ARTICLE II: Mission

Section 1. General Statement. This church exists to glorify God through worship and discipleship. Accordingly, a biblical understanding of God's nature and character is essential. Therefore, the primary purposes of this church are to help people understand: 1) The holiness of God; 2) Ourselves and our need for repentance; 3) God’s forgiveness and our need for restoration; and 4) The necessity of willingly serving the true and living God.

Paragraph A. Worship (Isa. 6:1-8; John 4:23-24). Worship deals exclusively with God and is the most essential activity in which the Church and individual believers are involved. In worship the Church centers its attention upon God and praises and glorifies the Lord for who and what He is.

Paragraph B. Discipleship. Discipleship deals with our human relationships and is defined in Matt. 28:18-20 where our risen Lord commanded that we “make disciples of all the nations.”

(1) Evangelism (Matt. 5:13-16; 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8). Discipleship begins with proclaiming the good news of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. Therefore, this church must train believers in evangelism so they will be equipped to clearly communicate the Gospel to the lost.

(2) Baptism (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:36-39; Rom. 6:1-11). Baptism by immersion is a believer's solemn and beautiful proclamation of their faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior and union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. This ordinance is administered to those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and evidence the fruit of repentance in their lives.

(3) Edification (Matt. 28:20; Rom. 12:1-8; 1 Cor. 3:5-15, ch. 12-14; Eph. 4:7-16; Col. 1:9-10;
2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Pet. 4:7, 10-11). Edification is the means by which Christians grow and become more like the Savior. The two agents used in edification are God's word (John 17:17; Acts 20:32) and ourselves as Spirit gifted believers (1 Cor. 12:7). Christians must study and exercise their spiritual gifts for the benefit of the Church so all believers may mature and properly participate in church life.

(4) Fellowship (Acts 2:41-47; Heb. 10:24-25). Fellowship promotes love, affection, unity 1