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[/cmsmasters_column][cmsmasters_column data_width="1/1" data_animation_delay="0" data_border_style="default" data_bg_size="cover" data_bg_attachment="scroll" data_bg_repeat="no-repeat" data_bg_position="top center" data_shortcode_id="glibxt07ja"][/cmsmasters_column][cmsmasters_column data_width="1/1" data_animation_delay="0" data_border_style="default" data_bg_size="cover" data_bg_attachment="scroll" data_bg_repeat="no-repeat" data_bg_position="top center" data_shortcode_id="rol05o08lh"][/cmsmasters_column][/cmsmasters_row][cmsmasters_row data_shortcode_id="turgel3k3" data_padding_bottom_mobile_v="0" data_padding_top_mobile_v="0" data_padding_bottom_mobile_h="0" data_padding_top_mobile_h="0" data_padding_bottom_tablet="0" data_padding_top_tablet="0" data_padding_bottom_laptop="0" data_padding_top_laptop="0" data_padding_bottom="50" data_padding_top="0" data_bg_parallax_ratio="0.5" data_bg_size="cover" data_bg_attachment="scroll" data_bg_repeat="no-repeat" data_bg_position="top center" data_color="default" data_bot_style="default" data_top_style="default" data_padding_right="3" data_padding_left="3" data_width="boxed"][cmsmasters_column data_width="1/1" data_shortcode_id="ht38z2fqf" data_animation_delay="0" data_border_style="default" data_bg_size="cover" data_bg_attachment="scroll" data_bg_repeat="no-repeat" data_bg_position="top center"][cmsmasters_heading shortcode_id="llt13unkbq" type="h2" font_size="70" line_height="65" font_weight="default" font_style="default" text_align="center" margin_top="20" margin_bottom="40" animation_delay="0"]Vision & Mission[/cmsmasters_heading][cmsmasters_text shortcode_id="kgsbg13nc2" animation_delay="0"]
Vision
At Faith Alliance Church, our vision statement is to,
“Joyfully bring glory and praise to our Savior Jesus in all we do.”
It is our desire that this is the heartbeat of every person in our community of faith that is following after Jesus. We believe this way of living is a glimpse of heaven on earth, this is the abundant life that Jesus came to bring! Let’s look at the statement a little closer:
“Joyfully…” – This is really important. Too often in the western world today Christians are portrayed as bored, uninspired, and grumpy. Throughout scripture we see time and again that God is the source of joy, overwhelming joy. A living relationship with Jesus gives us joy because we know his love now and joy because we have an indestructible hope for the perfect life to come. The joy of the Lord is so powerful that we are even told to, “rejoice in our sufferings.” At FAC we believe there is no greater thing than knowing Jesus, he leads us into a life of joy!
“Glory and praise…” – Jesus is worthy and deserving of all glory and praise. Scripture says that everything was created through Jesus and for Jesus. When we fulfill our purpose of worshiping Him then we can begin to know true joy and peace in this life. It is a powerful testimony and a beautiful image of God’s love when an entire community of believers unite in glorifying and praising Jesus – that’s our aim at FAC.
“To our Savior Jesus…” – Jesus is many things, but we choose to celebrate the reality that he is the Savior of the world. This is not only a primary focus at Faith Alliance, but it is at the core of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. God the Father offered up his only Son so that every person to ever live could have the opportunity to become a beloved child of God. If Jesus has set you free, you know this is worth celebrating! If you’re exploring the faith or desire to know more about freedom in Christ, we’re praying that you will join us to experience more of what it means to follow after Jesus.
“In all we do…” – We don’t believe in compartmentalizing faith. Church isn’t only on Sundays and Jesus cannot be put into a box. Christians don’t take vacations from Christian living, it’s our greatest joy to pursue Jesus at all times. This means that we want to create a culture where all followers of Jesus understand that they can worship Monday – Friday at work just as much as they can Sunday morning at church, we can worship in how we speak, parent, invest, vacation, and much more. All of life is worship, we’re hopeful that what we do as individuals who are part of FAC and what we do corporately as a church in our community, region, and world is all done in a way that Jesus is pleased with us.
Mission
To see every follower of Jesus going and making disciples who are engaged in Christ-centered discipleship that is marked by loving sacrificially, leading always toward Jesus, teaching God’s word, and praying for one another daily.
