To Glorify God in All of Our Ministries – Not to Praise Man

v    The sphere of our ministry is the recognition that the Church is the Body and Bride of Christ

o      We believe that the Head of the Church is Jesus Christ

o      We affirm that Christ uses qualified men as Elders to shepherd and lead His Church

o      We aspire to be faithful stewards of His Church  – not to view it as our possession or a mere result of our work

o      We recognize that Christ sets forth the purpose and direction of the Church in the New Testament

v    The power for the ministry proceeds from the Holy Spirit – not ourselves

o      We depend upon the supernatural strength that God promises us in order to fulfill our mission

o      We know that apart from God we can do nothing that pleases God

v    The guide for our ministry is the Bible – not human wisdom

o      We hold the Bible as the inspired, authoritative, wholly true, perspicuous, and complete Word of God

o      We look to the Bible as the final guide in all matters of Life and Godliness

v    The focus of our ministry is people – not programs

o      We constantly commit to examine and modify our activity to more excellently glorify God.

v    The aspiration of our lives is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves

o      We demonstrate the heart attitude of love in our actions

We Glorify God by…

Worshipping God Alone in the Corporate Gathering of Believers – Not to Appeal to Man

v    The essence of our worship is to focus the hearts and minds of all believers onto the Person and Work of God

o      We conduct all corporate worship with reverence and order

o      We worship God in spirit and in truth, not solely emotional or academically

v    The use of God-focused music to engage the hearts and minds of the congregation

o      We reject music that contains teaching contrary to the Scriptures

o      We discard music that lacks depth or quality, is predominately entertainment, or does not worship God

o      We disallow music that serves only to draw attention to the musician

v    The practice of our worship centers around the reading and exposition of the Scriptures

v    The use corporate prayer is to express our gratitude, praise, and requests to God

o      We observe corporate prayer to supplement and model the individual prayer each believer is to observe

Permeating Communities Sincerely with the Light of the Gospel – Not Isolating Ourselves

v    The commission of the Church includes making new disciples – not simply to focus on those within the Church

o      We recognize that salvation is the sovereign Work of God, not the work of man

o      We evangelize to see the lost come to repentance through an understanding of their sin and the Work of Jesus Christ – not merely to spread morality or raise spiritual awareness

o      We desire to see new believers respond to the Gospel, not merely to draw established believers from other Churches

v    The responsibility of each believer is to proclaim the Gospel to the unsaved

v    The conscious pursuit of interacting with the unsaved world to seize opportunities for evangelism

o      We do not alter the Gospel in sharing with the lost by abandoning the doctrines of faith and repentance from sin

o      We reject the use of unbiblical methods in spreading the Gospel

o      We represent Christ amid this world but are not conformed to it

v    The support of qualified missionaries in their efforts to reach lost souls around the world

Edifying the Body to Become Mature Christians Who Walk Worthy of Their Calling – Not Simply Creating Church Attendees

v    The diligent and reverential labor of each believer to fully gain the riches of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of sanctification in his or her life

o      We seek ongoing growth in each believer’s personal relationship with Christ

o      We desire continual growth in each believer’s commitment to Jesus Christ and the work of His Church

o      We pursue increasing growth in relationships with each believer’s family, neighborhood, friends, and acquaintances

o      We rejoice in the Fruit of the Spirit manifested in each believer’s life

v    The full equipping of believers by discipling them for ministry

o      We minister in the Body of Christ with every believer using his or her spiritual gift

o      We teach every believer to obey all that the Lord has commanded them

v    The encouragement of one another and care for one another spiritually and physically

o      We deepen our mutual fellowship with one another

v    The admonishment of believers who stray and the restoration of those who repent