We exist to glorify God by accurately expressing His image to the world, in our Character and Conduct, as we carry out His mission, vision, and values.
“Sharing the Gospel; Making Disciples.”
Romans 1:1-7
- 1. By exalting God
- 2. By edifying each other
- 3. By evangelizing the lost
- 4. By Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Stewardship
Our Vision is to be a church that will see people the way Jesus sees them, touch people the way Jesus touches them, accept people the way Jesus accepts them, and love people the way Jesus loves them.
The guardrails that ensure we stay on track with purpose, mission, and vision, to prevent drift, decline, or death of this local church.
1. BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: We are committed to the clear and accurate communication of God’s Word in a way that ministers grace and urges obedience.
2. PASSIONATE WORSHIP: We are committed to expressing our love to God, acknowledging His supreme worth in our lives and in our church family.
3. COMPASSIONATE EVANGELISM: We are committed to telling the good news of Jesus Christ to ALL people.
4. ATTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP: We are committed to developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
5. HEALTHY FAMILIES: We are committed to growing and nurturing healthy families for all generations.
6. CARING RELATIONSHIPS: We are committed to developing environments where people can connect with one another in meaningful ways.
7. GOD HONORING EXCELLENCE: We are committed to honoring God by striving for excellence in all that we do and say.
What makes many Bible believing churches so different is not their doctrinal beliefs but their philosophy of ministry. A philosophy of ministry is to a church what a personality is to a child. We want you to get a good look at what makes The Grove the distinct church it is. The distinctions are given below. It gives the philosophical foundation on which this church was built.
ABOUT MINISTRY
Salvation in Jesus Christ automatically includes a call to ministry. Every believer is reared, saved,called, gifted, authorized, and commanded to minister.
Ministry is the heart of the Christian life. See shape manual. (Matthew 20:28)
Function follows form in ministry. How God made me determines what He intends for me to do. God has uniquely shaped each individual for a specific ministry. Ephesians 2:10
God has given all His children gifts that can be developed and used in ministry. Everyone is a “10” in some area. Everyone has something to offer. Developing and using your gifts is an act of good STEWARDSHIP and of SERVICE.
It’s easier to discover your gifts through ministry, instead of discovering your ministry by identifying your gifts.
The evidence of the right match between my “shape” and my ministry is FRUITFULNESS and FAITHFULNESS.
ABOUT THE BODY OF CHRIST
God save the local church to provide context for ministry.
The Holy Spirit has provided our church body with spiritually gifted people to do everything He wants done. Our joy is to discover, enlist, train, and support these people in ministry.
The church is to operate on the basis of spiritual gifts rather than elected offices. We do not elect people to ministries. “A man’s gift makes room for him…” (Proverbs 18:16
The mobilization of every member of the body of Christ as a minister is the key to balanced growth of the church.
The greater good of the whole body must always take priority over the needs of any single ministry. There is no place for “little kingdoms” in God’s family.
No Silos please.
ABOUT THE ROLE OF PASTORS
The equipping of the members for ministry is the number one priority of the pastoral staff. The people are the ministers and pastors are the equippers. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Our strategy is based upon our core values as a New Testament congregation. We desire to create environments that will allow each person to develop into a fully dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. The environment should be optimal for life change at their particular stage of life. We understand that each age group of our congregation have their own particular needs. We believe that rendering encouragement, assistance, support and love is the opportunity of Christians as we work together in God’s kingdom and the local church.
The strategy for accomplishing the vision: Vision tells us where to aim, but strategy defines the direction for the paths we will travel to accomplish the vision. Our strategic direction will be defined as we travel these paths on lifestyle objectives.
Make Disciples.
Love God.
God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are
co-eternal, co-equal, and are one God.
The Father
He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the course of human history goes according to His eternal purpose and plan. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return someday to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of the need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with the power to live with understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.
The Bible is God’s Word, the source of truth and authority. Human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote it. It is supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because God inspired it, it is the truth without any mixture of errors.
People are made in the image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. Sin separates people from God and causes many problems in our lives.
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement and good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-righteous life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment someone receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that Salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
The Church
Authenticity – We believe that the church should strive to be authentic and genuine in every aspect and endeavor.
Community – We believe that in order to fulfill God’s purposes, the church must operate as a unified community of servants.
Giftedness – We believe that God uniquely gifts and empowers each believer for specific places of services within each church.
Guidance – We believe that the church should strive in all its efforts to be guided by God.
Love – We believe that love, for God and people, should be the primary motivation for all our actions.
People – We believe that all people matter to God and therefore should matter to the church.
Relevancy – We believe that the church should strive to be culturally relevant without compromising the timeless message of Jesus.
We believe the Genesis account, and that what you believe about your origin will determine your philosophy of life. We believe creation was a direct act of God, literal 24 hour days, instantaneous, and miraculous. We believe man was created in the image of God and all reproduction was “after their kind”.
We believe there are two ordinances of the local church; Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Scriptural baptism is immersion in water of believers, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, administered by the authority of the New Testament Church. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial ordinance for the body of Christ in remembrance of the death of our Lord on the cross. It is open for all obedient believers.
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable.
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.
We believe in the person of Satan, who is the open and declared enemy of God and man.
Rapture
We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to receive to Himself the dead in Christ and believers who are alive at His coming, known as the Rapture – Our Blessed Hope.