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Our
Mission
Jesus said that the two greatest commands are to love God and love
one another (Matthew 22:37–39), and that is our mission. First,
everything we do is borne from a desire to love and please God.
Our aim is to be loyal to “God and the word of His grace”
(Acts 20:32). This is why we are not part of a denomination, and
why we do not subscribe to any creed, confession, or human authority.
Jesus
said that those who love Him will keep His commandments (John 14:15),
and for this reason we strive to make sure that everything we do
is in keeping with God’s word. Many people in our society
believe that organized religion is nothing but a big business, and
frankly, many churches have created such an image by focusing on
raising funds to sponsor elaborate programs. In the New Testament,
however, there is very little emphasis on money, because the work
God has given local churches is very simple and modest.
We
share love with each other in our fellowship together, and we share
the love of God with those who are not Christians by preaching the
gospel. In our assemblies we join together in worship, following
the pattern of what the early Christians did as recorded in the
New Testament. We sing, pray, take the Lord’s Supper, and
have preaching. The members of the church give of their means to
support this work.
But
we also share with one another outside of our assemblies, supporting
and encouraging one another. We deeply care about one another, and
we hope that sense of family togetherness is obvious when you visit.
After all, Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John
13:34). Our community is very diverse, and in many cases this diversity
leads to racial and ethnic tension. But while the members of this
congregation come from many backgrounds, we are united by the common
bond of the love of Christ.
Our
Message
The
Bible is a large collection of many stories, but all of these stories
have a common theme: God’s plan to save man from sin. The
central message of the Bible is that sin disrupts man’s relationship
with God, but through Jesus Christ this relationship can be restored.
The Bible teaches that Jesus died to save us from our sins and rose
from the dead to reign as King. The central theme of our message
is “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians
2:2).
The
message of the gospel not only tells us what Jesus did to save us,
but what we must do to receive this gift. The New Testament teaches
that we must put our trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for us (John
8:24). Jesus is not only a Savior, He is also a King, and we must
surrender our will to His, something the Bible calls repentance
(Acts 17:30). Further, the Bible teaches that we must be buried
with Him in baptism, in which we put our faith in the working of
God to save us (Colossians 2:12).
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