header image

Our Philosophy of Ministry

The challenge for the church in the is to bring Christ to bear upon the followers of Christ and upon those who have yet to receive him, by calling for repentance and faith in the gospel. It is through the ordinary means of grace (preaching of the Scriptures, prayer, and the right observance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper) that the church proclaims this good news. Though faith alone in Christ alone, we have our sin forgiven and have the righteousness of Christ credited to us by his grace and through his merits. This is the key to sanctification (Christian growth), preventing us from attempting to achieve our righteousness on the basis of our rule keeping, or by living as however we please, sinning so that grace may abound.


Doxological: Everything that the church does is to be for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The church should give wise and careful attention to subjecting all of its various responsibilities and activities to the will of God as he has set forth in the Scriptures.

Gospel-Driven: God’s people are given the privilege of preaching the gospel to themselves through continual repentance, faith, and application of the gospel. The gospel is the transforming power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) and the pathway of the Christian life (Colossians 2:6). Our Christian growth is entirely built upon the foundation of our justification, union with Christ, and adoption. Nothing that the church does should be detached from the gospel.

The gospel-driven church provides the alternative both to the inbred, legalistic, works-righteousness, disengaged church, and to the liberal church that derives its bearings from cultural trends and values. A church that is provoked by the gospel is neither culturally detached nor synchronistic. Rather, it is “against the world, for the world;” both culturally discerning and culturally engaging with the person and work of Christ. The gospel-driven church edifies the saints and reaches the lost with the transforming power of the Good News, all for the glory of God.

Discipling: The church is to be a place where people are glorifying and enjoying Christ and drawing other people to do the same. Thus, we desire that every person become a “disciple-making disciple.” All church ministry is intended to draw people to see Christ as glorious and worthy of our affections and obedience and to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12) so that they too might draw other people to worship Christ more fully.

Evangelistic: Christ has called his church to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Thus, it is incumbent upon the church to create a culture of and passion for evangelism amongst our families and friends, our neighbors, our city, our nation, and our world. We must be mindful of the fact that our only hope in this life and death is the saving grace of Jesus Christ. God has given his people the privilege and responsibility of communicating his Good News to the lost. Consequently, the church should examine herself regularly to determine if it is faithfully using its time, energy, gifts, and resources to evangelizing the unregenerate at home and abroad. We must respectfully and intelligently proclaim to the lost their own sinfulness, the eternal consequences of their sin, the grace and love of God in Christ, and the redemption that is to be found in him alone.

Christ-Exalting Worship: As God’s people observe and experience what God is worth and acknowledge their need for him, they are to worship him by ascribing worth to him. Just as God is transcendent and beyond us, so he is also imminent and personal. Our worship, then, should be filled with both reverent awe and warm intimacy. Ordinary means of grace worship is to be both regulated by and filled with Scripture. The reading, hearing, preaching, singing, and praying of the Scriptures are foundational to corporate and private worship. The Lord’s Supper should be regularly observed. The church should seek to cultivate an atmosphere of worship in the corporate, individual, and family lives of its members, leading to worship in all of life.

Theologically Reformed: Reformed theology is rooted in a Christ-centered faith where the sovereignty of God is exalted and sola Scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, sola Christus, and soli Deo gloria are all properly emphasized. The church must remain established in the timeless truths of the Christian faith without attempting to achieve our righteousness out of our theology or allowing our doctrine to sow seeds of pride.

Culturally Penetrating: Christ ministered to people in both word and deed, and so should the church. This means that Christians are to neither retreat from the culture, absorb all of its elements, or create their own sub-culture, but are to penetrate it with gospel words and actions. Christians should be encouraged and equipped to excel in and interact with the world in such a way that there is a bearing of witness to Christ, and an exaltation of him.

Covenantally Relational: Just as there is relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and just as it was not good for man to be alone, people were created to live in relationship with one another. Since individuals in the church are covenantally bound to Christ and to one another through the gospel, the leadership of the church should intentionally seek to stimulate a genuine, meaningful community, devoting their time, and opening their homes and lives to one another. Church-life is cross generational and avoids segregating worship into the preferences that are imbibed by different age groups. One model set forth by Christ and by the early disciples (Acts 2:42-27) is one where small groups of Christians met for the cultivation of accountability, leadership, discipleship, and friendship of one another. It is wise to follow this pattern in the church today.