Frequently Asked Questions!
FAQ#17. Order of Faith and Practice...
Our Church is a local expression of the body of Christ. We are committed to the Christian scriptures – Old and New Testaments – as our final authority for faith and practice. It is our purpose to be involved in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every tribe, tongue and nation, by all use of all available means. We believe that Christ Jesus himself is the head of the church and, through the scriptures, has set forth the principles for life in his Body, the Church. We include here our Vision, Purpose, Strategy, and Values, summarizing what we believe to be the biblical calling of the Church.
1. Summary of Vision, Purpose, Strategy, and Values
2. Statement of Faith
3. The Church
4. Worship
5. Ministry
6. Government
7. Discipline
8. Matters of the Distinctive Practice and Belief
9. Membership
1. Summary of Vision, Purpose, Strategy, and Values
desiring to please Him in all things. (Col 12:10).
*To serve in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ro. 8:14).
*To act in faith and obedience to the scriptures (Jn. 14:21).
*To demonstrate love in all relationships. The key word here is relationships. People will always be more important to us than things, money, or programs (Mt. 25:31-46).
*To promote (to encourage discipleship) the concept “each one teach one” in the context of active ministry between members of the body of Christ (2 Tim. 2:2).
Drawing primarily from the scriptures and acknowledging the helpful summaries in the great evangelical doctrinal statements (Westminster Confession, Apostle’s Creed, Athanasian Creed, Nicean Creed, Anglican 39 Articles, New Hampshire Baptist Confession, and the Chicago statement on Biblical Inerrancy), we believe the following thirteen statements to be true and foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
1. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original autographs, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
2. There is one God, eternal and self-existing, in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-who are equally loved, honored and adored.
3. Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross of Calvary for the sins of man, and rose bodily from the grave, conquering sin and death. He is the only way of salvation and eternal life.
4. All mankind participated in Adam’s fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and spiritually helpless apart from God’s grace and mercy.
5. The Sovereign God, out of His love and mercy, calls lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed through the atoning death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
6. Sinners, drawn by the Spirit, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, and are born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and become sons and daughters of God, persevering to the end.
7. Justification is by faith alone and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and pronounced forgiven for Christ’s sake.
8. The goal of God’s salvation in the life of the Christian is conformity to the image of Christ, characterized by growing obedience to His Word, evidenced by holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.
9. The Holy Spirit is the present power of God in the life of every believer. At conversion the Holy Spirit indwells all believers. The Spirit gives gifts as He wills and helps all believers to grow in maturity and grace, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit.
10. At death, the Christian’s soul passes immediately into the presence of God, where that soul shall dwell forever in glory, and conversely, at death the unbeliever is forever separated from God, who is the only source of peace and joy.
11. Two sacraments/ordinances, given to the church of Christ, are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, by which we are marked as Christians and reminded of His Covenant of grace.
12. Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate human history and God’s eternal plan.
13. The church is called to proclaim the gospel of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ to all the world. Top
The church has always been God’s primary vehicle for accomplishing His purposes in the world. However, over the centuries the institutional Church has varied in its effectiveness. The Church is to be the Body of Christ, His Bride. It is to serve the purpose of proclaiming the gospel, ministering to the needy, and equipping its members to be productive members of the Kingdom of God. When the church has lost its focus and zeal for the purposes of God, it has grown dull and ineffective. God has through the ages practiced quality control by raising up reformers, revivalists, and para-church groups, calling us back to discipleship, evangelism and works of mercy.
The historic marks of the church are three: 1) Correct teaching of the Word of God 2) Faithful administration of Baptism and Communion and 3) Discipline. We would add to this, evidence of loving relationships. We can have good doctrine, good sacraments and fervent discipline with no evidence of love or joy. The only “stock-in-trade” of the church is relationships, right relationship to God through Christ, right relationships between believers, and genuine relationships with those outside the faith evidenced by a heart-felt zeal to introduce them to Jesus.
