Mission:

Make Jesus Unavoidable!

Vision:

Every Local Church:

Awakened to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Armed to take Christ into the public square.

Advancing Christ’s Kingdom in their community.

Distinctives:

Sound Doctrine:

We believe the clearest expression of sound doctrine is found in the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. We recognize genuine believers in Christ may differ with that confession at various points and still be considered orthodox and worthy partners in the proclamation of the Gospel.

Local Church:

We believe the local church is an embassy of Christ’s kingdom on earth—a local body. She is made up of members upon whom the Father has chosen to set His salvific love before the foundation of the world and for whom His Son died in their place as a propitiation. He has sent His Holy Spirit to apply that substitutionary atonement to them and bring them into His heavenly kingdom. It is to the local church that the command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” is now given. The local church affirms, trains, and sends evangelists to lead her members to carry out that command, and it is to the local church that the evangelist is accountable for his piety, family, and ministry.

Elder-led Evangelism:

We believe the Scriptures to teach that elder-qualified evangelists must lead the church to obey the command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Consider that in Matthew 9:35-38, the Lord Jesus observed that the lost, who represent a plentiful harvest, were “sheep without a shepherd” and that workers were therefore needed to be sent into His harvest—the worker/evangelist is, therefore, one who will shepherd. Secondly, Jesus’ explicit command in Matthew 28:19-20 is that all that He commanded be taught to newly made disciples—the evangelist is, therefore, one who must be able to teach, which is the role of an elder. Finally, in 2 Timothy 4:11, the Apostle Paul admonished his protégé elder to do the work of an evangelist in fulfillment of his ministry—elders are commanded to do the work of an evangelist. 

Public Proclamation:

We believe that public proclamation is given to the whole of the local church, with exemption to the authoritative herald. All members of the local church publicly proclaim the gospel through various methods such as tracts, signs, literature tables, prayer stations, and door-to-door visits. Still, the position of the open-air preacher, in which he elevates himself and/or his voice, and authoritatively declares “Thus saith the LORD,” is reserved for elder-qualified men. 

Biblical Kindness:

We believe that God, in His eternal wisdom, has taught His church the meaning of kindness through the Holy Scriptures and the demonstration of His incarnate Son. It is the duty of His church, therefore, to stand firm on the solid ground of clear biblical testimony that true, Christlike kindness is practiced effectively insofar as it promotes the truth of God’s Word. Biblical kindness calls individuals and societies out of sin who are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). From calling abortion “murder” to speaking truthfully about gender issues, biblical kindness does not tolerate sin—it exposes sin. Worldly kindness seeks to make the sinner comfortable, while biblical kindness seeks the sinner’s salvation. The evangelist stands in the posture of biblical kindness by proclaiming the Law & Gospel and calling sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.