Vision and Values

  We are
forgiven sinners
set free by Jesus Christ
to be his followers,
making disciples
for him of lost sinners, and
growing disciples
together in fully expressing love

for God and people
We believe the identity and purpose of every human being is found in the love of God revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ. By God's grace we become forgiven sinners set free to be followers of Christ, filled with a humble, yet passionate, desire to make disciples for him of other lost sinners, while growing disciples together in fully expressing love for God and people in very tangible ways: Communicating Jesus' Message, Celebrating Jesus' Presence, Connecting in Jesus' Body, Cultivating Jesus' Life, and Contributing in Jesus' Kingdom. We invite you on this life-long journey.  
FORGIVEN SINNERS
We call ourselves forgiven sinners as a regular reminder that we are all rebellious, broken. lost, and equally in need of God's grace and forgiveness. We are all dead in our sins, having followed paths of self-indulgence and self-righteousness in hopeless attempts at self-justification. In His mercy, God seeks us out and meets us as we are, not as we should be, in order to make us what we were meant to be. Through Jesus Christ, God the Father reveals a powerful love that sets our lives in motion: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
 
   
SET FREE
Trusting in God's love, we have been saved from trying to obey God out of fear, guilt, or pride. Jesus' unmerited mercy and forgiveness has now positioned our hearts to love God and people out of genuine gratitude and joy. The Bible calls this love-motivated response the "obedience of faith." (Romans 1:5)
 
   
FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST
We are not ashamed to be called by the name of Jesus Christ because he is God's only Son, full of grace and truth. His love is powerful and his commands bring complete fullness of life. Therefore we seek to know and obey him more and more everyday, agreeing with his earliest disciples who said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69)
 
   
MAKING DISCIPLES
Jesus gave a clear command and call to his followers: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) We think it would be unloving to keep the good news of forgiveness just to ourselves, and so we seek to respectfully, but urgently, call lost sinners to abandon self-indulgence and self-righteousness and instead receive God's unmerited love in Jesus Christ, proclaiming a new way of living as the Holy Spirit lives in us.
 
   
GROWING DISCIPLES
This new life in Jesus gets worked through us progressively, not all at once--like a seed that grows into a tree, and like yeast that works through a large batch of dough. Therefore we intentionally nurture this transformation process of the Holy Spirit, participating with Him in putting off our old lives of selfishness and sinfulness and "putting on Christ" each day. As we grow and develop and learn to be apprentices of Jesus, our expressions of love become more deeply authentic. And when we fail, we are freed by God's grace to openly confess it, turn from it, and try again.
 
   
FULLY EXPRESSING LOVE
Jesus calls us to full maturity in our spiritual growth, and this is revealed in specific love expressions that we intentionally remember to keep us fully grounded in the Kingdom of God and responsive to the Holy Spirit. We call them our "5 C's"...to Communicate Jesus' Message, to Celebrate Jesus' Presence, to Connect in Jesus' Body, to Cultivate Jesus' Life, and to Contribute in Jesus' Kingdom. These love expressions plunge us into the lifelong pursuit to attain "the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13), reflecting the full spectrum of our Savior's character and love.
 
OUR BELIEFS
We feel it is crucial to distinguish between "essential" beliefs and "non-essential but important" beliefs. Essential beliefs are those that Christians have held to be true from the Scriptures since the beginning of the Church, and which form the basis for defining what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Essential beliefs provide the framework for unity with believers in all times and places. Everything else--while important and worthy of study and a settled, personal conviction--is not essential to our identity as Christians and ought not bring about division in the Body of Christ. Here is what we affirm as the essential beliefs from Scripture:
 
  • We believe in the one, true God, the loving Creator and Sustainer of all things, who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate--fully God and fully human in his nature--who lived a sinless life, willingly died as the only perfect sacrifice for sin, rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven where he reigns at the Father's right hand.
  • We believe Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father for eternal life except through him (John 14:6), for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12).
  • We believe we are saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, through the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, and not by any self-righteous works or moral effort to justify ourselves.
  • We believe that everyone who is in Christ has the Holy Spirit actively working within them to bring about the transformation of their inner character and outward actions in loving service to God’s purposes and kingdom. (Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:3-7; Romans 8:9)
 
  • We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:16-21; 2 Timothy 3:14-17).
  • We believe the Bible is consistent and completely reliable (Luke 24:25-27; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
  • We believe the Bible is the ultimate authority for all believers (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
 
  • We believe the Church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12) with Jesus Christ as the only true Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18).
  • We believe that everyone who trusts in Jesus is made a member of the Body by the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
  • We believe the Holy Spirit works different kinds of gifts through each believer (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) so that, together, the Church may do works of service (Ephesians 4:12) and reveal God’s good news to all people (Ephesians 3:10-11; Romans 1:1-6; Matthew 28:18-20).
 
Beyond these basic essentials we believe there is much room for Christians to differ in their interpretations of Scripture, on what the Apostle Paul called “disputable matters,” (Romans 14:1) not related to the fundamental message of salvation in Jesus Christ. These differences need not keep us from enjoying strong unity and fellowship with each other. Therefore we have no creed, and we recognize the freedom each Christian has to interpret the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, without condemnation or judgment from other believers regarding the personal convictions they hold (Romans 14:2-23).  
   

OUR VALUES

  • Love—behind every activity our motivation must be love so we avoid doing the right things for the wrong reasons
  • People—regardless of their economic, spiritual or social situation, people are more important than programs or projects
  • Transformation—emphasizing church health as well as church growth, where changed lives matter more than counting heads for attendance
  • Creative excellence with integrity—the quest to do our best can never be separated from who we are becoming; talent must be matched with character that reflects Jesus
  • Vision—staying vision-powered, not opportunity-driven by doing what fits our vision, not whatever happens to come along as the latest and greatest "cultural form"
  • Equipping—giving leaders what they need to succeed rather than being consumed by the ministry structure or process
  • Generosity—remembering it all belongs to God, and being good stewards of everything God entrusts to us
  • Servant-leadership—we lead as servants rather than serve as leaders, rejecting the world’s desire for power and the manipulative ways people are used to attain it
  • Truth AND Grace—a firm commitment to God’s holy character and standards revealed in the Bible, but humbly and lovingly expressed as we affirm we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy
  • Jesus—Jesus gets all the credit, for it is His Church, and apart from Him we can do nothing
 
   
Beloit First Christian Church
321 N. Mill Street
Beloit, Kansas 67420
785-738-3071  •  785-738-3230 (fax)