Our Vision

Rooted. Growing. Reaching.

We want to be a church that glorifies and worships God in a way that is active, relational, and transcendent.
Glorifies: 
The glory of God is the primary purpose of the church, and ultimately of all humanity.  Thus, the primary vision is to instill the glory of God and the worship of God in the hearts of every person. Whether its doing missions, learning scripture, or sharing love, it all points back to his honor and glory.  (1 Corinthians 10:31; Philippians 2:9-11; Romans 11:36; Psalm 72:19; Isaiah 43:7)
Worships: 
Worship is to ascribe to the Lord worth and value.  It is when we declare who he is to him and to the world.  We can worship him through singing, praising, thanksgiving, giving of our possessions, and ultimately offering up our lives to his glory, and living a life worthy of Him. (Psalm 33:1-3; Psalm 5:11; Psalm 103:1-4; Isaiah 12:4-5; Hebrews 13:15; Genesis 4:4; Exodus 35:21; Deuteronomy 16:16-17; Romans 12:1, Isaiah 26:8)
Active: 
Glorifying and worshipping God requires participation.  It is active and ongoing.  Whether it is Paul and Silas singing in the prison cell, or the widow putting in her mite for an offering, or Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, glorifying God isn’t just thought – it is action.  We as the church can’t just be bystanders who watch God be glorified and approve of it, we have to take part. We have to be active. (Mark 12:41-44; Genesis 22:12-14; Acts 16:24-26; Psalm 86:12; Psalm 71:8; Psalm 150)
Relational: 
We don’t worship God in a vacuum.  Our worship of God is tied directly to our knowledge of, and experience with him.  The more we know him and see him, the greater our worship of him.  Thus, worship is revelation of God and response to God.  (John 4:21-24; Revelation 4:11; Psalm 100:1-5)
Transcendent: 
Worship is beyond our personal walk with him.  When we worship and glorify God, we join in with all of heaven, and all of creation to declare the goodness, grace, and glory of our God, Savior and King.  When we worship, are part of something far bigger than just ourselves.  (Psalm 19:1; Revelation 5:13; Nehemiah 9:6)
 

We want to be a church in which every member is growing in their faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, through spiritual community, biblical equipping, and accountability.
Every member: 
The church is one body.  Each person is vital to its health.  Thus, it is important that every person that is a part of the body of Christ to have a deep abiding faith. (1 Corinthians 12:14-20)
Growing in Faith: 
To grow in faith isn’t just about gaining head knowledge.  It’s about growing in trust to the Lord.  It’s about saying no to self and yes to the Holy Spirit.  It’s about obedience and surrender.  It’s about love. (2 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 11:6, 2 Thess. 1:3, Luke 8:14-15, Colossians 1:9-10)
Power of the Holy Spirit: 
Without the spirit calling us, strengthening us, leading us, convicting us, and challenging us, we will not grow.  If a church or a person becomes what God desires it will be because the Spirit of God has acted to do something that only he can do.  (John 14:26; Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31; John 16:8; 13-15; Acts 11:12; Acts 20:22)
Spiritual Community: 
No man is an island.  If we are going to grow in our faith as individuals, we need the church.  We must have encouragement, accountability, family, and if we are going to make an impact for the gospel we need unity.  For this reason, spiritual community is vital to growth. (Hebrews 10:24-25; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 4:11-13; John 17:22-23; Romans 12:10-13).
Biblical Equipping: 
Growing in faith is a spiritual action that that requires the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but there is also a part for each believer to play in the process.  Primarily, we must be a people who are soaking in and living by the Word of God.  The Bible is God speaking to us on how to live, how to worship, how to serve, and more.  It shows us who God is, what he desires, and how to walk in our faith.  It is vital to every believer.  We as the church has a responsibility to study, seek out answers, and sharpen our gifts through the Word so that we can be a more effective tool in the hands of God. (1 Timothy 4:7-8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17;  Hebrews 4:12-14; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:9)
Accountability: 
There are many ways a believer can grow in their faith, but if the church is to be fully submitted to the Lord, it requires a full surrender from his people.  One major way the enemy keeps that from happening is by pulling us to keep our sin, fears, doubts, and struggles in the dark where they can’t be seen or dealt with.  For that to change, it will require a work of God in the life of the church, but it will also require accountability within the body of Christ.  When we humble ourselves before the Lord and one another and share our struggles, sins, fears, and doubts, we rob the enemy of his power and give God the opportunity to fully work in our hearts.  This creates spiritual growth.  For this reason, mutual, intentional accountability is vital for spiritual growth.  (Galatians 6:1-5; James 5:16; Proverbs 27:17; Luke 17:3; Hebrews 4:12-13)
Special Consideration: 
When it comes to the spiritual growth of children and students, God’s word gives us some special considerations with how that process should best take place.  There is a responsibility for godly parents to train up their children in the faith.  With that being the case, we as a church want to approach children and student ministry with a focus on helping parents be successful in that role.  We want to equip parents, help them be the primary example to their children, and provide them opportunities to experience God together with their children.  For those children who don’t have parents in their life who are spiritual leaders, we as the church want to take an active role in helping those kids find role model and mentors in the faith.  (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Matthew 19:13-15; Matthew 18:5-6; Psalm 78:2-4)

