Why start another church?

Aren't there enough churches of almost every imaginable description in the area? We certainly do not wish to foster divisiveness or encourage an attitude of competition between ourselves and any other Bible-believing church. We are glad for any and every church in the area that preaches the historic gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and holds to the inerrancy and authority of scripture.

Simplicity

We do believe that there is a need to come back to “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3) and to return to uncomplicated and edifying gatherings of Christian believers.

We believe that, generally speaking, “small is beautiful”—and that church gatherings should be more like an extended family than like a large corporation or a theatrical performance. In fact, the Bible compares the church to a family or a household (1 Tim 3:15), not to a corporation! We stress things like hospitality, getting to know one another, accountability, and the involvement of each believer. The early church knew nothing of invisible pew-warmers.

We have no desire to start a new denomination or to claim any particular title. Our doctrinal statement is brief, basic, and one that we believe any true Christian could readily affirm. We do not wish to exclude believers who may have minor doctrinal differences with us. Christian need room to breathe spiritual, freedom to disagree on non-essentials, and the opportunity to grow and change their views in response to the Word of God.

The church, after all, is not our property; it belongs to the Lord. It is the Lord who adds to the church whose who are being saved. (Acts 2:47) We don’t wish to exclude those whom the Lord has received. For that reason, we don’t have any formal membership. If you are a genuine Christian, not disfellowshipped for living in rebellion against the Lord, and if you believe that the Lord has called you to be in regular fellowship with us, then you are welcome and accepted on that basis.

Back to the basics

The early church met for four purpose. In Acts 2:42 we read that they were “continually devoting themselves” to teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread (the Lord’s supper), and to prayer. We believe that those four activities should characterize Christian gatherings of the church today, too. Yet many churches today are more apt to emphasize such things as singles’ groups, music programs, ski trips, and aerobic classes.

From the book of Acts it seems that the early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper each week. (Acts 20:7) One of our services each week is devoted exclusively to worship and the Lord’s Supper. It centers on the Lord Jesus and is a time of remembrance for what He has done for us, especially His death to pay for our sins. (1 Cor 11:24,26)

Our second weekly service, the Family Bible Hour, is more structured like the typical “morning worship service” in most churches, with music, prayer, and a message from the Word. We believe a worthwhile Sunday school is a desirable goal for any church. It should be a place where questions, teaching, sharing and discussion are all appropriate in small group settings. It needs to be taken seriously and advance preparation is strongly encouraged.

The Church is for Christians

The Greek word translated church in the Bible means called-out ones. Almost always it refers to those who have been “called...out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9) and thus have been “transferred...to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Col 1:13) In other words, it means real Christians.

God designed the church primarily for the worship, fellowship, encouragement and for edification of real believers. The Lord’s Supper, for example, is only to be observed by real Christians (1 Cor 11:27-32) Yet today in many churches extensive programs and whole church services are designed solely to appeal to non-Christians. That is not our policy. God calls us to “preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2), not to pander to the tastes of those who want “their ears tickled” (2 Tim 4:3-4). Real faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17)

Although believers in the early church recognized that an unbeliever might happen to be present in a church service (1 Cor 14:23), church services were not designed primarily for evangelism or primarily to appeal to the unsaved. Most evangelism took place outside the gathered meetings of the church. Making the gospel clear in a Sunday school class or during the Family Bible Hour is certainly appropriate, however.

A few things are different here

We have a few beliefs and customs that are held by most of us. For instance, we believe strongly that only real Christians should contribute financially to the Lord’s work. 3 (John 1:7) Thus you will notice that we never take up a collection at any service. A basket is available in the sanctuary for the use of believers who wish to contribute.

One of the first questions we are typically asked is, “Who is the head of this church?” or “Who is the Pastor of this church?” We believe that the New Testament is quite clear on the subject of church leadership. First, the Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Himself is the head of the church. (Col 1:18; Eph 1:22-23). Since the church is pictured as His body, there is scarcely any room for a second head!

Under the headship of Christ, the Bible recognizes a plurality of leaders called elders. (Acts 14:23; 20:17; 1 Pet 5:1-3; 1 Tim 5:17; James 5:14) Shared leadership is God’s way of providing checks and balances within the body of Christ. Their specific qualifications are given in I Timothy 3 and Titus chapter one. Assisting them are deacons, whose qualifications are also given in I Timothy 3. The Bible does not require a specific number of elders, or that they be routinely rotated out of office. They are raised up by the Holy Spirit, and it is our job simply to recognize which men are qualified and are functioning in that capacity.

Most churches today feature the ministry of a single man called “the pastor”. The pattern in the early church was to use many men in a church for preaching and teaching. (Acts 13:1); 15:32,35 We believe that by having a shared ministry, many men are encouraged to develop their spiritual gifts. The church also benefits from hearing gifted men who have different approaches and different spiritual gifts (such as teaching, exhortation, and evangelism).

You will find that we take some passages of scripture at face value which are ignored or explained away by others, such as 1 Corinthians 14:34, which deals with the role of women when the whole church is gathered together, with both men and women present (1 Cor 14:23).

The women in our assembly typically wear hats or head coverings of some sort because they believe an honest look at I Corinthians 11:3-16 teaches this. Whether you observe that practice or not is between you and the Lord. It is surely encouraged, but it is not required for those in fellowship with us.

It is also our custom (yet certainly not required by the Bible) to sing a cappella in our weekly service of Remembrance (the Lord’s Supper). That way everyone (including musicians) can enjoy worshipping the Lord in an undistracted manner.

We call the place where we meet a chapel, since the word church in the New Testament really refers to people, not the building where those people meet.

What are you looking for in a church?

Have you ever seriously looked at your motives in choosing a church fellowship? What is most important to you? If lots of special programs are the main reason you attend a particular church, you probably will not be happy in our fellowship.

Is music the most important thing for you? We believe music is an important part of worship, but it is not intended to be entertainment. Nor should it consume the largest amount of time and attention in a worship service.

Programs like young peoples’ groups and AWANA can be a blessing. We hope to have some such activities available in time. But godly rolemodels of caring people in a fellowship are far more important in raising your children for Christ.

If you are looking for serious-minded Christians who are deeply committed to the Lord, who want to continue to grow spiritually and help others grow, who earnestly desire to worship the Lord, who stress holy living, and who have a desire to see other saved, added to the body of Christ, and built up to spiritual maturity, this may be the place for you!