Our Beliefs
We are disciples of Jesus who affirm that…
God is life, light, and love; powerful and personal; eternal and present in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John, 1 John).
The Bible is Divine, Personal, Authoritative, and Practical (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12).
Humanity is created in the image of God but is now fallen and sinful. Despite our sinful nature, humanity is loved and pursued by God (Genesis 1-4, Psalm 8).
Suffering is a result of the Fall but is also important in God’s redemptive purposes (Job, Revelation 21:4).
The Devil (Satan) is a fallen angel and member of the spiritual world - an invisible part of God’s creation inhabited by personal beings both good and evil (angels and demons) (Ephesians 6, Job 1, Psalm 82:1, Deuteronomy 32:7-9, Daniel 9 and 10).
The Gospel is the good news about salvation by grace through faith in Jesus through which we are restored into the Kingdom of God and His purpose for us (Matthew, Romans, Ephesians).
The Church is the spiritual family composed of all believers in Jesus called to be disciples of Jesus and make disciples of Jesus (Ephesians, Colossians, Matthew 28:18-20).
Our Values
We are disciples of Jesus who are committed to…
(1) Being under Scripture as our authority - We are committed to the expository teaching of the Bible as well as the dependence on Scripture for all aspects of our discipleship to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our guide and indwelling source of power to understand and obey God’s Word. (2 Timothy 3:16-17*, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, Titus 2:1, John 16:13, James 1:22).
(2) Following Christ together as disciples - We are committed to run the race God has set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2*) by seeking to follow Christ as our example and the Holy Spirit as our guide: rejoicing in His goodness, dwelling in His grace, submitting to His Word, and loving others like He did. (1 John 2:6, John 13:34-35)
(3) Worshipping as a lifestyle - We seek to worship as a way of life. This means that Jesus is the hub of every sphere of life: home, community, church, work, etc. It is only by abiding in Him that we are able to fulfill our ultimate purpose of glorifying God. For this reason, we describe what we do all week as worship rather than just what we do on Sundays (Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2*, John 15:1-17, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Peter 2:5).
(1) Affirming biblical church leadership - We are committed to having a team of male elders who shepherd the church together. We are also committed to servant leadership. Because all leadership within the church is modeled after Christ’s example, leaders in His Kingdom lead through servanthood and not by “lording it over” those they lead (Luke 22:24-27). We also believe that one of the ways the body submits to Christ is by submitting to the leadership that God has established (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5, Acts 14:23, 1 Peter 5:1-5, Hebrews 13:17*, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, Acts 1:15, Acts 21:17-18).
(5) Settling into complementary roles as men and women - We have a complementarian view of men and women in society. This means that we believe God has created men and women with fundamental equality and functional distinctiveness. At home and in the Church, we believe that God has prescribed male leadership for specific roles. (1 Corinthians 11:3(Ephesians 5:22-33, Colossians 3:18-19*, 1 Peter 3:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:11-15, 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 1 Corinthians 14:33-35).
This also means that, while there are certain limited roles that only men should have, the majority of the roles and functions within the body of Christ can and should be filled by both men and women. We seek to fully deploy everyone in the church in every possible way, being careful not to limit anyone beyond the limits God has made clear.
(6) Investing in our spiritual family - The local church family is essential to the spiritual growth and maturity of believers and must, therefore, be intentionally nurtured. (Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25*). The kind of Christian community we are actively seeking to develop is a response to Jesus’ command to love one another like He loves us (John 13:34-35). Accordingly, we are seeking to build relationships that are:
1. Mutual - Everyone needs community (1 Corinthians 4:7, Galatians 3:27-28).
2. Authentic – Real; no pretending (Acts 5:1-11).
3. Selfless - Considerate and serving (Philippians 2:1-8).
4. Candid - Speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:25).
5. Transparent - Living in the light (John 3:19-21).
6. Allied - nurturing, protecting, and correcting (1 Corinthians 12:27, 2 Timothy 2:22). 7. Covenant-like - Graciously seeking unity (Ephesians 4:1-6).
8. Missional - It is about making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
(7) Pursuing conflict resolution - We are committed to dealing with interpersonal conflict by examining our own hearts first, seeking out the brother or sister who we need to be reconciled with, and humbly confessing sin and/or extending forgiveness. All of this is in the spirit of covenant-like relationships that the Church is called to have (Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 5:23-24*, Galatians 6:1-5, James 5:16, Matthew 18:21-35).
(8) Reproducing disciples through Evangelism and Equipping. We are committed to consistent outreach to believing and unbelieving people near and far through personal evangelism, short-term discipleship trips, and special events that share the love and truth of the gospel of salvation AND the gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 28:19-20*, 2 Timothy 4:5, Acts 17:22-34). We are also committed to mentoring, training, and deploying the local church for the work of making disciples. We look to the 4-fold equipping ministry of present-day apostles, prophets, evangelists, and “shepherd-teachers” (Ephesians 4:11-12.)
*The verses in bold are key verses for each core value and suggested memory verses for participating members.
Our Practices
We are disciples of Jesus who aim to follow the way of life Jesus demonstrated and conform to His example by living lives that are regularly:
(1) In Scripture. Reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating.
Psalm 1; 119:11, Acts 17:11, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Peter 3:15-16
(2) In Prayer. Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
(3) In Rest. silence, solitude, sabbath, and simplicity.
(4) In loving Community as disciples. teaching, modeling, praying, communing, celebrating, and serving. (Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25)
(5) In Generosity. Bringing back to God the first and best and giving to others out of all that God has entrusted to us. (2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 12:13, 2 Corinthians 9:11, Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Corinthians 16:2)
While there are other discipleship practices, we believe that these are critical to actively cooperating in our growth and sanctification. Grace is not opposed to effort, just opposed to earning (1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a).