New Here

It is the privilege and the duty of all who have met God to worship and adore Him. Proper worship engages both our mind and our heart, and it cultivates a balanced sense of awe and intimacy in our approach to God. Our worship style should be culturally relevant while remaining theologically pure. We worship God in our midst by uniting in worship weekly and by cultivating a love relationship with Him daily.

The church is to provide care, support, and training for believers endeavoring to live for God. The ministry of the church is to be carried out by all believers as they use their spiritual gifts to glorify God and build up His body. Since authentic Christian community involves much more than can possibly take place in Sunday morning worship, commitment to a small group should be an essential part of every believer’s experience of church.

At the center of the Christian faith is the Word of God. Since God has chosen to reveal Himself through His Word, the teaching, reading, study and meditation of the Bible is essential to our relationship with Him. Every believer should be regularly fed through individual reading of the Word, small group Bible study and relevant expository preaching.

The church should be a place where lost, hurting, and broken people are free to be authentic while yearning for and moving toward continued growth. Jesus Christ came to seek the lost, heal the brokenhearted, and transform lives to reflect His glory. Transformation doesn’t happen overnight with any of us; it takes place in an environment of both grace and truth – grace that frees us to be transparent about our hurts and failures, and truth that encourages us to continue to walk in obedience to Him.

In God’s scheme of ministering to this fallen world, He has determined to work through His church. He has commissioned His people to be His witnesses. The church is to build up its people in their spiritual lives so that, as they participate in society on any and every level, the reality of God’s love will be evident to others, and they will be drawn to Him. This participation will include both words and works, both evangelism and social concern.

The church should be led by a group of mature elders who seek and submit to the Lord’s direction for His church. The living head of the church is Jesus Christ; He alone is the Chief Shepherd (senior pastor). At the same time, in shepherding His flock, Jesus has entrusted its care and protection to a group of mature “under-shepherds” called elders. These men are accountable to the Lord to lead the Body in a way that is consistent with the word of God and the leading of the Spirit.