Gospel Motivated – Forgiving – Self-Sacrificial – Solidarity – Spiritually Gifted
Small Groups – Fellowship – Christian Education – Accountability – Conflict Resolution
The same gospel that moves us to worship also binds us together in profound community. All men and women come to Christ on the same terms: with no merit of their own, solely dependent on the mercy of God. In salvation God adopts us as his children. That adoption not only makes God our heavenly Father but also makes other Christians our spiritual brothers and sisters.
The gospel is the cohesion of Christian community. A gospel-centered church transcends ethnicity, being a place where people from every tribe, tongue, and nation are welcome. A gospel-centered church transcends socioeconomics, being a place where rich, poor, and middle class live in generous community with one another. A gospel-centered church transcends education being a place where those of high and low intellect humbly encourage one another towards holiness and service in Christ’s Kingdom.
The foundation of Christian community is the Christian family. We place a large emphasis on equipping husbands and wives to build Christian marriages centered on the truth of the Cross. Husbands are to daily die to themselves as they serve and lead their wives just as Christ sacrificially loves and serves the church. Wives are to daily submit to their husbands in loving service just as the church submits and serves Jesus. Husbands and wives together parent their children by bringing them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, daily living out the gospel before them.
But families do not exist in isolation. Following the example of Titus 2:1-6 we are also committed to gender specific accountability. Our church will not only meet together for worship on Sunday but also during the week as smaller groups for worship, fellowship, accountability, and instruction.
Within this gospel community men are given a special responsibility to lead in their homes and in the church. One of the greatest needs of the church today is strong, humble, theologically astute, Christ-adoring, holy, servant-minded, masculine leadership. To this end our church will place a primary emphasis on the training of men. As the Lord grows our men in Christian maturity so will the wives and children receive the dividends of husbands and fathers growing deeper in relationship to Jesus. It is from this group of mature, godly men that the Lord will raise up elders and deacons to serve, shepherd, teach, lead, and protect our church.
We also realize that even a gospel-centered, Jesus-loving community is still a community of sinners. We will have conflict with one another. We will disappoint one another. We are dedicated to dealing with conflict biblically according to the principles of Scripture generally and Matthew 18 specifically. In this way we hope to show that a repenting community is also a community of peace.
For Further Reading:
- Acts 2:42-47
- Titus 2:1-6
- Matthew 18:15-20
- John 13:31-35
Our Community motivates us to Mission
