OUR MISSION (WHY do we exist)
"Changing lives by living for God, loving people, and serving our world."
OUR PURPOSES (HOW we will accomplish our mission)
- Spiritual Life: Loving God with all that we are as we journey through life together.
- Outreach: Sharing the hope within us and meeting the needs of our community.
- Education: Studying the Bible and applying it to our lives so that we may be transformed and become more like Christ.
- Stewardship: Blessing others with the gifts God has given to us.
OUR VISION
To change lives and make disciples of thousands of un-churched people by innovatively and boldly sharing God’s love. This will result in the spiritual transformation of southern Rhode Island. We believe this impact will be evident and tangible on a societal level in Newport County by lowering the rate of: crime, addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc), divorce, poverty, etc. We also believe this impact will spread to New England and the world.
OUR VALUES
- Transformation—All teaching and ministry is for life change. God’s word and the Holy Spirit change lives. Therefore all teaching and ministry must be done through the power of God’s word and Spirit.
- Grace—We share life together and serve together in an atmosphere of freedom and acceptance based on God’s unconditional love.
- Integrity—We live in an authentic way that is true to God, oneself, and to others.
- Health—Healthy things grow: spiritually, relationally, and numerically. We strive to be healthy and so grow in our walk with Christ, in our relationships, and numerically as a church.
- Unity—We focus on the things that unite us. We strive to keep our entire church body focused and moving in the same direction.
- Excellence—God is honored and His Kingdom advanced through our best efforts.
- Innovation—The message never changes, but the methods must. We encourage and value new and creative ways of sharing the gospel. We want to continually stay fresh and relevant.
OUR BELIEFS
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Timothy 3:16-17).
We believe that there is one living God, and that He has revealed Himself in three distinct persons: God the Father; God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The three members of the Triune God are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent. (Titus 3:4-6).
a) God the Father: We believe in God the Father: an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of man, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
b) God the Son: We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is eternal and shares all of the attributes of deity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as God's only begotten Son. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit to be born of a virgin, Mary. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth.
c) God the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person and shares all the attributes of deity with the Father and the Son. He came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ, and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide.
We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, deserving of eternal condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are regenerated and become children of God by the Holy Spirit (John 1:12, Romans 5:6-8).
We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, of which Christ is the Head. It consists of all regenerated persons. We believe in local churches as visible manifestations of the invisible Body of Christ, the Church Universal, and the Bride of Christ. We believe that God has given the task of evangelism of the world to the Church under the direction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Acts 1:8, I Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 1:22).
We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of others. Believers are called to live holy and godly lives (I Corinthians 10:31, I Peter 1:5-6, Matthew 22:37-40).
We as a church practice communion on the first Sunday of each month (the Lord's Supper) and water baptism for believers by immersion as a public act of confession of faith(Acts 8:36-39, I Corinthians 11:23-26).
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering and separation of the lost (Acts 1:11, Isaiah 9:6-7, II Peter 3:7, John 3:16).
We believe in the personal Lordship of Christ over individual believers. Each believer must give account for himself to Christ. Therefore, in matters not strictly defined in Scripture, convictions of one should not be imposed on others (Romans 14). |