About Us
More than a distant promise—Live the Kingdom Now!
Come Experience the Kingdom Now
Experience the welcome and warmth of God’s grace.
Discover Meaningful Worship
Connect with God daily through worship that inspires awe and gratitude.Deepen Your Understanding
Grow in faith with teachings and Bible classes that connect to real life.Embrace Hope and Purpose
Find ways to live out the hope found in Jesus in your community.
Guidance and Support for Your Journey
CACOC is guided by a dedicated team of staff and volunteer shepherds committed to fostering a safe and supportive community.
With a heart for service, they lead with integrity and compassion, ensuring that you feel valued and cared for when you walk through the doors.
With a heart for service, they lead with integrity and compassion, ensuring that you feel valued and cared for when you walk through the doors.
Meet the CACOC Staff
Paid staff
- Jonathan LongPreaching
- Gary SchloemerDiscipleship
- Debby StevensonOffice Manager
Shepherds
Volunteer leaders
- Rob Newsom
- Bret Garrett
- Tony Jones
- Steve Saulsbury
- Leroy Shelton
- Rick Brown
- Joe Turbeville
- Mark Moore
Beliefs
Everyone has a particular view of God, what He has done, and who we are in light of that. The Bible is the story of what God has done in Jesus and how this good news changes everything. The Bible is good news, not just true news.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
While this statement of faith provides a foundational understanding of our beliefs, it does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of humankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For the purposes of the College Avenue Church of Christ’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our elders are the College Avenue’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.
WHO WE ARE
We are a body of believers saved by the grace of the one true God, shown through the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ when he became flesh (John1:1, 14) died on a cross (Romans 5:5-8) rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20) and ascended back to the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16). Because we are saved, we make every effort (though sometimes feeble) to bring glory to the One that rescued us (Colossians 1:13) from the curse of sin and gives us hope on this earth and beyond this earth. We believe we have the greatest mission (Matthew 28:18-20) to share the greatest message (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) in the context of the greatest command (John 13:34-35).
WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. The sixty-six books of the Bible make up God's complete, final, reliable and authoritative revelation to humankind. While other traditions, creeds and writings may be useful for understanding, nothing is elevated to the level of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3: 16, 2 Peter 1:20-21
God
We believe that there is only one true, eternal God who is the creator of all life that co-exists equally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. God in his very nature is love and created us for relationship. To foster this relationship, God has revealed himself to humankind through many means. However, his most direct and intimate means was through sending part of Himself to this earth to take on flesh.
Genesis 1:26-27; Job 38:1-41:34; John 3:16; Romans 1:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6 Isaiah 44:6 John 1:1, 14
Jesus
We believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. He became flesh (incarnate), as part of God’s redemptive plan, was crucified and rose bodily from the grave three days later. He ascended back into heaven to be our mediating High Priest. He will return in final judgment and final redemption of his people.
Colossians 2:9, Philippians 2:5-9, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 4: 14
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit co-exists with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is a gift given to physically indwell Christians when they are baptized. He is a deposit from God the Father guaranteeing Jesus’ return. His role in our life is to help and guide us in sanctification (holiness).
John 14:16-17, Romans 8, Ephesians 1:13-14, Galatians 5:16-26
Humankind
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God in that person.
Psalm 139; Genesis 1:26-27
Life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, and the physically or mentally challenged and every other state or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life.
Psalm 139
Marriage
We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one biological man and one biological woman, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within that union. Further, the marriage relationship is a depiction of the intimate relationship that God shares with his church and is therefore holy and sacred in God’s eyes. Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a biological man, a biological woman, and Himself, the Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the elders / ministers / staff / and members shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one biological man and one biological woman. Finally, the facilities and property of the church shall only host weddings between one biological man and one biological woman.
Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-33
Sin
We believe that all humankind that has reached an age of awareness, have sinned and fallen short of God’s demand for holiness. Because of our sin, the consequence is death. There had to be a sacrifice for that sin to meet the demands of the law. God, in his infinite love and mercy sent his Son to be that sacrifice.
Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21
Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the gospel. God showed us His grace through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. It is this message, the gospel, that calls people to believe in God’s power to save, turn from their sins, confess Jesus as Lord, and be immersed in water, reenacting the death, burial and resurrection, thus being “Born Again” to new life. This is the message that was preached in the first century beginning with Acts 2 and how the people responded to this message.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 6:1-6; Acts 2; Galatians 3:26-27
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.) We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
The Church
We believe that the saved make up God’s universal family called the church. While on earth, Jesus predicted He would build His church. The church is simply those individuals who by faith are saved. When one is born again one becomes part of this unique “called out” group of people.
Matthew 16:16, Ephesians 3:14-21
Eternity
We believe that Jesus will return some day. In the meantime, we live expectantly for Jesus' triumphal return. When Jesus returns all of God's people both alive and dead will be gloriously transformed.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Cor. 15:51-54
Gender
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.)
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.) We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
The True God as Trinity
We bear witness to the one true and living God, one God in three persons, revealed through the Bible as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God
God's plan for the universe is to bring about, through Jesus Christ, a transformed creation wholly governed by God, from which all evil and suffering will be banished and in which God will live with redeemed humanity for ever.
The Bible as the Word of God
The Bible tells the universal story of creation, fall, redemption and new creation, and thereby shapes our worldview. We receive it as the word of God spoken through human authors and believe it to be true and trustworthy in all it affirms. We depend upon it as the revelation of God's identity, character, purposes and actions and submit to it as supremely and uniquely authoritative for our belief and behavior.
God as Creator
The universe is the good creation of the one living God and reveals God's existence, power and glory. Human beings are created in the image of God, male and female, in order to love, worship and obey God, to relate to one another in love, justice and compassion, and to exercise wise dominion over creation.
Human Sin
Humans have sinned by rebelling against God, rejecting God's authority and disobeying God's word and so are alienated from God, one another and the created order. Sin deserves God's judgment and leads to eternal separation and judgment from God. The effects of sin and the power of evil have permeated the fabric of creation as well as all cultural, economic, social, political and religious life.
Human Worth
Though distorted by sin, the image of God remains the basis of the uniqueness, dignity, sanctity and equality of all persons without distinction, from womb to death and beyond. God loves and cares for all people in their cultural and ethnic diversity and has reached out in grace to save them through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
From before the creation of the world, God the Father chose us and blessed us in his Son, Jesus. We depend entirely upon the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, our King and Rescuer. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, who shares our humanity, having been born of Mary, whom conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As the Son of God, Jesus came to make God known. As the Servant of God, Jesus came to undo the corruption of humanity and the divine curse on creation caused by the first man, Adam. He came to liberate us from our devastating self-love and to rescue us from the consequences of our ongoing willful refusal to love God and others. Jesus fulfilled the promises made by God to Israel and realized all that Israel was called, but failed, to be. He gave us a glimpse of the world to come, calling the people of God to follow him and to demonstrate the goodness of his rule by their shared lives.
The Life of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Messiah uniquely appointed by God to bring the blessing of salvation to the world. God took our human nature in Jesus Christ, who taught and modeled the new life of the kingdom of God to which he calls his disciples. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus lived the life Adam and the rest of humanity could not live.
The Death of Jesus
Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus died the death that Adam and the rest of humanity deserve to die. On the cross he endured and exhausted God's righteous anger against our rebellion, paying its penalty in full. In his death on the cross he took upon himself the sin of the world, bearing its full cost and penalty so that we are put right with God through his grace by faith in Christ alone. On the cross Jesus also entered into our suffering, defeated the powers of evil and accomplished the reconciliation of all creation.
The Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus rose physically from the dead, proving the effectiveness of his death. In his bodily resurrection he defeated death and became the forerunner of redeemed humanity. The resurrection is the promise and beginning of God's new world.
The Reign of Jesus
Jesus returned to his father in heaven, from where he now rules over all creation. He sent his Spirit to apply all that he achieved on the cross. The Spirit equips us as God's people to live for Christ and speak of him so that others might submit to his gracious reign. In this way Jesus sovereignly gathers his church as he rescues those the Father has given him. Through his ascension he is exalted as reigning Lord, and at his return he will execute God's judgment, destroy Satan, evil and death, and establish the universal reign of God.
God the Holy Spirit
The Bible testifies to the Holy Spirit's activity both in creation and redemptive-history, empowering action for gospel liberation and justice. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and judgment, leads to faith and repentance and unites believers to Christ, making real in them what Jesus has accomplished. Through Christ, God's Spirit is poured out on all believers enabling them to live in unity and to bear the fruit of holiness, Christ-likeness and practical obedience. The Spirit gives gifts and power to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel, discern truth, pray effectively and prevail over the forces of darkness.
The Church and God's Mission
The church stands in continuity with God's people in the Old Testament, called through Abraham to be a light to the nations, shaped and taught through the law and the prophets to be a community of holiness, compassion and justice, and redeemed through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church exists to worship and glorify God for all eternity and is commissioned by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to participate in the transforming mission of God within history.
We live together in union with Christ as his church. God is littering the world with local expressions of this church. We celebrate our cultural diversity while enjoying unity in Christ. These churches are a means of grace to a needy and dying world. God has given us the task of making the good news of Jesus known to those without God and without hope. Our community life points ahead to what God has in store for his world. So, by word and life, we model and offer reconciliation to those alienated from God by their willful rejection of him. We call people to turn from despising God and urge them to trust in Christ.
As those welcomed, forgiven and accepted, we become a community of those who welcome, forgive and accept. We respond to the gospel in baptism, expressing that we have become part of the people of God. The Lord's Supper is the meal we regularly share together to celebrate the work of Christ and express that we continue to be part of the people of God together. Our shared life proclaims the Lord's death until he returns to make good the invitation to his eternal banquet.
The Restoration
We are waiting for the arrival of a new heaven and earth, which God will bring about through his transforming power. A day is coming when Christ will come again to establish his reign of justice and freedom. He will create the home of righteousness which his people crave, banishing forever sin, Satan and death.
In renewed bodies in a renewed creation, we will live as God's people in unbroken relationship with God and each other. At the center of everything will be the one God, eternally self-existent as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the creator and sustainer of all that is. His character is constant and his purposes unchanging. He will be all our glory. This will be life as it was meant to be lived – life in all its glorious and satisfying fullness.
While this statement of faith provides a foundational understanding of our beliefs, it does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of humankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For the purposes of the College Avenue Church of Christ’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our elders are the College Avenue’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.
WHO WE ARE
We are a body of believers saved by the grace of the one true God, shown through the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ when he became flesh (John1:1, 14) died on a cross (Romans 5:5-8) rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20) and ascended back to the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16). Because we are saved, we make every effort (though sometimes feeble) to bring glory to the One that rescued us (Colossians 1:13) from the curse of sin and gives us hope on this earth and beyond this earth. We believe we have the greatest mission (Matthew 28:18-20) to share the greatest message (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) in the context of the greatest command (John 13:34-35).
WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. The sixty-six books of the Bible make up God's complete, final, reliable and authoritative revelation to humankind. While other traditions, creeds and writings may be useful for understanding, nothing is elevated to the level of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3: 16, 2 Peter 1:20-21
God
We believe that there is only one true, eternal God who is the creator of all life that co-exists equally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. God in his very nature is love and created us for relationship. To foster this relationship, God has revealed himself to humankind through many means. However, his most direct and intimate means was through sending part of Himself to this earth to take on flesh.
