Advertise Your Business Or Website At
HomewithGod.com
We acknowledge that our Christian Faith is reformed according to the Word of God. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God and the final authority for faith and practice. We acknowledge that the Bible points beyond itself to the reality of a personal relationship with the One Eternal God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We accept Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son and Living Word as our Lord and Savior. We Welcome and witness the work and witness of the Holy Spirit. We believe that God is sovereign over all creation and is at work for good with those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We believe in the historic Christian faith as confessed in the Apostles' Creed and other great ecumenical statements of faith. We acknowledge the historic Standards of our Reformed faith, namely the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Synods of Dort. We agree to open our lives to the Living God, who loves us as a Heavenly Father, who redeems us in Jesus Christ the Son and who leads and empowers us through the Holy Spirit that we may live lives faithful to the witness of Holy Scripture.
We acknowledge as Christians our membership in the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church which is the New Covenant Community of the New Israel and the Body of Christ. Further, we acknowledge our particular connection with our chosen local coummunity of the Body of Christ, namely Woodgrove Christian Community. We agree that our membership in the Church forms the basis of our mutual support with other committed believers and of our strategy in serivng God's purpose. We agree that as members we are called both to receive God's blessing and to share that blessing with the world as a means of fulfilling God's Covenant Destiny (Genesis 12:3).
We acknowledge our privilege and responsibility to attend consistently the worship services of our covenant community. We acknowledge that in corporate worship we not only receive spiritual encouragement from God and others, but also have the opportunity of giving it. We acknowledge that our worship is rooted in the rich litergies of our historic faith and open to the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus in living community. We agree that consistent corporate worship is an essential basis of a Christian lifestyle and we will make a special effort to participate in services of Holy Communion.
We acknowledge that in our covenant community our relationship with God as Heavenly Father brings us into a caring famil of other brothers and sisters. We acknowledge our importance to one another. We acknowledge our need for pastoral care, and to be aware of the needs of others that we may minister one to the other in the love of Christ. We welcome visits from the Pastor and our Lay Pastoral Care Teams. We strive to co-operate in pastoral care by informing our covenant church community (office, Pastor, Visitors) not only if illness, hospitalization, or bereavement, but also of great joys like special achievements, anniversaries, or births within our families. We agree to link others with pastoral care and covenant awareness, where that is appropriate, that we may weep together in sorrow, celebrate together in joy, and remember one another in our prayers.
We acknowledge that God desires His Church, the Body of Christ, to grow in faithfulness and in service; in fellowship and in numbers as a means of extending His Kingdom. We acknowledge that we must live beyond the naivete that growth happens regardless of our obedience and agree that we have a responsibility to enthusiastically invite others to join our Christian Community. As a congregation we will strive to discover and follow the strategies for Church Growth which God is blessing. We will intentionally welcome strangers and guests; newcomers and new members. Furthermore, we agree to sensitively assist their assimilation into our covenant community.
We acknowledge our need to keep our Christian Faith growing and to seek opportunities to further our spiritual experience, education, and fellowship. We agree to become a part of at least one group in an area of our interest within the congregation. We agree to support the development of standards of excellence within our congregational programs including criteria for leaders and teachers. We agree to strive to develop and maintain a sincere personal and family devotional life.
We acknowledge that God has called his New Covenant People in Christ to a worldwide ministry of witness and reconciliation. We care for people in all life situations while affirming Traditional Christian Values toward life, family, marriage, and sexuality. We agree to support mission and service work of our covenant community. WE agree to actively encourage the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both its personal and social dimensions, striving to advance peace with justice throughout our community.
We acknowledge that a committed congregation will set creative financial goals in support of God's work. We acknowledge the Scriptural basis of 10% tithe as Gods' general expectation of financial support from His covenant people. We receive this both as a challenge and as an opportunity for blessing. We agree to respond to God's goodness by giving prayerfully and consistently a percentage of our annual incomes as a priority for God's purpose.
We acknowledge that God calls no-one to servanthood without enabling them to respond. We acknowledge that we are gifted by God to serve in some capacity within the Body of Christ. We acknowledge that our natural talents and spiritual gifts can help our church grow. We will offer our talents and spiritual gifts for service and ministry within our covenant congregation. We agree to responsibly support congregational programs, projects, and events as a priority as we are able, and to respond prayerfully to invitations to serve on committees or in leadership positions.
We acknowledge the need for a harmonious congregation where energies might be expended in ministries that meet deep spiritual needs and promote church growth. We agree to help maintain the peace of this congregation by being positive, expressing forgiveness, taking responsibility for our own shortcomings and respecting the perceptions of others. We will seek to maintain harmony by accepting help of a third party should conflict arise. As a covenant community, we will make decisions in our parliamentary democratic traditions and will strive to be sensitive to minority positions. However, as members we agree to abide by decisions made in the democratic process.
