Philosophy of Ministry

We want our people to:

     Know God  (Jeremiah 9:23-24, I John 4:16)

            So that they will be secure in their faith (Isaiah 43:10, I Peter 1:2, John 4:42)

     Love God  (II Corinthians 5:14-15, Deuteronomy 11:13)

            So that they will be sincere in their faith

            (I Timothy 1:6, Hebrews 6:11, Colossians 3:17)

     Glorify God  (Matthew 5:16, Romans 15:6)

            By being steadfast in their faith (Psalm 112:7, I Corinthians 15:58)

     Know and Understand the Word  (Psalm 119:11, 27; I Peter 2:2)

            So that we can learn to think with the word (Romans 12:2, Psalm 119:24)

            So that we can view life through the word (Psalm 119:14-15, 24)

            So that we can live life by the word (Psalm 119:32, 59, 105)

We believe this is best accomplished by expositional preaching and teaching

We want our people to corporately participate in and experience:

     Fellowship--which is the body sharing in the things of Christ, the work of Christ, the

     love of Christ, and ministering to one another to build each other up in love.

     I Thessalonians 4:9, II Thessalonians 1:3, Hebrews 13:1, I Peter 1:22-23, Psalm 55:14,

     Acts 2:42, I Corinthians 1:9,  12:12-14, 18, 25-26, II Corinthians 13:14,   

     I John 1:3, 3:14

     Praise and Worship—which is the exaltation of God alone, and is a witness to the

     believer and non-believer of all that God is through Psalms, hymns, and spiritual              

     songs.

     Deuteronomy 11:16, I Chronicles 16:29, Psalms 2:11, 21:13, 22:22-23, 29:2, 30:4, 12,

     Psalms 33:10, 66:4, 95:6, 99:5, John 4:23, Exodus 15:2, Deuteronomy 10:21,

     I Chronicles 23:5, 29:13, II Chronicles 5:13, Nehemiah 12:46, Hebrews 2:12, 13:15

     Prayer—which we believe is one of the great callings of the church. It is corporate

     prayer, not only when the church is gathered together, but also when the church

     members pray individually for a common concern and for kingdom issues that the

     church is the most unified and spiritually effective.

     Matthew 6:9, 19:13, 21:13, 22, Mark 11:17, Luke 1:10, 18:1, 10, Acts 1:14, 2:42, 3:1,

     Acts 12:5, 16:13, 16, Romans 12:12, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 1:19, 4:6,

     Colossians 4:2, I Thessalonians 5:17, 25, II Thessalonians 3:1, I Timothy 2:1-4,

     James 5:16, I Peter 3:12, 4:7, Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4

We want to provide our people with:

     Spiritual Leadership—which should guide, guard, and feed the flock, and also be     

     an example to the flock. Leadership should also be concerned with the spiritual

     development and training of younger men to provide continuity in church leadership.

     I Timothy 1:11, 18; 3:1-7, 6:20, II Timothy 1:14, 2:2, Titus 1:3, 7-9, Acts 14:23: 15:2,

     Galatians 2:7, I Thessalonians 2:3-12, I Peter 5:1-3

     Service Opportunities— to minister to the body of Christ through their spiritual gifts,

     and minister to those in need in the name of Christ.

     I Peter 4:10-11, Romans 12:4-8, Psalm 68:10, Psalm 72:13, Proverbs 22:9,

     I Timothy 6:18, Proverbs 3:27