Genesis 1:26-27; Job 38:1-41:34; John 3:16; Romans 1:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6 Isaiah 44:6 John 1:1, 14
Jesus
We believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. He became flesh (incarnate), as part of God’s redemptive plan, was crucified and rose bodily from the grave three days later. He ascended back into heaven to be our mediating High Priest. He will return in final judgment and final redemption of his people.
Colossians 2:9, Philippians 2:5-9, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 4: 14
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit co-exists with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is a gift given to physically indwell Christians when they are baptized. He is a deposit from God the Father guaranteeing Jesus’ return. His role in our life is to help and guide us in sanctification (holiness).
John 14:16-17, Romans 8, Ephesians 1:13-14, Galatians 5:16-26
Humankind
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God in that person.
Psalm 139; Genesis 1:26-27
Life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, and the physically or mentally challenged and every other state or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life.
Psalm 139
Marriage
We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one biological man and one biological woman, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within that union. Further, the marriage relationship is a depiction of the intimate relationship that God shares with his church and is therefore holy and sacred in God’s eyes. Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a biological man, a biological woman, and Himself, the Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the elders / ministers / staff / and members shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one biological man and one biological woman. Finally, the facilities and property of the church shall only host weddings between one biological man and one biological woman.
Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-33
Sin
We believe that all humankind that has reached an age of awareness, have sinned and fallen short of God’s demand for holiness. Because of our sin, the consequence is death. There had to be a sacrifice for that sin to meet the demands of the law. God, in his infinite love and mercy sent his Son to be that sacrifice.
Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21
Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the gospel. God showed us His grace through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. It is this message, the gospel, that calls people to believe in God’s power to save, turn from their sins, confess Jesus as Lord, and be immersed in water, reenacting the death, burial and resurrection, thus being “Born Again” to new life. This is the message that was preached in the first century beginning with Acts 2 and how the people responded to this message.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 6:1-6; Acts 2; Galatians 3:26-27
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.) We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
The Church
We believe that the saved make up God’s universal family called the church. While on earth, Jesus predicted He would build His church. The church is simply those individuals who by faith are saved. When one is born again one becomes part of this unique “called out” group of people.
Matthew 16:16, Ephesians 3:14-21
Eternity
We believe that Jesus will return some day. In the meantime, we live expectantly for Jesus' triumphal return. When Jesus returns all of God's people both alive and dead will be gloriously transformed.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Cor. 15:51-54
Gender
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.)
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.) We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
The True God as Trinity
We bear witness to the one true and living God, one God in three persons, revealed through the Bible as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God
God's plan for the universe is to bring about, through Jesus Christ, a transformed creation wholly governed by God, from which all evil and suffering will be banished and in which God will live with redeemed humanity for ever.
The Bible as the Word of God
The Bible tells the universal story of creation, fall, redemption and new creation, and thereby shapes our worldview. We receive it as the word of God spoken through human authors and believe it to be true and trustworthy in all it affirms. We depend upon it as the revelation of God's identity, character, purposes and actions and submit to it as supremely and uniquely authoritative for our belief and behavior.
God as Creator
The universe is the good creation of the one living God and reveals God's existence, power and glory. Human beings are created in the image of God, male and female, in order to love, worship and obey God, to relate to one another in love, justice and compassion, and to exercise wise dominion over creation.
Human Sin
Humans have sinned by rebelling against God, rejecting God's authority and disobeying God's word and so are alienated from God, one another and the created order. Sin deserves God's judgment and leads to eternal separation and judgment from God. The effects of sin and the power of evil have permeated the fabric of creation as well as all cultural, economic, social, political and religious life.
