| Common Questions about Who We Are |
questions about our beliefs
1. Do you believe Jesus is the only way to God?
We believe what Jesus said of himself when he claimed “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The claims of Jesus are shocking to us, because we live in a time where most people believe truth is individual or relative. Jesus also claimed to be the Son of God, to forgive sin, to judge the world, and to be the source of life. We do not get to make up what we want to believe about Jesus; he said he was the only way to God. We must either believe him or reject him (study John 5:16-30; John 6:25-59; John 8:31-59; Acts 4:8-12).
2. What do you believe about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts?
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity and that he empowers the church for Jesus’ ministry, giving spiritual gifts to all Christians. We believe that every follower of Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit when they believe and, thus, is equipped with gifts of the Holy Spirit. All of the spiritual gifts found in the Bible are to be used in helping the church accomplish our mission of making authentic disciples for Jesus. We carefully follow the biblical guidelines in expressions of spiritual gifts so that they are helpful in bringing new people to Jesus and building up the church (study 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11).
common questions about the church
1. What denomination are you?
We are a non-denominational, Evangelical Christian church. We associate with a small network of church planting churches who share support, accountability, and training. The network of churches includes Vine Community Church, Blue Sky Church (in Seattle, WA), City Lights Church (in St. Louis, MO), Clearview Church (in Bloomington, IL), High Rock Church (in Bloomington, IN), and Clear River Church (in West Lafayette, IN).
2. How is your church organized?
We have striven to organize the church in a manner that is practically functional and consistent with what we know from the Bible. The church is led by a Lead Pastor (functioning as an Elder), serving alongside a board of Elders who offer support, accountability, and practical assistance in carrying out Jesus’ mission. The Lead Pastor is accountable to the local board, with another Lead Pastor in our network of churches offering additional accountability and assistance. Our staff of pastors (Elders) and leaders (Deacons) serve alongside the Lead Pastor and are responsible for specific areas of ministry within the church (e.g. children’s program, small groups, worship, weekend service teams, youth, administration, etc.). Our Small Group Leaders are the main caregivers in the church community, serving alongside our pastors and staff leaders. (study Acts 14:21-23; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8).
3. How do you deal with people and churches that disagree with you?
We feel no need to correct or argue with other churches. It’s just not our job. At the same time, we watch our own beliefs closely. We want to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ and the Bible in our belief and practice. It is important to us that those who would like to be members be in agreement with the beliefs of this church so that we can effectively carry out Jesus’ mission together (study 1 Timothy 4; Romans 12:9-21; Romans 14:1-4; Mark 9:38-50).
common questions about our response to the culture
How do you respond to changes in the culture?
We see ourselves as missionaries who proclaim the message of Jesus to our culture. Thus, we do not want to retreat from the culture and isolate ourselves. While our historic Christian belief from the Bible does not change as culture shifts, the style in which we do church does change to help us effectively reach the current culture. We approach culture with truth and mercy (like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11; “Neither do I condemn you” and “Go now and leave your life of sin”). Functioning in truth and mercy allow us to reach people of our current culture without sacrificing biblical Christianity (study 1 Corinthians 1 & 2; Acts 17:16-34; Matthew 28:16-20; Ephesians 4:14-15).
