Our Distinctives
THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE
Scripture alone is our inspired, inerrant, and therefore final authority. While there may be many important authorities, they are all subservient to Scripture, which alone is God-breathed and without error, fully trustworthy and sufficient for faith and practice. Scripture alone is our magisterial authority; all other authorities are ministerial. The sufficiency of Scripture means Scripture is a sufficient authority for all things pertaining to faith and godliness. It means there is not a need to appeal to another authority. Scripture rules over all other authorities as the final and inspired authority from God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Sufficiency distinguishes the believer, who turns to Scripture as that which contains all that is necessary for salvation and godliness.
EXPOSITORY PREACHING
Since the Bible is God's authoritative and sufficient revelation to man, we are committed to exposing its meaning and heralding its message rather than our own (1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:1-2; Hebrews 4:12). We make it our practice to preach and teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), explaining each text in its context (2 Tim 2:15) and bringing it to bear upon the lives of the hearers (James 1:20).
THE CHURCH
The Church is described in the Bible as the “body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12; I Cor. 12:27). The Apostle Paul explains this metaphor in I Corinthians 12. Just as the physical body has only one head but has many individual parts that perform different functions, even so the “Body of Christ,” the Church, has one head but is made up of many individual members. The head of the Church is Jesus Christ. He is the central organizing and directing influence of the Church. The body, made up of eyes and ears and hands and feet, constitutes the wide diversity of individual Christians. We are individually gifted and enabled by Christ to perform specialized functions in the Church so that the Church functions in a healthy manner.
The Apostle Paul also describes the Church as the “pillar and support of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15). For this reason we see one of the great privileges and responsibilities of the Church to be the preaching and teaching of the Word (II Tim. 4:2). Therefore, we see the teaching and preaching of the Bible as one of the central focuses of the various ministries of the Church.
WORSHIP
Our corporate services on the Lord’s Day reflect our commitment to the authority of Scripture, to Sola Scriptura—the Scriptures alone—as our guide for life. When we gather, we joyfully sing the Word, we read the Word, preach the Word, and find our true joy and fellowship around the truth of God’s Word.
EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS
God has gifted the church with pastor-teachers to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11-12). The members of the church are responsible to exercise their giftedness in the body.
CONNECTING
Our desire is to help God’s people connect to God and to one another. We strive to provide a variety of ways to help God’s people connect into fellowship with one another.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Spiritual growth happens when we trust and obey the Word of God. That’s why there are opportunities to learn God’s Word to help you go deeper into God’s Word together.
SERVICE and EDIFICATION
From the numerous “one-another” passages in the New Testament, we recognize our responsibility to mutual encouragement and exhortation (Heb 10:24-25). As Christians, each one of us has been gifted with special skills, talents and experiences to serve the body of Christ, which is His church. When the church functions collectively as God intended, we both edify one another, and also effectively reach others with the gospel.
EVANGELISM
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave a command to His followers to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). As Great Commission Christians, our mission field must begin across the street and reach around the world (Matthew 28:20). We are not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God to salvation (Rom 1:16). We do that in a variety of ways, including sharing the love of Christ through community outreach as well as missional work around the globe.
CHURCH DISCIPLINE
Church discipline is a loving four-step process taken by members, church leaders, or the congregation to restore believers living in egregious and unrepentant sin. This often neglected Biblical practice is essential to a healthy church. It upholds the honor of God's name, protects the congregation from sin, preserves the church's reputation to the watching world, and rescues the believer caught in sin (Matthew 18:15-20; Acts 5:1-14; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 11:27-34; Galatians 2:11-14, 6:1; 2 Thessalonians. 3:6-15; 1 Timothy 1:20; 5:19-20; Titus 3:10-11; Hebrews 12:4-13; Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3).
DEVOTION TO PRAYER
Although the Bible gives us many reasons to pray, there are at least nine reasons why we are devoted to prayer: God is personal, so we can pray to Him, argue with Him, present reasons to Him, intercede with Him, God is sovereign, who works in us—not least in our prayers—“both to will and to work for His good purpose”, prayer is a great privilege, we depend upon the Lord, God is the supreme focus of our lives, we desire God’s will to be done, our physical lives are fragile, intimacy with God demands it, and we long to live holy lives (Matthew 6:5-13; Luke 18:1-8; Romans 8:15, 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).