they become increasingly more like Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Tim. 2:2). Intentional, multiplication-designed discipleship must be a part of our church’s culture, and a driving motivation for all members.

Every believer is spiritually gifted by God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 12). We purposefully equip all believers to exercise their spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:11-16), and appoint leadership that facilitates, mentors, and equips rather than dictates. We expect every member to involve themselves in works of ministry in all areas of life; however, we do not expect them to do so alone (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 3:8; 1 Pet. 2:12). For God’s people to thrive, He has prescribed the shepherding ministry of a plurality of elders, accountable to Christ the Chief Shepherd, who exercise authority for the building up of His church. We desire to faithfully pray for, train up, and set apart godly men whose character, maturity and example mark them as God’s appointed servants for the care of His precious sheep (2 Cor. 10:8; 1 Pet. 5:1-4; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9). The church must be led by servant-leaders whose motives are pure, and are guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 22:26; Jn. 13:1-20; 1 Thess. 2:3-8). Such men will influence the church to grow into maturity in Christ.