WHAT WE BELIEVE
Theology and Doctrine:
Our bible-based theological and doctrinal positions are captured in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which can be found here for review.
Our 5 Core Values:
BE
PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD AND EACH OTHER
The Christian religion rests upon the fact of the Love of Almighty God towards mankind, and His passionate to redeem repentant mankind from the brokenness that sin that defines our world. When questioned about which was the greatest commandment of God, Jesus answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV). In John 13:34-35 Jesus expanded that to all His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The foundation of the Christian faith is to know and love the LORD God, and let His love fuel our love for one another followers of Jesus.
BE
A
CULTURE
OF
PRAYER
Prayer is a spiritual discipline that we GET to engage in! Philippians 4:4-7 reminds us: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NASB). We know that is true, and that spirit-led prayer is powerful - not for getting man’s will done in Heaven, but for getting God’s will done here on earth, starting on our own lives and in our church.
BE
DISCIPLES
WHO
MAKE
DISCIPLES
We take Jesus’ command to go and make disciples seriously so we focus on training and strengthening committed followers of Jesus who become better equipped to go make more disciples themselves. Jesus called people to not only believe on Him (to get saved from Judgment to come), but to also make Him Lord of their lives — to be people who aspire to actually live according to His teachings and example, and to be His witnesses to the world by the power of the Spirit and the Word.
BE
A
PEOPLE
OF
COMMUNITY
It is argued that more than any other time in history, people are overloaded with entertainment, information, and the busyness of life. This reality has the effect of creating a shallow and virtual sense of reality that always keeps us busy, but can also leave us disconnected relationally. The Bible gives us a picture of God's people as being those who commit to intentionally living life engaged in a meaningful, unified, and Jesus-centered relational community fueled by supernatural love of God. We seek to be defined by such community connection, and reject the self-focused inclinations of the culture around us.
BE
INVITATIONAL
IN
OUTREACH
Our heart as a church is to get outside the walls of our buildings and impact our community in an authentic way. We are committed to being a community-oriented church, with ongoing outreach ministries and fun events for all to participate. We also schedule intentional service days where we enter our communities to be "the hands and feet of Jesus" in serving people in need. Jesus said that the world will know we are His disciples by the love we show first to each other, and also to the world. At Northbridge, we are committed to engaging our community and expressing the love of Jesus.