The vision for our congregation is “Following Jesus Together.” From the very beginning, the call of Jesus was, “Follow me.” By his grace, through faith and the power of the Gospel, he enables us to follow him.
From the book of Acts, we see that the term, “Christian,” was actually a term used by people outside the church. The “Christians” called themselves, “believers,” “disciples,” and “followers” of “The Way.” In some ways, it is easy to call ourselves “Christians.” Perhaps the term has lost its potency–it is enough to identify one’s team, but says nothing about how one lives. In any sport, everyone on the team wears the same color jersey. But some sit on the sidelines while others are in the game. We don’t want to be sideline sitters. We get on the field and live the life that Jesus called us to live.
This life of faith is really something that can only be lived together. In fact, spiritual growth always happens best in community. Jesus did not call us to walk alone as we follow him. In the Bible, we find many descriptions of the church. One of the best is that the church is a family. We have been adopted into God’s family–God is our father, and we are all brothers and sisters. Although we come from many countries and backgrounds, in Christ, we are family.
So if you want to keep off the sidelines, follow Jesus, and do it with a great group of people, welcome home.