What is the theological vision for our new church?
Under
the authority of God's Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will
be a gospel centered church that worship God, loves one another, and
proclaims the gospel to the world.
A Church that…Loves One Another. (John 13:1-35, Acts 2:42-47, Romans
12:3-10, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Ephesians 4:1-16Colossians
3:5-17)
“By this all people will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) The church is not a building but a body
of people, gathered together by Jesus to care for one another and to partner
together in worshiping God and sharing the gospel with the world. Our community life is not an optional
extra but a fundamental part of our mission together. We are called, first to God, and then, to one another. To be a member of our church is to
commit to integrating one’s life with the other members, encouraging one
another by the Word, serving one another practically, giving generously to one
another, showing hospitality to one another, confessing our sin to one another,
exhorting one another toward godliness, guarding the integrity of the church’s
witness, and most importantly, celebrating the grace of God at work in our
lives. A primary vehicle for this
loving community involvement will be our small group structure, designed to
focus our efforts of care and fellowship on a particular group of people in the
church. These small groups will
seek to create a vibrant, genuine, hospitable atmosphere of care and affection
in which we have no anonymous members and every member feels the responsibility
to care for and serve others. We
also want to be a church that guards our speech in love for one another, that
commits to reconciling and forgiving each other when we sin and fail one
another, and that expresses patience and kindness in the face of our
weakness. In short, we want to
reflect the love that Jesus has shown us toward one another.
