1. A Growing Intimacy with God

We believe that God is the complete and ever-flowing fountain of infinite delight and spiritual life (Psalm 36:8-9). To know God is to really live (John 17:3). Precisely because God knows this, and because he loves his people with an infinite love, he commands us to love him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). The Christian life, then, is intended to be an experiential journey of fervent love for, and satisfaction with, God.

Practically speaking, this quest breaks down into three interlocking objectives for our assembly. We seek to consistently progress in our communion with God by means of:

• Corporate Worship. Flowing from hearts that find their deepest joy in God, we promote the expression of adoration for the person and work of God in song and spoken word in the assembly of the redeemed. We also promote the expression of worship through giving to advance Christ's cause through the local church (Deut. 8:10-20; 2 Cor. 6:14; Gal. 6:6-10).
  
• Prayer. We strive to be characterized as a household of prayer. This emphasis is reflected in weekly, monthly, and annually scheduled corporate prayer meetings, including annual all-night, late-night, and early morning prayer meetings (Ps. 18:1-3; Dan. 2:17-23; Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 6:12; 2 Cor. 12:8; Eph. 1:15-19; Phil. 4:6; 1 Thess. 5:18; 1 John 1:9).
  
• Scripture. In our pursuit of God, we promote the doctrine of progressive, sanctifying transformation into the likeness of Christ by means of obedience to Holy Spirit illumined reading, study, meditation, and memorization of God's Word and in faith-submission to the Spirit's leading. Fueled by expository study, God's Word is consistently proclaimed and carefully applied in the assembly as God's people are graciously but clearly challenged to obey God's truth and to change for God's glory (John 17:17; 1 Tim. 4:7; 1 Peter 1:22).
  

2. Service of One Another

We are called by Christ to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39). Our love is to especially evidence itself within the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). It is therefore our aim to love one another by encouraging:

• mutual prayer for one another's spiritual stability and progress and for one another's physical needs (Acts 12:5; Eph. 3:14-19; James 5:14-15)
  
• the defense of the faith, warning believers against the erosive effects of false teaching and calling them to discern false doctrine and prove uncompromisingly faithful to the truth (Deut. 13:1-4; Acts 20:27-31; 2 Cor. 6:14; Gal. 1:6-9; Eph. 4:13-14; Jude 3; Rev. 2:20-24)
  
• corporate unity, endeavoring to maintain the spiritual unity of the body through the promotion of peace and the avoidance of hostilities (Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:1-3, 32)
  
• Christian compassion, grieving with those who suffer (Rom. 12:15; 1 Peter 3:8), providing for those who cannot provide for themselves (2 Cor. 8; James 2:15-17), and encouraging the spiritually weak (Rom. 15:1-2; 1 Cor. 8:9-13; Gal. 6:1-2; 1 Thess. 5:14)
  
• Edification: attending the assembly faithfully and actively employing our gifts to promote the healthy function of the church (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-31; Heb. 10:24-25); honoring the God-ordained pattern of authentic male/female responsibilities within the assembly (1 Tim. 2:8-14; 3:15); promoting one another's spiritual well-being by means of admonition, exhortation, encouragement and singing (Rom. 14:19; 15:1-3, 14; Col. 3:16; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; Heb. 3:13); exercising church discipline and seeking to restore erring believers to full fellowship in the assembly (Ga. 6:1-2; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; 2 Tim. 2:25-26); nurturing God-honoring families who enjoy the fruits of Spirit-filled living in accordance with God-ordained relational patterns (Gen. 2:18-25; Deut. 6:6-7; Eph. 5:21-32; 1 Peter 3:1-7); and by honoring the godly leadership of the assembly (Gal. 6:6-8; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 1:9; 2:15; Heb. 13:17).
  

3. Evangelism

To love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39) means, in part, to proclaim the glory of God to all nations and to announce his salvation to all peoples (Ps. 67:2; Matt. 28:19-20). Our love for God is revealed in our desire to joyfully broadcast the glory of his name. Our love for the lost is witnessed in our efforts to make known God's saving grace to them.

To this end, we labor in three primary ways:

• First, we pray. We are a praying church, because only God can open spiritually blind eyes to see his glory and respond to the gospel (Eph. 2:1-10). We pray earnestly for the world-wide progress of the gospel (Matt. 24:14; Rom. 1:5,16; 15:20; 1 Tim. 2:1,2). We petition the Lord of the harvest to send evangelists among all the world's people-groups, particularly among those who have never heard the gospel (Matt. 9:37,38). And we petition God for the success of the gospel through the ministry of specific evangelists (missionaries) (Col. 4:2-4).
  
• Second, we support the efforts of evangelists (missionaries). It is our goal to encourage, commission, and support the evangelistic efforts of the members of our assembly (Acts 13:1-3; 14:21-28). We also provide aid to evangelists outside our assembly who serve throughout the world. We strive to promote an intimate knowledge of the needs and progress of these missionaries in the gospel enterprise (Phil. 1:3-5; 4:3,15-18; 3 John 5-10). We also seek to optimize the use of human resources unto the furtherance of the gospel (Acts 20:33-35; 2 Cor. 8:1-5; 11:23-27).
  
• Third, we proclaim the gospel. We seek to live above reproach in winsome purity before the lost so as to model the wonder of saving faith in Christ (Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 9:22,23; 2 Cor. 6:3-10; Col. 4:6; 1 Peter 3:1-4,15,16). We seek to pursue a life-style which is intentionally evangelistic - consistently nurturing ties with the lost with the purpose of proclaiming the gospel (1 Cor. 9:19-22; 1 Peter 2:12). We strive to enter open doors of opportunity by skillfully, fearlessly, humbly, and accurately proclaiming the salvation message to the lost in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38,41; 4:29; 8:25; 20:22-24; Romans 1:16; 1 Cor. 2:12-13; 16:8,9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3-6; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philemon 6; 1 Peter 3:15).
  

In all our evangelistic efforts, we strive as a church to preserve the purity and integrity of the gospel. This means we diligently combat false teaching, seeing it as an erosive and destructive force aimed at the saving gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:1,2; Gal. 1:6-9; Phil. 1:27).

As individuals respond to the gospel, we strive to disciple them in the doctrines of Scripture and to point them to a public declaration of their faith in Christ through immersion. We also encourage them to identify with, and to prove accountable to, a biblically grounded local church (Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 2:41; 1 Cor. 11:23-32).