"Who
knows? Maybe you have come to
position for such a time as this."
Esther
4:14
What
Are We About?
Our
mission is to bring hope to the world by glorifying God
through:
- God-centered
worship (Reaching Up)
- Life-changing
relationships (Reaching In)
- The
declaration of the Gospel (Reaching Out)
4
in 24
CABC
will pursue 4 fresh initiatives over the next 24 months. These initiatives will
guide us in
- An
external focus instead of internal focus
- The
development of people instead of the development of
programs
This
is an intentional move from a focus on paying our bills and maintaining what we
have, to focus on bringing hope to the nations of the world by making more and
better worshippers of Jesus Christ.
The
following is a high-level summary of the key ways in which we will carry out our
mission to bring hope to the world by glorifying God through God-centered
worship, life-changing relationships, and the declaration of the Gospel.
Fresh
Initiative #1 - Personal and corporate prayer
Goal: To become a church family that is
more dependent on God.
Fresh
Initiative #2 - Worship
Goal: To plan and engage in
corporate worship with the belief that worship is for God. The purpose of
worship is to glorify God, to give God pleasure. It is not primarily for our
benefit. But as we worship God, things happen to us: blessing, healing, joy, nurturing,
growth, admonition, repentance, revival, evangelism, learning, and fellowship.
The congregation’s singing is the backbone of our music. We sing to God, to each
other, and to the world. The ministry of choirs exists both to present music to
God’s glory on behalf of the congregation and the church family, and also
to encourage and admonish the listener. Though worship teams differ from choirs
in musical specifics, they do not differ in purpose. Congregational singing is
led in a variety of ways, at times even within the same service. We believe worship services should be
passionate, engaging, and full of Scripture and prayer and an awareness of God’s
presence. We seek culturally current expressions of timeless Christian
truth.
Fresh
Initiative #3 - Relationships
Goal: As part of our clear and
comprehensive maturing process we will build
a network of communities where life-change will take place. We will aim to purposely
develop smaller communities for the purposes of spiritual development, prayer,
encouragement, outreach, and helping others keep their commitments of obedience
to God.
Fresh
Initiative #4 - Engaging the Spiritually Lost and Making Christ
Known
Goal: To obey and fulfill the Great
Commission by sharing the Gospel.
"Personal Evangelism" is giving unbelievers the opportunity to make an
informed decision to trust Jesus by faith for salvation. History has not come to a
close because God has not saved all those He intends to save. The church
does not exist for itself but is to be a means of reaching others with the great
news of what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ. We are God’s
method of communicating His story to those who have never heard it, have grown
hardened toward it, or do not believe that Jesus is for them.
What
Are We Committed To?
In dependence of Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit, we aspire to be a church family marked by these
commitments:
A Life of
Worship
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of
worship.
We aim to be
God-focused. We value putting God
at the center of all that we do. We
put His glory and honor first, asking in every decision, "Will this bring the
greatest glory and praise to God?"
The Bible’s Authority
Deuteronomy 32:46 Take to heart all the words I have
solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey
carefully all the words of this law.
They are not just idle words for you — they are your
life.
We
believe that, as the church in the world, we are responsible for the declaration
of the truth. The Bible is our
life, and we want it to be the dominating influence in our church family and in
our every day lives.
The Power of Prayer
Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always
keep on praying for all the saints.
We are in a spiritual
battle, as warriors, to further the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness;
everything we do must proceed out of prayer. Prayer is the ultimate weapon in
our struggle.
Life-Changing
Relationships
Ecclesiastes 4:12 A cord of three strands is not
quickly broken.
We seek to display Jesus’
love and care to each person who comes to CABC. We desire that each person have
a sense of belonging to our family. We aim to live in committed authentic
relationships together showing love, care, and concern throughout the week as we
share our lives with each other. We
engage in regular
participation with a group of other CABCers in some kind of small group
experience. Small groups afford our best opportunity to carry out the many
"one another"
commands of the New Testament. We
value healthy relationships that are free from gossip and pettiness.
A Love of Unity in
Diversity
Romans
12:4-5 Just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we
who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others.
All
believers in Jesus Christ are united to each other, not only in common humanity
in the image of God, but even more, as brothers and sisters in Christ and
members of the same body.
We
are equal in Christ. He is our
peace! There is spiritual equality
in Christ. Ideally, members of the
church are a mix of ages, ethnic groups, and classes. There is only one true solution to
demographic division, and it is Jesus Christ. We are first and foremost
Christians! Our only real identity
is in Jesus Christ because He lifts us above our differences and draws us to
Himself. That is the strength of
unity. And once He has made us one,
our diversity enriches us and gives us a powerful testimony to a watching
world. We are committed to live
like what we are - a new community centered on the cross of Christ.
Reaching the
Nations
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Our church does not simply
exist for herself, but to reach a world that so desperately needs Christ. Through sharing our faith with others,
praying, giving, and going, we seek to impact our local, regional, and global
culture with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are on a journey of following Jesus
Christ, and we invite others to join us. We desire to do this by intentionally
building relationships with people and inviting them to respond to Jesus Christ.
Locally, we value reaching and welcoming the people of our community, especially
the internationals among them.
Serving
Others
1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift
he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its
various forms.
Every Christian has unique
talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts and is vital to the proper functioning
of the church. There are no
spares or extras. We
value an atmosphere in which our overseers and staff equip us for ministry, with
each person being encouraged to attempt great things for God and expect great
things from God as He develops the gifts He gives to each believer.
Joyful
Generosity
1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be
rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to
share.
We see
ourselves, first and foremost, as receivers — grateful, joyful recipients of Christ’s grace. In response to
Christ’s grace, we desire to be generous with our resources.
Compassion for Those in
Need
James 2:17...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
We serve a God who cares
deeply about the injustice, abuse, hurts, and pain in the world. Justice is central to the very nature of
our God, and He has chosen to allow His people to be His voice for justice on
the earth. Some are called to proclaim His justice through legal advocacy, some
by caring for the suffering, some by teaching, and still others by prayer. We
will develop and participate in strategies for expressing the love and
compassion of Christ through a more intentionally welcoming atmosphere in our
church and personal involvement in providing for the poor, oppressed, hurt, and
wounded.
Personal
Purity
1 Timothy 4:7 For God did not call us to be impure,
but to live a holy life.
We
will aggressively, ruthlessly, and honestly pursue purity in our personal lives.
