ABOUT US


 

LIVING WORD VALUES

 

Values influence the things we do and the way we do them.  Values shape the atmosphere and activity of the chPicurch.  They give a church her distinctive personality.

    • We value the importance of keeping a singular focus on the person of Jesus.
    • We value heartfelt worship.
    • We value the Bible as a Living Word designed to reveal a Living God (John 5:39).
    • We value mercy.  Jesus demonstrates mercy; we worship in response to His mercy.  We want the atmosphere of the church to be shaped by mercy; a place where we can be open and honest about our struggles, recognizing that we all stand in need of mercy.
    • We value the ministry to the poor as a hallmark of Christ-likeness.  Jesus went out to the least, last and lost: physically and spiritually poor. He let the outsider become the insider!
    • We value relationship, friendship, intimacy, communion with God and each other.  The church is not primarily an organization…it is an organism—a relational network.
    • We value giving away whatever we receive from God.
    • We value equipping the saints for works of ministry.  Christianity is not a spectator sport.
    • We value effectively communicating the good news of Jesus in word and deed to those who have been disillusioned by the “church enterprise.”
    • We value a non-hype style of ministry.  We value simplicity and doing ministry in an atmosphere of joy.

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    LIVING WORD MISSION AND VISION

     

    Mission Statement: To build a healthy and purposeful worshiping community poised to reach this generation with the radical Gospel of Jesus, and discipling them to become fully devoted and contagious Christ-followers.

     

    Vision Statement: To create a Christian missional fellowship with one another and Jesus that lives among the non-Christian community; to let the light of Jesus shine through each member in order to touch the lives of those around them; to bring them to the feet of Jesus and the fellowship of His body, the church; and to teach them to walk in His steps.

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    FAITH STATEMENT

     

    In keeping with the Lutheran Reformation, we hold to the Confessions and believe in the three "Solas": Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Fides (Faith Alone), and Sola Gratia (Grace Alone). We are in total agreement with what has become known as"The Apostle's Creed", as well as the two other Ecumenical Creeds--The Nicene and Athanasian. Our congregation's "Faith Statement" describes in-depth what we believe concerning our Awesome God and our relationship to Him:

    I confess my affirmation of the Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, which I believe to reflect Christian orthodoxy and the clear teaching of Holy Scripture. In addition, as a member of Living Word
    Church, I make the following confession of faith my own:

     

    I believe in one living and true God, the Creator and Lord of the heavens and the earth. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, equal in power and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

     

    I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, yet one Messiah, the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

     

    I believe that Jesus Christ came down from heaven, was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father, and was crucified for my sins. He suffered, died, and was buried, and He rose bodily from the dead on the third day. As the God-man, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His people. At His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

     

    I believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry every believer in Jesus
    Christ. He is an abiding Helper, Teacher and Guide. I believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the Biblical gifts of the Spirit.

     

    I believe that I, along with all men and women, am a sinner by nature and choice and was under condemnation. I am now accounted righteous before God only by the merit of my Lord and Savior Jesus
    Christ, through faith in Him alone, and not by my own works or deserving.

     

    I believe that I have been born again by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit now lives in me, producing faith, holiness, love and power.

     

    I believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, without error, in all that they affirm, and as the only infallible rule for my faith and practice.

     

    I believe that the church is intended by God to be a worshiping community of believers and a missional community seeking to extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

     

    I believe Christ has given two sacraments to the church: water baptism and the Lord's Supper. These are more than commandments given for the church to obey, but are means of grace that the Spirit uses to draw us intimately into a relationship with Jesus.

     

    I believe in the personal, visible, appearing of Christ to earth and the consummation of His Kingdom; in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked.

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