We want to be a church that makes a lasting impact for the gospel by creating ongoing, need-driven, evangelistically focused ministry points here in Crestview and around the world
Lasting Impact: 
When Jesus gave the great commission, it is clear that his goal wasn’t simply for people to hear the message of the gospel.  He wanted them to be changed by it.  He wanted it to take over every part of their lives.  That’s why he called his church to make disciples, those who follow after Jesus.  It is that type of impact that must be the focus of the church.  (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20)
Ongoing: 
There are times in which God gives us people to share with that we will never see again, and we should take every one of these opportunities, but by in large, most people come to Christ and grow in Christ by interacting with and spending time with people who love Jesus and are willing to sit own and share him.  In the book of Acts we see the church meeting together daily, sharing with one another, praying together and serving together.  This was the atmosphere that people came to know Christ within.  They were not only pulled into the message, but into the community of believers.  That idea of ongoing relationship needs to be at the center of our outreach efforts.  For this same reason, when the great missionary Paul came to town, he not only stood on the street corner to proclaim Christ, but he planted churches that would remain and continue the work. Paul understood that people coming to Christ required relationship, and it didn’t end when the message was over.  For that same reason, our outreach needs to be focused on creating opportunities for ongoing relationships to be built. (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Acts 14:1-28)
Need-driven: 
One fascinating thing about Jesus is that while he literally had a message of eternal consequence, when he spoke with people, his first order of business was simply to see them where they were.  Whether it was a blind man, a cripple, a woman caught in sin, or even a sinful tax collector, Jesus had a way of cutting through the noise to see the needs of their heart and life.  And, as he met those needs and met people where they were, he was able to share the ultimate message of grace.  As the church we have the most important message in the world to share, but that message has to meet people where they are – in their need.  Sometimes that need is food, or getting help moving some boxes.  Sometimes that need is a listening ear, or a welcoming spirit.  Sometimes that need is simply community.  But not matter what the need is, when we as the church look people in the eyes and show them the practical love of God, the Holy Spirit uses that grace to open their hearts to hear the life-changing message of the gospel.  Thus, our desire in outreach is meeting needs and showing love in practical ways so that hearts can be open to hear the message of Jesus.  (Matt. 9:20-22; Luke 19:1-10; John 9; 1 John 3:16-18)
Evangelistically Focused: 
At the end of the day, no matter how kind or loving we may be to people, there is a greater need that we must meet as the church and that is to share the gospel with them.  Only the gospel can give someone eternal life.  Only the gospel can bring hope.  And so, the gospel must be on our lips.  It must not be something we add to what we do, but it must be the core of what we do.  Every outreach ministry that we sponsor, or support should have a strong gospel proclamation and focus.  (Romans 1:16; John 3:16; Mark 16:15; Romans 10:14; John 14:6)
Ministry Points: 
These are simply locations or relationships from which outreach takes place.  A ministry point could be a local mission that we partner with.  It could be a location that the church has committed to invest in.  Or, it could simply be the homes of our members in which we are each reaching out to our neighbors.