What We Believe

This document is intended as a guide to determine whether Faith Christian Reformed Church is remaining faithful to God's call for service to him and the people around us. Church leaders and committee members will design, implement, and assess goals and objectives according to their understanding of how their tasks fit this mission statement. The italicized print is an addition to the original text of the CRC Mission and Vision Statement. While recognizing the place of Faith Christian Reformed Church as a unique congregation in the denomination, we join that larger community of believers in our confidence that God's vision for us in His world also calls us to growth.

Who We Are

The Christian Reformed Church, rooted firmly in the Reformed Tradition, was born of the faith and vision of immigrants more than a century ago. God's sovereignty and grace have brought us into the twenty-first century, focused our vision, and given us a message of hope to proclaim. Today our denomination has grown to embrace a wonderful diversity of race and culture. For the gathering of this part of God's family, we are excited and grateful. We have been blessed by a rich theological and confessional heritage, a deep belief in the Scripture's authority, and a far-reaching vision of God's kingdom in our world. Standing on this foundation, we hear God calling us to further growth.

Faith Christian Reformed Church joined this gathering of God's family in 1979. A little over a year later, a new building was dedicated. Today, Faith is a covenantal community that reflects a variety of careers and interests and is characterized by many children, young families and college students. Standing firm on the Scriptures and acknowledging our rich confessional heritage, we reaffirm the dedication of our facilities and our lives in service to God. To that end, we are called to growth, and for that purpose we are called to gather here as a congregation.
Our Mission

Enabled and led by the Spirit, we will bring the transforming power of our Father's kingdom to our world, embodying the love Jesus revealed on the cross and the victory assured by his resurrection.

The mission of Faith Christian Reformed Church is to nurture the faith of the covenant community through regular preaching and teaching of God's Word so that all its members are equipped to bring this transforming power of the Gospel into every avenue of daily life.

Our Vision

We believe that God's vision for us and for our world calls us:
to grow in worship
to grow in wisdom and knowledge
to grow in caring for each other
to grow in reaching out
to grow as kingdom citizens

To Grow in Worship

God calls us to a greater use of the Spirit's gifts in celebrative, vibrant worship as we enter his presence with awe and wonder, praise and thanksgiving. We pray for a fulfillment of God's vision of the "great multitude" standing before the throne. Challenged to show loving hospitality to all who join us, we welcome a growing diversity of cultures and worship styles. We wait with excitement to see what God will do in our worship.

Called to worship by God himself, we gather twice each Lord's Day in communal worship. We hear God speaking to us through the Word and sacraments, and variety in liturgical form is planned with prayerful guidance by the Holy Spirit so that our congregational response is a rededication of ourselves to him.
Thus equipped to serve God more obediently, we, by our lives and words also invite others to join this community of Faith. We welcome them as together we unite in worship before the face of the Lord.

To Grow in Wisdom and Knowledge

God calls us to deepen our relationship to him, to know and fully embrace his love and wonderful plan of salvation. We are challenged to search God's Word, to let it penetrate our minds and spirits, and to set aside time for prayer and reflection in God's presence. We anticipate the Spirit's work in changing us into Christ's likeness.

Called to service in a world that pursues knowledge apart from wisdom, Faith is committed to developing lives disciplined by Bible study, meditation, and prayer. Our educational programs, which are founded upon the confessions of our Reformed heritage, combine with sound Biblical preaching to nurture growth in wisdom and discernment so that all worshippers, young and old, may be "thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17).

To Grow in Caring for Each Other

We hear God's call for a deeper life of intercessory prayer for believers of all denominations and a greater use of Christ's generous gifts. Using these gifts, we will offer each other encouragement and healing as well as training and support for ministry. Our children and young people will experience God's powerful love as they participate in this. We anticipate the Spirit's equipping us to heal, teach, and build up Christ's body.

Committed to serving each other as we serve our Lord, we will disciple one another and encourage each other in the joys and responsibilities of congregational life. We will lovingly challenge each other to greater accountability in the use of our God-given gifts, and we will pursue fellowship and unity in the Spirit.

To Grow in Reaching Out

God calls us to demonstrate the openness and genuineness of Jesus' love to those outside his family. We anticipate seeing God's power at work in others' lives through our prayer and outreach--restoring those alienated from God, healing the broken, feeding the hungry. Partners with the Holy Spirit, we look forward to being known by those outside the church primarily as people who love deeply, with the life-chaning love of God.

We bring a message of reconciliation and hope to poeple who do not know Jesus, and we compassionately assist them. Ministering to neighbors first in our own community, then in our nation and around the world, we join in purpose with other Christians. We offer our building, our talents, our resources, and our energy to the Lord of the harvest, praying that as he equips each one of us to demonstrate his selfless love, so he will send us and use us.

To Grow as Kingdom Citizens

God calls us to work with other believers to shape public policy, care for God's earth, and bring relief to those suffering from disasters or injustice. This work challenges us to greater dependence on the Spirit's work and on Christ's authority. We look forward to seeing God's power unleashed in our world through our prayers and involvement.

Believing that "Our World Belongs to God," we commit ourselves to going out from Faith as representatives of Christ's lordship, equipped to work for the justice that is due God's world and its people. We will go in obedience to his leading, confident in the strength of Christ's authority, and secure in the knowledge of his final victory over sin and all evil.