Human Worth
Though distorted by sin, the image of God remains the basis of the uniqueness, dignity, sanctity and equality of all persons without distinction, from womb to death and beyond. God loves and cares for all people in their cultural and ethnic diversity and has reached out in grace to save them through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
From before the creation of the world, God the Father chose us and blessed us in his Son, Jesus. We depend entirely upon the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, our King and Rescuer. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, who shares our humanity, having been born of Mary, whom conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As the Son of God, Jesus came to make God known. As the Servant of God, Jesus came to undo the corruption of humanity and the divine curse on creation caused by the first man, Adam. He came to liberate us from our devastating self-love and to rescue us from the consequences of our ongoing willful refusal to love God and others. Jesus fulfilled the promises made by God to Israel and realized all that Israel was called, but failed, to be. He gave us a glimpse of the world to come, calling the people of God to follow him and to demonstrate the goodness of his rule by their shared lives.
The Life of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Messiah uniquely appointed by God to bring the blessing of salvation to the world. God took our human nature in Jesus Christ, who taught and modeled the new life of the kingdom of God to which he calls his disciples. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus lived the life Adam and the rest of humanity could not live.
The Death of Jesus
Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus died the death that Adam and the rest of humanity deserve to die. On the cross he endured and exhausted God's righteous anger against our rebellion, paying its penalty in full. In his death on the cross he took upon himself the sin of the world, bearing its full cost and penalty so that we are put right with God through his grace by faith in Christ alone. On the cross Jesus also entered into our suffering, defeated the powers of evil and accomplished the reconciliation of all creation.
The Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus rose physically from the dead, proving the effectiveness of his death. In his bodily resurrection he defeated death and became the forerunner of redeemed humanity. The resurrection is the promise and beginning of God's new world.
The Reign of Jesus
Jesus returned to his father in heaven, from where he now rules over all creation. He sent his Spirit to apply all that he achieved on the cross. The Spirit equips us as God's people to live for Christ and speak of him so that others might submit to his gracious reign. In this way Jesus sovereignly gathers his church as he rescues those the Father has given him. Through his ascension he is exalted as reigning Lord, and at his return he will execute God's judgment, destroy Satan, evil and death, and establish the universal reign of God.
God the Holy Spirit
The Bible testifies to the Holy Spirit's activity both in creation and redemptive-history, empowering action for gospel liberation and justice. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and judgment, leads to faith and repentance and unites believers to Christ, making real in them what Jesus has accomplished. Through Christ, God's Spirit is poured out on all believers enabling them to live in unity and to bear the fruit of holiness, Christ-likeness and practical obedience. The Spirit gives gifts and power to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel, discern truth, pray effectively and prevail over the forces of darkness.
The Church and God's Mission
The church stands in continuity with God's people in the Old Testament, called through Abraham to be a light to the nations, shaped and taught through the law and the prophets to be a community of holiness, compassion and justice, and redeemed through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church exists to worship and glorify God for all eternity and is commissioned by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to participate in the transforming mission of God within history.
We live together in union with Christ as his church. God is littering the world with local expressions of this church. We celebrate our cultural diversity while enjoying unity in Christ. These churches are a means of grace to a needy and dying world. God has given us the task of making the good news of Jesus known to those without God and without hope. Our community life points ahead to what God has in store for his world. So, by word and life, we model and offer reconciliation to those alienated from God by their willful rejection of him. We call people to turn from despising God and urge them to trust in Christ.
As those welcomed, forgiven and accepted, we become a community of those who welcome, forgive and accept. We respond to the gospel in baptism, expressing that we have become part of the people of God. The Lord's Supper is the meal we regularly share together to celebrate the work of Christ and express that we continue to be part of the people of God together. Our shared life proclaims the Lord's death until he returns to make good the invitation to his eternal banquet.
The Restoration
We are waiting for the arrival of a new heaven and earth, which God will bring about through his transforming power. A day is coming when Christ will come again to establish his reign of justice and freedom. He will create the home of righteousness which his people crave, banishing forever sin, Satan and death.
In renewed bodies in a renewed creation, we will live as God's people in unbroken relationship with God and each other. At the center of everything will be the one God, eternally self-existent as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the creator and sustainer of all that is. His character is constant and his purposes unchanging. He will be all our glory. This will be life as it was meant to be lived – life in all its glorious and satisfying fullness.