MISSION STATEMENT

This family's mission is to make disciples, who then make disciples, who in turn transform the world for Christ to glorify God and to love our neighbors.

The source of our mission and values is a combination of the Great Commandments and the Great Commission:

37 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. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

WHAT WE BELIEVE

This family seeks to be a community that embodies the heart of the New Testament Church. We seek unity in Christ based upon God's communication to us through the words of Scripture. Our beliefs are rooted in the Bible, God's inspired Word, and we strive to live out its teachings faithfully in all areas of life. Just as Jesus called His first disciples to go and share the good news throughout the world, we too have been called to do the same, and we are excited to share the good news of Jesus with our friends, neighbors, co-workers and families every day!

GOD'S OFFER

GOD'S NATURE

OUR RESPONSE

GOD'S NATURE

We believe that there is one true God who eternally exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus the Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. Each of these three (the "Trinity") are fully and equally God, united in purpose, yet distinct in role.

There is one God, the creator of all things visible and invisible, and ruler of the universe. He is the one and only true living God of all. God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy and is worthy of all glory and praise. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

God the Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, acting in the lives of disciples and in the world as well. The Holy Spirit was intimately involved in the writing of all scripture by providing the divine inspiration from God to the various authors of the Old and New Testament books.

The Holy Spirit convicts all of sin and grants new life to those who follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit is given as an indwelling presence and a gift to those who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior from the moment of salvation. He provides Christians with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. He both equips and encourages Jesus' followers to become more like Jesus and thus make a difference in the world by their love and service. The Spirit also equips believers with various spiritual gifts for service in the body of Christ.

Jesus the Christ is the Son of God, is fully equal in nature with God the Father, and was involved with the Father in creation. Jesus came to earth as a human conceived from the virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit and is therefore both fully divine and fully human. He lived, taught, and did amazing miraculous works demonstrating that He is the Son of God. His ultimate mission in coming was to give His life as a ransom to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose on the third day. He now reigns from Heaven with God the Father and through his eternal kingly reign, we have been given access to forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

(Genesis 1; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-33; John 1:1-5, 3:16, 10:30, 14:16-17, 16:7-13; Acts 1:8, 2:38-39; Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, 12:4-11, 15:1-8; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 1:13-14; Colossians 1:16-20; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Hebrews 1:2, 4:14-15)

GOD'S OFFER

The Bible, God's Word

We believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and always-relevant Word of God, and is therefore the final authority in our understanding of God, our creator, and it is our source of truth for Christian beliefs and living.

Creation and the Fall

We believe that God created humans, both male and female, in his image for His glory and to live in an intimate relationship with him. But we lost our way, as a result of Satan's deceptive influence in the Garden, and Adam and Eve's sinful disobedience.

God's Gracious Plan for Redemption

Fortunately, God had a plan for redeeming mankind to him, and that plan involved sending the Messiah, his son Jesus, to lead us back to him and to pay the price for our sins. This salvation is offered as a free gift of God, by his grace, to any who will put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and is received through our faith which we express through confession, repentance and baptism.

The Final Reward for the Faithful

We believe that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God as Lord, but one day, at a time which only God knows, he will return to gather his true disciples.

OUR RESPONSE

Salvation

We believe that Jesus Christ lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior. Though salvation is offered as a free gift of God, we must choose to accept it.

Baptism

We believe that God loved the world so much that he gave his Son, so that whoever believes in him and is baptized shall not perish but have eternal life.

Kingdom Life

We believe in the present kingdom, the reign of God, the power of the Holy Spirit to transform people, and the priority of the local church. God's holiness should lead us to reject lifestyles characterized by pride, sexual immorality, homosexuality, easy divorce, idolatry, greed, materialism, gossip, slander, racism, and violence. Though we reject and condemn these sins, we do not reject nor condemn the sinner. God's love leads us to emphasize love as the distinguishing sign of a true disciple and extend that welcoming love to all who come our way, since we have all fallen short of the glory of God and need his forgiveness.

Disciple Making

We believe the church is God's plan to help everyone come to faith in Jesus and to become transformed to be more like Jesus, therefore, the core mission of the local church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ -- it is God's "Plan A" to redeem the world and to manifest the reign of his kingdom. There is no "Plan B"! Fulfillment of this core mission is the responsibility of all disciples - not just the church leaders and ministers.

Counter-Cultural Living

We believe Jesus' Lordship through Scripture will lead us to be a distinct light in the world. We follow the first and second great commandments where love and loyalty to God comes first and love for others comes second. So, we prioritize the gospel and one's relationship with God, with a strong commitment to love people in their areas of need. The gospel is God's light for us. It teaches us grace, mercy, and love. It also teaches us God's holiness, justice, and the reality of hell which led to Jesus' sacrifice of atonement for us. God's light among us should be reflected in how we live.

Christian Convictions

We believe God calls all people to respond personally to the truth of His word. However, though we all come to Jesus with differing levels of maturity and from different origins and life experiences, God has provided some simple and crystal-clear truths in the Gospel which are non-negotiable. We believe the Scriptures reveal three distinct elements of the faith: essential and non-negotiable elements which are necessary for salvation; important elements which do not save us but are necessary in order to faithfully follow Christ; and personal elements or matters of opinion or personal preference.

Worship

Because of the great love which God has poured out on us, we can't help but respond in both personal worship of him in our everyday lives, and when we assemble each week on Sunday. During our worship assemblies each Sunday, we pray, enjoy fellowship with one another, sing praises, take communion and enjoy lessons from God's word.