WE HAVE MOVED--check us out at the .org site
www.crossbridgegbc.org
Home
About us
Church Leaders
Events
Contact us
Content Suggestions

 

 

 

CrossBridge Foundations

 

    CrossBridge will be founded on biblical and contextual purpose, mission, vision, and core values statements. These statements define the heart of the church’s ministry and provide the rational for the church’s existence. They are explicit statements of what the church is about and how it will use its time, energies, and resources. They are a safeguard from unwarranted expectations and a defense of against intrusive agendas that would trespass against God’s vision for the church. They say who we are and what we do both cooperatively and individually, according to the grace that works within us.

 

Purpose Statement

     The purpose of CrossBridge is to glorify God, assist people to enjoy him fully, and to help them live out the Christian life to its fullest.

 

 

 

 

Mission Statement

 

     Our mission is to know Christ and to make him known, doing so through the context of a local family of faith and a fellowship of friends.

 

 

 

 

Vision Statement

 

     We envision a growing church living out the tenants of its core values and mission in a church that is intentionally and genuinely

 

         Alive and Dynamic in the Spirit

 

         Authentic and Daring in the Son

 

         Anchored and Devoted in the Scripture

 

         Active and Dutiful in Society

 

 

 

 

Core Values

 

Bible

 

The bible is central to what we believe, what we are, and what we do. Our teaching, our preaching, and the practicing of our lives, will have as their foundation the truths of God’s word. The church’s foundational doctrines are found in our Statements of Faith.

 

 

Worship

 

Worship is central to our relationship with God. Our response to God’s being and working in the world, and his presence in our lives, will be authentic adoration of him to him. We will worship God through biblically appropriate and culturally relevant means.

 

 

Evangelism

 

Evangelism is central to our mission. Our mission is that of Jesus Christ who sought, welcomed, loved, and extended grace to all that they might have abundant and eternal life in Jesus Christ. All people matter to God therefore all people matter to us.

 

 

Community

 

Community is central to our relationships with one another. Our spiritual lives exist as a part of the Body of Christ, the church, through which we are nourished and grow, give and receive personal and corporate care, share in the work and health of the church, and by which we provide an inviting and satisfying environment for those who are, or will be, becoming a part of Christ’s body. Small groups and “All Groups” will be utilized as environments for personal and interpersonal development.

 

 

Excellence

 

Excellence is central to the quality of our service to God and others. Our ministries will all be planned and performed with excellence, according to our maximum ability, because we believe excellence demonstrates how we honor God, respect the church, and value others. We will not continue any ministry that is not measurably productive in the fulfillment of our mission and vision.

 

 

Cultural Relevance

 

Cultural Relevance is central to effective communication. Our unchanging message will be communicated using means and methods those we are trying to reach and retain can relate to and understand. Flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and innovation are preferred over religious traditions, preferences, and experiences from past eras as means of choosing approaches to present ministries.

 

 

Authenticity

 

Authenticity is central to Christian credibility. Our spirituality, attitudes, personality, behavior, commitments, and service will come from genuine Christlikeness rather than mere obligation, duty, or any form of legalism. We will maintain Christian purity in our faith and our motives.

 

 

Involvement

 

Involvement is central to our ministry. Our Christian work will be accomplished through the contribution of every member as they discover, develop, and deploy their spiritual giftedness and are equipped for service. We will initiate and carry on ministries only when there are people gifted for and committed to those ministries providing the ministries show potential for fulfilling our mission and vision.

 

 

Missions

 

Missions is central to our place in the world. Our responsibilities reach beyond the interests and concerns of our local membership to the needs of humanity throughout the world. We will participate in activities and associations in which we can express our Christian love in an intimate and effective way.

 

 

 

Statements of Faith

 

CrossBridge is a completely autonomous church which voluntarily affiliates, participates, and holds membership in the General Association of General Baptists. The following are CrossBridge's foundational statements of faith.

 

 

 

I. GOD

 

We believe that there is only one true, living, and eternal God and that the Godhead is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

II. THE BIBLE

 

We believe that the Holy Scriptures are the Old and New Testaments; the inspired and infallible Word of God and therein is found the only reliable guide of Christian faith and conduct.

 

 

 

III. MAN

 

We believe that God created man in His own image to bring Him honor through obedience, and that when man disobeyed, he became a fallen and sinful creature, unable to save himself. We believe that infants are in the covenant of God's grace and that all persons become accountable to God when they reach a state of moral responsibility.

 

 

 

IV. SALVATION

 

We believe that salvation (regeneration, sanctification, justification, and redemption) has been provided for all mankind through the redemptive work (life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession) of Jesus Christ, and that this salvation can be received only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

V. ASSURANCE AND ENDURANCE

 

We believe that those who abide in Christ have the assurance of salvation. However, we believe that the Christian retains his freedom of choice; therefore, it is possible for him to turn away from God and be finally lost.

 

 

 

VI. CHRISTIAN DUTIES

 

We believe that Christians should live faithfully by serving in and through the local church, praying diligently, witnessing earnestly, practicing tolerance, showing loving kindness, giving as God prospers, and conducting themselves in such a way as to bring glory to God.

 

 

 

 

VII. THE CHURCH

 

We believe that the Church Universal is the Body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers, and that its members have been called out from the world to come under the dominion and authority of Christ, its Head. We believe that a local church is a fellowship of Christians, a part of the Body of Christ, voluntarily banded together for worship, nurture, and service.

 

 

 

VIII. ORDINANCES

 

We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ to be observed by Christians only. We also believe that the biblical mode of baptism is immersion and that participation in the Lord's Supper should be open to all Christians. (Note: Several associations and local churches recognize feetwashing as an ordinance. We believe that this should be left to the individual, and that neither the practice nor the non-practice of it should be any bar to fellowship, either in the church, the local association, the Presbytery, or the General Association.)

 

 

 

IX. THE LORD'S DAY

 

We believe in the sanctity of the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, and that this day ought to be observed by worshiping God, witnessing for Christ, and ministering to the needs of humanity. We believe that secular work on Sunday should be limited to cases of necessity or mercy.

 

 

 

X. LAST THINGS

 

We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, and in the bodily resurrection of the dead. We believe that God will judge all mankind by Jesus Christ; that He will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell.