About us
We are a small group of Christians who love Jesus and try to take His teaching seriously. Our goal is to live in the world the way He did, showing mercy and truth in all interactions.
We work closely with these sister churches
Below is an overview of our vision and values.
A Brief Introduction
Jesus says his disciples will be known by their love for each other. We want this to be a reality in our congregation.
We desire to cultivate and nurture a high respect for the Word of God. We believe the Bible is inspired by God and we attempt to make practical application to all the teachings of the New Testament.
We strive to maintain a deep sense of dependence on God’s Holy Spirit both individually and as a congregation. We believe that without the Spirit of God, there is no spiritual life. We actively seek His presence and His guidance within the parameters established in the Word of God.
We believe God wants His people to be a praying people. We emphasize the need for intercession and personal communion with God. We pray often together in our scheduled meetings and otherwise.
We want to fulfill our responsibility in carrying out the Great Commission. We wish to make disciples of Jesus locally and in foreign lands.
We seek to cultivate community concepts and encourage those who join our congregation to live nearby if possible. We share our goods with each other as well as with others.
As members together of the body of Christ, we do not believe that freedom in Christ means we may do as we please. We are accountable to each other in our finances, vocations, investments, attire, ministries, child training, and much more. We find freedom in submitting to each other in the body of Christ.
We believe that Christ is not divided and we seek to live at peace with followers of Jesus in our geographic area. When possible we seek to build relationships with followers of Jesus outside our geographic area.
We intentionally align ourselves with other Christians who endeavor to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. We have cast our lot with the historic pilgrim church. Often this means that our interactions are with conservative Anabaptists.
We seek to raise our families in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We believe parents are responsible to choose environments and influences that will encourage faith in God and obedience to His will.
What we believe
Many people look at Christianity as a set of beliefs. We see Christianity as much more than that. To us it is a living relationship with Jesus Christ, an obedient, love/faith relationship that produces a new life. We enter into this relationship by: (1) hearing the call of God through His word and His Spirit working in our hearts, (2) repenting of our sins and turning from our selfish life and the world, (3) yielding all to Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, and (4) receiving the gift of a new life offered us through Jesus Christ. In short, we become Christians by choosing to surrender to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. And we live the Christian life in exactly the same way–by a living faith that moves us to a daily surrender to Christ. As Christians, we follow Jesus, we learn from Jesus, we try to please Him by doing what He would do if He were a human living in our world. We believe this is true Christianity.
Even so, as Christians we hold to certain beliefs–and correct beliefs are important. We derive our beliefs from the Bible, believing all that it teaches. But the Bible is a big book–a book of history, poetry, exhortation, prophecy. It is not a systematic statement of doctrine. Since even sincere people differ in what they understand it to teach, we find it helpful to summarize key points that we believe. Christians have done this since the beginning of the church.
God: We believe in the one eternal Creator God who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I John 14:9-11; 15:26
Jesus: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe he lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Luke 1:35; I Peter 2:21, Matt. 1:20-25; 27; 28
The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, affects the new birth, gives guidance in life, empowers for service, and enables perseverance in faith and holiness. John 16:7-11,13.
The Scriptures: We believe the scriptures are given by inspiration of God to teach us about God, show us His plan for the world, and help us know how He wants us to live. II Timothy 3:15,16
Man: We believe that in the beginning God created all things. He made man in His own image, with a free will, a conscience, a moral character, and a spiritual nature. Col. 1:16-17, John 1:1-13, Gen. 1:27.
Salvation: We believe that God offers the free gift of salvation to all people. We are instructed to call on the name of the Lord, believe in Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, be baptized, and walk in newness of life. Ephesians 2:8,9; John 3:3,5; Romans 6:1-7, 10:9, 10
The Church: We believe the church is the body of Christ expressed through the universal church and the local congregation. It consists of all those who are redeemed and who walk in obedience to the Word of God. Eph. 1; 4:11-13
Relation to the State: We believe that civil government is ordained by God and should be obeyed unless its requests conflict with the Kingdom of God. Christians should honor and pray for all in authority. We believe that Christ’s teachings prohibit participation in war and revenge of any kind. Romans 13; John 18:36
Marriage: We believe that God designed marriage to be the union of one man and one woman for life and that believers should only marry spouses who are fully committed to Christ. We believe the scriptures teach that it is sin to remarry while one’s original marriage partner is still living. Mark 10:2-12
Human Sexuality: We believe that God designed sexual relations to be an expression of love in the marriage between one man and one woman, and that sexual relations outside of marriage are sinful. Genesis 2.24; Romans 1.26-29; 1 Corinthians 5.1; 6.9; 7.1-5; 1 Thessalonians 4.1-8; Hebrews 13.4
Ordinances: We believe New Testament teachings and practices such as hospitality, head-veiling, foot-washing, communion, baptism, the kiss of charity, laying on of hands, non-swearing of oaths, brotherhood sharing, and returning good for evil should be practiced by believers today. I Cor. 11:2
Jesus’ Return: We believe Jesus is coming again to culminate His everlasting Kingdom. He will judge all (both dead and alive), gathering the righteous to eternal bliss and committing the unrighteous to the lake of fire. Rev. 20:15; Luke. 23:43