We choose to build our Church life around structures that are relational rather than bureaucratic, organic rather than programmatic. Our primary building blocks are our small groups, 6-12 individuals meeting together for fellowship, support, worship and ministry. We offer Home Groups as extended spiritual families, Discipleship groups for equipping for ministry and service, and Support Groups to help specific needs. We expect our people to participate in our groups because it is there that friendships deepen, gifts are identified, growth is encouraged, and ministry is birthed. Corporate worship is important. The Fellowship that grows out of fellowship, discipleship training, and ministry is equally important for a healthy Christian life.
Our goal is spiritual maturity for each person. We prize doctrinal clarity and Biblical knowledge, but if these are not united to action they are of doubtful value. May our confession of faith be reflected in our lives of service to Christ and others. Top
Our highest calling in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, and this is done through our worship and work. Because God is who He is – infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth-it is right that we hold Him in reverence and awe, offering to him praise, worship, and thanksgiving in accord with His design in scripture. Worship, private and corporate is evidence that we are followers of Jesus. In our families, small groups, and corporate services we are to worship God in Spirit and in truth. The focus in worship is God; He alone is the only audience. Worship is the work of the people and whether it is simple or complex its only goal is to glorify God.
Worship is not entertainment for the congregation, though excellence in music is a worthy goal. Worship is not primarily to meet needs, though we find in God’s presence there is often healing and restoration. Worship is not primarily a learned lecture, though clear exposition of the Word is important. Worship is wholehearted submission to God, offering him the sacrifices of praise and worship.
The Biblical elements of worship are:
- The reading and exposition of the Word
- Prayers of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication
- Songs of Praise and Worship
- Giving of all that we are – time, talent, and treasure
- Periodic Celebration of Communion and Baptism
These elements are best seen in a four-fold approach to worship on Sunday:
1) Gathering:
Call to Worship-Prayer of Adoration-Songs of Praise and Worship Confession of Sin
2) The Word:
Reading and Teaching the Bible
3) Response:
Intercessory Prayer – Ministry – Communion
4) Dismissal:
Benediction of God’s Presence and Power Top
Our calling as a church is to take the gospel and live it out before the watching world. We desire to equip each member to find fulfillment in serving Christ through his or her personal spiritual gifts. We encourage and expect healthy involvement in the life of the church. That covers four minimal needs: 1) Vital Worship 2) Study of God’s Word 3) Meaningful Fellowship 4) Responsible Service.
Our priorities are to be evangelism and discipleship training, leading into responsible service. We believe this is done best in the context of loving accountable relationships that spur us on to excellence. For this reason we encourage active participation in small groups that will continually look outward in service as well as inward in edification. The Great Commission (Mt. 28: 19-20) is our ultimate measure of effectiveness. Top
We believe that Christ is the head of the church and He chooses to govern through the delegated agency of called, equipped, and qualified men. We are not purely congregational. Neither are we dominated by one man. We believe that the Biblical model is a plurality of elder/deacons, acknowledged by God’s people and led by the Word and Spirit. We do not make leaders, God calls and equips. We merely acknowledge and set apart for service.
Selection of officers is always possible. Taking to heart the teaching in Timothy and Titus, we encourage our membership to bring to our board’s attention anyone who is clearly gifted to lead through serving. By agreement of the active membership (participants in our small group ministry) and our officers they are acknowledged and ordained.
Though we do not function by majority rule, we do take seriously the input of all members when significant issues concerning money, property, officer selection, and budgets are concerned. The input of our people is important. Top
Church discipline is rarely practiced, often because of past misuse or abuse. We must, however, take into account the whole counsel of God, and not just the comfortable parts. We are our brother’s keepers and as such we owe them love, encouragement and warning when the dangers of sin become known. If this were the norm we would see little formal church discipline. The missing element is often relationships of love and concern. If we seek to build strong relationships of openness, honesty, and accountability there would be no need for Church discipline. History, however, shows us that even today’s spiritual giant can become tomorrow’s spiritual failure. For that reason, the New testament assumes we will face trials of interpersonal integrity. Here is what God says about it:
15 “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.
17 “And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. 18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(Matthew 18: 15-18, NASB).
