Our Purpose
Purpose #1: We Will Exalt God
1. Through worshipful and celebrative meetings.
We desire to be a church that celebrates and glories in our great Lord and Savior through praise, thanksgiving, surrender, and offerings in all our gatherings. We desire genuineness and passion in our worship. We desire to worship in Spirit and in truth. (Ephesians 5:19-20, Acts 2:46)
2. Through strong personal devotions.
We desire to be a church that emphasizes a personal love relationship with God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ as a top priority for each believer. We desire to be effective in training and encouraging each believer in regular personal devotions and an increasingly deeper spirituality. (John 15:1-8, Philippians 3:10)
3. Through earnest prayer.
We desire to be a church that is constantly looking to God for direction, protection, provision, and power both on the group level and as individuals. We desire for prayer to be a priority in the meetings of this fellowship and in the private lives of our members. (Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2)
Purpose #2: We Will Encourage Members To Grow To Christ-like Maturity
1. Through committed love and unity in community.
We desire to be a church that excels in “Christian community”. We desire to be a church known for its love and commitment to one another. We desire to be a family that supports and encourages one another. We desire to build believers in an atmosphere of grace, mercy, acceptance, and patience. (John 13:34-35, Colossians 3:12-14)
2. Through personalized pastoral care, disciple-making, and "one-another" ministry. We desire to be a church committed to "hands-on" care and discipling. We desire that each member is receiving and giving personal attention. We desire to train numerous individuals in care-giving on a small group level. We desire effective one- to-another ministry to be taking place between members. (Colossians 1:28, 2 Timothy 2:2, Romans 12:4-8)
3. Through whole-life disciple making. (E.g. marriage, parenting, relationships, work, school, finances, character, etc.)
We believe knowing God affects every area of life and that every area is important to Him and should be under His lordship. Thus we desire to help people give over each area to Him and to teach and train them in His wise counsels for daily living. (Titus 2:11-12, Matthew 6:33)
4. By developing workmen of the Word.
We believe the Scriptures are meant to be in the hands, head and heart of each believer. Thus, we desire to train people to study, understand and apply the Word for themselves in addition to pastoral teaching. We desire to encourage and facilitate personal and group study, reading, memorization, meditation, etc. all for the purpose of living transformed lives. (Romans 12:2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Purpose #3: We Will Equip Christians for Ministry
1. With the mindset that every member is a minister.
We desire to be a church that instills in each person an understanding of, and a commitment to, being an active member of God's family, a functioning part of Christ's body, and an aggressive soldier of God's army. (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 4:11- 16)
2. With the mindset that there are a variety of gifts, ministries and effects that are both necessary and present in the body.
We desire to be a church that values variety and interdependency. We desire to challenge all members to use their strengths, resources, abilities and spiritual gifts for the glory of God and the building up of Christ’s Body and the expansion of His kingdom. (1 Corinthians 12:4-31)
3. With a special emphasis on developing spiritual leaders.
We desire to be a church that raises up and “recognizes/ordains” mature leaders from within the congregation. We desire to give the necessary time and training and supervision to help members grow in doctrine, ministry skills, character and personal spirituality to become qualified full-time or volunteer church leaders. (1 Timothy 3:1- 13, 2 Timothy 2:2)
Purpose #4: We Will Evangelize & Reach Out to the Lost
1. By developing an atmosphere of love, service and acceptance towards unbelievers. We desire to be a church that purposely befriends and serves unbelievers/seekers to show them the love of God. We desire to be merciful, gracious, respectful and compassionate towards “seekers” and “outsiders”. We desire to become all things to all men in order to win the most for Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:22; Luke 15:1-32)
2. By encouraging each member in personal evangelism and compassion service.
We desire to instill in our members a life attitude of thinking outside themselves. In particular, we desire winning the lost and serving “outsiders” for Christ. We desire to effectively train people in how to share the good news about Jesus Christ. We desire to provide ample opportunities for members to use their time, finances, and skills/gifts to proclaim the message and to meet the needs in their sphere of influence. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21)
3. By emphasizing the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
We desire to build into our members a passion for the Great Commission. We desire to plan and pray and labor to be a useable, effective, and aggressive tool in God's hand for taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. We desire to be a church that strives to raise up missionaries, plants churches, sends out short-term missions teams, allocates significant financial resources, etc. to help reach this world for Christ. (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20)
The Biblical Picture Of A Church:
The vision and purpose for Fellowship Church starts with the Word of God. God’s imperatives and desires for His Church set the parameters for a godly vision. The following are 5 metaphors the NT uses to describe God’s picture of the church.
1. The family of God.
Verses: 1 John 3:1; 1 John 5:1; Galatians 6:1-2; Ephesians 2:19; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Timothy 5:1-2
What this means for the church: The local gathering of believers should be a community of close, loving relationships where members regard each other as brothers and sisters in the family of God. God is the Father of this spiritual family and He desires His family to be a place where members serve one another, labor together and enjoy life with one another in pure love. The church should be a community where members are committed to bearing one another’s burdens, comforting one another’s hurts, sharing life’s high points and low points, encouraging one another to faithful living, and admonishing the wayward. Acceptance, forgiveness and a supernatural commitment to unity should be the testimony of the family of God.
2. The body of Christ.
Verses: Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Romans 12:3-8
What this means for the church: The local gathering of believers should be a diverse yet interdependent group of unique individuals working together as one to maintain and build a healthy and growing organism. Christ is the head of this body. Each member should be seen as being gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit and responsible for using their gifts, abilities, and resources to do their part in helping the “organism” grow to complete maturity (into Christ-likeness) and fulfill its God-given purpose and vision.
3. The army of God.
Verses: Ephesians 6:10-12; 2 Timothy 2:3-4; Matthew 28:18-20, Philippians 1:21-25 What this means for the church: The local church should be a faith community that is aggressively pursuing the expansion of God's kingdom! Our God is a warrior who saves and the church has been given a “co-mission,” a cause to live and die for - the Great Commission. Evangelism, prayer, and discipleship should be central activities in this fight of faith against Satan and his demons, the present evil world system, and our own sinful natures. Order, discipline and sacrifice for the cause of Christ are essential qualities for the army of Christ.
4. The temple of God.
Verses: 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:20-22; 1Peter 2:4-5 What this means for the church: The local church is metaphorically like the temple or tabernacle of the OT. Jesus Christ is the foundation stone, the apostles and prophets are the pillars and all true members are living stones. The primary sense in this metaphor is that God indwells His temple and there receives the worship and offerings of His people. The church should be a “place”, a community filled with the Spirit of God. The church as a temple brings to mind worship, holiness, unity, and the priesthood. The difference in the NT is that all members make up this priesthood. The church is to be a community of offerings and sacrifices, praise and thanksgiving, music and prayer, with God as the object of our worship and His Son, Jesus, as our High Priest, perfect sacrifice, and living way to the very presence of God.
5. The bride of Christ.
Verses: Ephesians 5:22-32; Revelation 19:6-9
What this means for the church: The local body of believers should be a place of loyalty, devotion and intimacy for our God and Savior. Christ is the spiritual husband- leader of the church Who protects and provides for His loved ones. He is the One who loves His church so intensely that He has given Himself up for her. The local church must “keep” herself for Him alone and not play “adultery” with other “gods” of this world. At the heart of this metaphor is a love relationship between God and His people that permeates everything the church says, thinks and does. For the church, life here on earth is preparation for the Day when the bride will meet her Groom face to face.