WHAT WE VALUE AND BELIEVE

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” As a church, we are committed to the faithful teaching of God’s Word as it has been revealed in the sixty-six books of the Bible, but being devoted to God’s Word is about more than just studying what it says. Being devoted to the apostle’s teaching also means that we seek to live out the implications of God’s Word in every area of our lives.

“They devoted themselves to fellowship…” In a day of radical individualism and shallow relationships the church should stand out as a community committed to the “one anothers” of Scripture – “love one another, encourage one another, accept one another, forgive one another”. No community is perfect, but by God’s grace we seek to grow in our relationships with one another as we share life together.

“They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread…” The church is not a good morals club or a self-improvement society, but a collection of sinners who understand what they have been saved from and who they have been saved by. We meet together to celebrate the good news that Christ has taken the punishment for our sins and has freed us to serve Him.

“They devoted themselves to prayer…” Christians are people of prayer. Individually and corporately, we pray to praise God for who He is and what He has done, and also as a way to acknowledge that we are utterly dependent on Him. As a church we believe that our greatest need is not better marketing or clever programming, but the power of God demonstrated among us.

“And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The rest of the Book of Acts demonstrates that these early Christians scattered throughout their region and spread the gospel wherever they went. In the same way, we are not looking to gather a holy huddle of Christians content to be spectators, but calling them to join us on mission as we seek to transform our city and our world.