Grace Vision
The body of Christ exists primarily to be His voice in the
world by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The heart of the gospel is
the life of Christ who lived, died and rose again the third day according to
the Scriptures. Once a believer in Christ has received the grace of God,
they then become part of the body of Christ who share and grow in their
Christian walk in grace communities.
Grace Perspective
God has created us for relationship and community. We have
an inborn need for God and for others which has been broken. Through faith in the Christ we are restored to
relationship with God and man where these relationships grow progressively
through community. Christ rebuilds us for relationship and community by
his Spirit as we trust him increasingly.
Grace Communities
A grace community is one that is focused on worship,
connecting with God and with other believes building positive relationships. As a result of our spiritual growth, a person comes to know the fruit of the Spirit being produced in their life.
A Christian expresses his faith in Christ through loving
relationships in a variety of smaller communities. I would work to strengthen
and equip believers to grow and be a part of communities that reach into the
world with works of mercy, examples of hope and health, and confidence in the
good news of the love of God for us in Christ.
Grace communities refer to any organized gathering that
brings people together where they seek to develop communities reflecting all
sorts of people and needs.
Grace communities believe pastors and staff are called to
serve believers. My desire is to equip people with a grace perspective
and to provide practical help for supported and shared ministries.
Grace communities believe that we have a shared humanity so
each community should be welcoming and should often include people from outside
the community.
Grace communities are called to a deeper level of love and
service where people will be drawn into relationships. These
relationships will be focused on teaching and supporting a grace perspective
and grace practice by participating in discipleship and in connect groups.
The Spirit transforms the heart and
mind and I believe that church leaders should provide discipleship courses that
personalize and mentor people in their walk of faith.
Grace communities are committed small groups that exist for
growth, service, shared interests, and life ministry outside of church with an
increasing focus on service to others.
Music Style:
While worship styles vary by culture, it is important that a church reflect a style that would be accepted by that community which encourages an attitude of worship for that community.
Preaching Styles:
Evangelistic Teaching - teaching that finds common ground with the culture and attempts to make Christianity understandable by appealing to a person's life and knowledge of what is morally good.
Expository Teaching - teaching that seeks to explain the meaning of the Scripture as intended by the authors of Scripture. Expository teaching examines the text using the historical-grammatical method of interpretation and seeks to find ways to apply the truths of Scripture.
