WHAT WE BELIEVE
OUR MISSION
Jesus was once asked by a man, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "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. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)
In a nutshell, Jesus' answer to this question was, LOVE GOD and LOVE PEOPLE. And that is what we at Smokey Point Community Church want to do. We've taken these two phrases and searched the Bible to gain insight into what they mean in more specific terms. This search has brought us to the following conviction that our MISSION is to....
"Exalt God by following Jesus together as family, being transformed by His grace, engaging the broken with His love."
OUR VISION
"A Community Set Free"
Vision is a picture of the preferred future. As we live out the MISSION, by God's grace and in His power, we dream of a day when more and more people in our community will experience true freedom in Christ!
OUR MINISTRY VALUES
We hold some core convictions as we seek to live out our mission: Exalt God by following Jesus together as family, being transformed by His grace, engaging the broken with His love. Our values guide not only what we do, but how we do it.
BIBLE
We value teaching and training that is grounded in the authoritative, reliable Word of God.
COMMUNITY
We value small group environments where authentic loving relationships lead to life change.
EVANGELISM
We value outreach that builds relational bridges into our community for sharing the Gospel.
MISSIONS
We value establishing partnerships of support and developing people for the advancement of the Gospel to the World.
PRAYER
We value communication with God that deepens intimacy with Him and empowers us to accomplish His will.
RELEVANCE
We value understanding our culture and adapting without compromising Biblical truth.
SERVING
We value the development of our God-given gifts and talents for service to others.
STEWARDSHIP
We value giving priority to God's kingdom in the management of all life's resources.
TRANSFORMATION
We value intentionally becoming more like Jesus that results from authentic faith in Him.
OUR BELIEFS
1.
There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4, Ps. 19:1, John 1:1, Heb 1:1-2, Matt 3:16-17, Matt 28:19)
2.
Jesus Christ is both God and man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross, in our place, as a sacrifice for our sins. He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father as our Advocate.
(Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 7:26-27, John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12)
3.
The Holy Spirit is sent to convince the world of their need for a Savior, and to indwell, fill, guide, teach, and empower the believer. (John 16:8, Acts 5:3-4, (Romans 8:16, Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28-31, John 6:44)
4.
The Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and are without error as originally given. They contain a complete message of His will for the salvation of mankind. They exist as our supreme rule of what we are to believe, and how we are to live.
(2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
5.
Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but fell into sin through his own disobedience, and received the consequences in both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature, separated from God, and can be saved only through Jesus Christ by faith. The future for the unbeliever is existence forever in conscious separation from God in hell. The future for the believer is everlasting joy in heaven, in the very presence of God.
(Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 21:8, John 3:18)
6.
Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people. Those who repent from sin, and put their faith in Him experience a new birth by the Holy Spirit, receiving the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life, becoming the children of God.
(John 3:5-6, Romans 6:23, John 1:12-13, 1 John 3:1)
7.
It is God’s will that every believer be surrendered to God, yielding control of one’s life to God’s Spirit. Not only does God pronounce the believer holy, but calls us to a holy life in which we separate ourselves from sin, and devote ourselves to Him. As we “walk in the Spirit” God is faithful to continue His good work in us and make us more like Himself.
(1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:9, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:19, Galatians 5:16,
Philippians 1:6)
8.
Physical healing is a blessing made possible through Christ’s work on the cross. As the church today, we are instructed to pray in faith for the sick and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord.
(Matthew 8:16-17, James 5:14-15)
9.
The church is made up of all those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church, which has been commissioned by him to go into all the world and share the life-saving message of Jesus Christ to all people. The local church is the body of believers in Christ who joined together for worship, preaching and teaching of the Word, prayer, fellowship, proclaiming the Good News, and participating in baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
(Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-47, Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 11)
10.
Someday there will be a bodily resurrection of the believer and the unbeliever. For the believer, it will be a resurrection unto life. For the unbeliever, it will be resurrection unto judgment.
(I Corinthians 15:12-57)
11.
We believe in the personal & imminent return of Christ. This is not only the hope of the believer, but an inspiration and challenge as we live holy lives, serving faithfully until that day.
(Acts 1:11, John 14:3, 1Corinthians 15:51-52, Matthew 24:32-51, Hebrews 9:28)