Church discipline is never to punish or belittle. It is to save and restore. In the event that our officers are needed to resolve such problems, they will do so deliberately, in an orderly fashion, respecting all due process, ever mindful that our ultimate accountability is to Jesus and the purity of His Church.
The Process:
1) Personal private warning.
2) Witness of two or three.
3) Involvement of the officers.
4) Forbidding Communion.
5) Excommunication.
If at any step there is repentance, our brother has been won. If persistent sin continues, we number them among the non-believers who are deaf to the Good Shepherd. Top
8. Matters of the Distinctive Practice and Belief
There are not a few areas of controversy in the Church at large. For this reason we feel obligated to be specific about distinctive attributes of our Church.
We are:
Interdenominational: We come from different theological traditions but desire to show visible unity in the areas of essential Christian doctrine.
Bible Based: We believe the Word of God in its original autographs to be inerrant, authoritative, and infallible.
Evangelical: We believe it to be our calling to share the gospel with all who will listen.
Pro-Life: We believe that human life from conception on is valuable and to be protected.
Theologically Conservative: We hold to the historic evangelical faith; not modern speculation or revisionism.
Morally Conservative: God’s plan is still single abstinence and marital monogamous heterosexuality.
Open To The Holy Spirit’s Work: We believe that every believer receives the Holy Spirit at conversion and is commanded daily to seek the Spirit’s fullness and filling. Terminology differs (filling, baptism, anointing) but the substance is the same, to seek to be empowered and led by the Spirit. We do not get more of the Spirit; we grow in submission to His guidance, direction, and empowerment. We are open to spiritual gifts and believe that God continues to give gifts as He pleases. We may demand no one gift of any person, but we may expect to see the fruit of the Spirit in all. Ironically, the Holy Spirit, who should unify, is often the focus of what divides Christians. We actively seek to reflect unity by not letting either our liberty or experience be the source of division in the Body of Christ. Extraordinary or sign gifts – tongues, healing, prophecy, miracles – when guided by humility and love should build up, not divide. In any event, we believe that there is no continuing new revelation on par with scripture. Any promptings or subjective experience must be in line with scripture and subject to assessment by our elders.
We acknowledge unity in essentials but diversity in matters non-essential to salvation.
Membership in Christ’s Fellowship is a commitment to hold tightly to the essentials and bear with the diversity that exists in the non-essentials. Think carefully about this before joining. Top
To become a member of Christ’s
- Go through the Pastor’s Discipleship Class
- Let your group leader know you desire to join
- Share your testimony of faith with your group leader
- Publicly confess your commitment either in your small group or Sunday worship Associate membership is offered to those who are temporarily in Valdosta and wish to maintain membership in their home church.
Vows:
-Do you acknowledge yourself a sinner in God’s sight, without hope for salvation in His sovereign mercy?
-Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners, and do you receive and depend upon Him alone for salvation, as He is offered in the Gospel?
-Do you resolve in humble reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God?
-Do you promise to serve Christ in the Church by supporting it with your time, talent, and treasure; and participating with this congregation in its service to God and ministry to others?
-Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of this church, and to the spiritual oversight of its leadership, promising to promote its unity, purity, and peace?
Congregational Vows:
We do give ourselves up to God who is Jehovah; Father Son and Holy Spirit; and unto our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, promising by the help of His Spirit and grace to follow Him by faith, in a way of Gospel obedience, as becomes His covenant people.
We do also give up our children unto God in Jesus Christ, declaring the Lord to be our God, and the God of our children, and together, we are His people, humbly adoring this grace of God, that we and our children may be looked upon as the Lord’s.
We do also give ourselves up to one another in the Lord, and according to the will of God, freely, covenanting and binding ourselves to walk together as a right ordered congregation of the church of Christ, in all ways of his worship, according to the holy rules of the Word of God, promising in brotherly love, faithfully to watch over one another’s souls. Top
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Location
417A Connell Road
Valdosta, GA 31602
Phone: 229-241-7600
Fax: 229-253-8332
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