Why an Unaffiliated Church
The Church of the New Testament
We believe that the New Testament Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a visible, localized assembly or body of baptized believers and that having received the Word of God and continuing with one accord in the New Testament doctrines, it should pattern itself after the first church which settled in Jerusalem. This pattern is the basis for fellowship as set forth in the scriptures and it is this institution which has received the ordinances as delivered to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Furthermore, it is the sole task of the church to propagate the message of redemption to the entire world, discipling the converts at home and forming other assemblies of like faith and practice, ”...in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth...,“ teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded. The church is autonomous in its polity, yet theocratic. As such, answerable to Christ as its Head, it is thereby bound to send forth from its own, missionaries (evangelists), whose task it is to represent the Lord Jesus Christ through the church as an ambassador of the Grace of God and as an outreach of that local assembly. Perpetually, it remains the pillar and ground of scripture truth and will do so unto the end of the age. Hence, no other person or institution has the scriptural authority to assume any of these functions and every believer has the solemn obligation to both identify with and become a part of the ministry of a church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
New Testament Church Philosophy
The objective of our church is to be all that God intends for us to be by following the patterns given to us through the New Testament in regards to local church Christianity. Christ must be the Head. His Word must be final in all matters, in every decision thereby, allowing us to fulfill the Great Commission by His grace in His strength. Man-made systems and forms must all be put to the test of scriptural directive. If it does not meet the test it has no use and purpose. If it does not give us freedom to be truly New Testament in every sense it has no place and it is anti-scriptural by hindering the work of God. Consequently, every part of our work for the Lord must be scrutinized through the eyes of the Lord Himself. We must evaluate or budget, our missions outreach, our immediate ministries, any of our policies laid out in church by-laws and constitution to see whether there is liberty or entrapment. The church is to be a spiritual organization guided by spiritual principles with hearts that cry out for God's wisdom, being a people that are then free to act at God's command.
Missions
This new year is a new opportunity for us to develop a heart like God's. And God so loved the world... so must we. Missions must be more than the cold mechanics of sending out support to those whom we deem qualified to take our money. It must be the heart and soul of why we're here. Jesus said, “go ye” and without that we have no mission or business. The why we are here must be constantly before us. Let's pray that God will give us a new sense of direction in regards to those that we might add to our support list in this coming year, but more importantly that God would touch our hearts concerning the place of opportunity we have been given to personally be involved in reaching out to the ends of the earth with the Gospel.
