Our mission is to know Christ and to make Him known.
Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is God's Son, and Our Saviour.
We believe that God's love for us is so powerful, that we could never hope to understand it. We are made by God, for His family and His purpose, and the first people were made without sin. But they were not perfect, and we are not perfect, and sin has separated us from God. God sent His Son to die as a sacrifice for our sin so that we could be part of His family again. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead so that we could believe in Him, and know about his life and how that can help us to understand God, and to learn about His purpose for us. If you want to learn more about who Jesus is, you can read about his life in "The Book of John" which is in the New Testament in the Bible. If you don't have a Bible, you can read the Book of John online here. In the book of John, when he talks about "the Word" he is referring to Jesus Christ.
What Is Sin?
Sin is anything that we do or say or think that is against what God wants. Does this mean that we are not allowed to do or say or think for ourselves? Absolutely not! What it means is this: we believe God is the Creator of everything - the world, the universe, even life itself. Because God is the Creator, he also knows what's best for us, even when we don't know it. That's because God sees and understands things that we don't see or understand - and even if we tried, we'd probably never understand this life completely. So God helps us to understand things through the Bible (His word) and through the life of His Son, Jesus. God isn't concerned with rules and regulations - but He gives us guidelines that we can use as a pattern for our lives. Sin is when we choose not to follow those guidelines.
When we don't follow the rules of the road while driving, like turning the wrong way on a one way street, we set ourselves, and others, up to be hurt. The rule isn't there to tell us what to do - it's there to keep us from being hurt. God doesn't want to hurt us - He wants us to live life to its fullest, which is why He created life in the first place! But when we choose to ignore the guidelines He has set for us, that's what we refer to as sin, and it's everything that God isn't. So when we sin, that separates us from God. The choice is ours to make. But God's rules are actually pretty simple, and they're summed up in the idea that we should love God, and love others. It's not so hard when you see it that way.
Why Do I Need to Know Jesus Christ?
We believe that God intended for us all to be in His family, and to share in the richness of life that He has created for us. But our sin separates us from God. God is perfect, and because He is perfect, He cannot be part of sin. Just like how light cannot be part of darkness. When a room is dark, there is no light. But even the smallest amount of light will fill a room - even if we can't see it clearly, the light still fills the room. Sin is everything that God isn't, like darkness and light, so if we sin, we cannot be with God. But God wants to be with us. He has chosen each of us individually for a purpose. But he has given us the choice to fulfill that purpose or not. But we all sin. Even those of us that want to fulfill God's purpose. So God offers a way for us to have our sins forgiven and forgotten by Him, and to help us understand His purpose at the same time. Jesus Christ was a sacrifice for our sin. That means that if we have a relationship with Jesus, He will bring us to God as though we had never sinned in the first place. Knowing Jesus Christ means that some day, we will be together with God.
Do I Need to Make Jesus Known?
If you learned of a way to end world hunger, or found a cure for disease, would you keep it to yourself? Of course not! You'd share it, so that no one would go hungry or be sick again! We believe that knowing Jesus Christ is a wonderful experience, not just for us, but for everyone. And since we believe this, we want the whole world to know! If you have learned about Jesus Christ, and understand what it means to have a relationship with Him, then you should share that with others who haven't heard about Him. Sometimes it's hard - even uncomfortable - but we are here to help. That's what churches are for - we help people to learn and understand who Jesus Christ is, and help each other learn how to share that with others.
How Do I Know All of this is True?
Understanding truth is a hard thing. Sometimes, it takes what we call "faith". Faith means accepting something as truth, even when it's hard or even impossible to understand. We believe that the more you experience what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the easier it will be to learn what's true. No one will ever understand the truth of everything in their lifetime, but through our friendships and family connections with each other, we can each learn more and more. Everything we've stated is based on the Bible, which we believe to be the word of God. Since it's the word of God, it's inherently true, so we can believe everything it says. If you want to read the parts of the Bible that this is based on, you can read the references online, below.
What We Believe
Why We Believe It
Jesus Christ is God's Son
"...and he will be called the Son of God" Luke 1:35
"...plans for good and not for disaster..." Jeremiah 29:11
... He wants us to live life to its fullest
"...I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest." John 10:10
God and sin are like light and dark
"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world..." John 12:46
And the choice to follow is ours to make
"...I have wanted to gather your children together...but you wouldn't let me..." Luke 13:34
We should love God, and love others
"'...love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27
God cannot be part of sin...
"...you, who cannot allow sin in any form..." Habakkuk 1:13
... so Jesus forgives our sin...
"...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world..." John 1:29
... so that we can be with God
"...No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6
We must accept Jesus' sacrifice...
"...the only way to receive God's promise is to believe in Jesus Christ..." Galatians 3:22
... and share that with others
"...confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord..." Romans 10:9
