What kind of church will we be?
Under the Authority of
God’s Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be a gospel-centered
church that worships God, loves one another, and proclaims the gospel to the
world.
A Church that… Proclaims the Gospel to the World. (Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8, Romans 1:8, Romans 10:14-15,
1 Timothy 2:4, John 3:16)
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Our calling as individuals
and as a church is to bear witness to the salvation of Jesus Christ and to the
certainty of his return in judgment at the end of the age. We represent a
kingdom that is not of this world, calling people to turn away from the
idolatries of this age to the eternal life offered in Christ. We do not exist
only to worship God in private or to love our fellow church members—we are
called to the mission of sharing the gospel with our neighbors, our co-workers,
our family, our friends, the city of Greater Austin, the region of Central
Texas, and the ultimately to the nations. Practically, this means that we will
pursue consistent relationships with unbelievers for the purpose of loving them
and sharing the gospel with them. We
will seek to encourage and equip one another through regular reminders and
teaching about our evangelistic task. Our church meetings will regularly
include invitations to unbelievers to repent and believe in the gospel of
Christ. And because we want to
invest ourselves in a mission that goes beyond our immediate locale, we will
seek to partner with our sister churches in Texas and around the world,
investing ourselves in new church plants and encouraging fellow believes and
churches in our shared mission around the world. I pray that the history of our church will include countless
conversions, numerous church plants, and regular highlights of sacrificial
service to fellow churches as we fulfill our calling as witness of Jesus.