We trust that every person who has a healthy relationship with Jesus is going to desire to share the Good News with others. The activity of sharing about Jesus is called making disciples, this is what Jesus told his followers to do before he ascended to heaven, we’re doing all we can to obey that command. At FAC we emphasize the truth that God’s Church is made up of many parts, every single person has a place and a purpose in God’s family. It is the goal of our leadership team to continually be equipping and mobilizing all people for active ministry in the world. Our mission communicates how we plan to participate in discipleship once we are in relationship with someone who desires to live for Jesus. While each of these principles will always be present, the way that people express them will always look different. Let’s break down the four core components:
Love. Lead. Teach. Pray.
Loving sacrificially: John 13:35 says that the world will know we are disciples if we have love for one another. In the context of that writing it means that they will know we are disciples by the way we love other Christians. This does not support a neglect of love for the world, Jesus teaches that we are to love our enemies, it only means that we will especially love those who are followers of Jesus – they’re family, we’ll do anything for them! Our goal is that we have a community of faith that doesn’t only attend church in the same place every week, but we truly love each other. We are willing to give time, resources, and energy to growing in faith together. We endure hardships together and we celebrate successes together. We’re here to love sacrificially.
Leading always toward Jesus: In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul says, “imitate me as I imitate Christ.” This should be the goal of every Christian, that we can extend that same offer to the people we have the opportunity to lead toward Jesus. Discipleship is not only sharing knowledge, it’s not only scripture memory and time in prayer, it is doing life together. If there is someone we can help know more about Jesus we’re going to invest in their life. We’ll share meals, we’ll invite them into our homes, we’ll let them know we’re not perfect, we will talk about how Christians are to live in a world that is filled with people who don’t care much about obeying what’s taught in the Bible. Because we are always in pursuit of Jesus, if we ever lead anyone we will always be leading them toward Jesus – he is our goal, knowing Jesus is the prize.
Teaching God’s word: This is at the core of Jesus’ final command to his followers, “Go, make disciples, and TEACH THEM to obey all that I have commanded…” We believe the Bible is accurate and true, it is completely trustworthy. By teaching and obeying the word of God we are on the path to bringing Jesus glory and praise. If we teach anything contrary we no longer teach his commands, we teach our own, which are not always perfectly accurate and true. We know there are teachings in the Bible that are not very comfortable – we don’t always want to love our enemies – our desires sometimes go directly against what God asks of us. We believe there is more freedom and a more powerful testimony in submitting our lives to his word than there is in submitting his word to our lives. We’re committed to reading the Bible, learning what it says, and applying it to our lives as disciples of Jesus.
Praying daily for one another: In 1 Thessalonians 5 we’re taught to, “pray without ceasing.” Prayer is the engine that keeps God’s Church on track. The follower of Jesus knows that God can accomplish what we cannot – he is infinitely more powerful and wise than we are. Our ability to lead well is limited and imperfect, we must continually lean on Jesus and trust him to work in us and through us. As we pray for those we disciple we welcome Jesus into the journey of growth. Jesus modeled a life of prayer, we hope to do the same. If you’re coming to discover Jesus or to grow in faith, you will be prayed for.
Core Values
Truth
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus embodies all that is true, his teachings lead us into all truth, and it is that truth that will transform lives and introduce people to the greatest joy and peace there is. This value goes against much of what western society stands for today (ie. Tolerance and relativism), but we trust that God and his word are still true. We see daily that submitting to God’s word brings healing to marriages, joy to the depressed, peace to the overwhelmed, and understanding to the lost. While we do not compromise on what we believe is true, it is our hope and prayer that we are not inconsiderate or harsh in how we communicate God’s perfect word. Scripture teaches that we should speak truth in love, Jesus told his disciples to be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. We believe those teachings from the Bible are true so we’re doing all we can to obediently apply them. Jesus says to a group of men, as recorded in John 8:31, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Prayer
Time and again we see Jesus step away to spend time in prayer by himself, he valued time away with God his Father. Prayer is one of the primary ways we are able to stay in relationship with God, he provides direction for daily living and he works for us in ways that we cannot imagine. Prayer will forever be a mystery in the minds of all people, it is the behavior that allows our eternal souls to engage the eternal creator, and through it God does amazing things. At FAC we take seriously the idea taught in scripture to, “pray without ceasing.” We see the fruit of prayer and when we don’t see the fruit we trust God is working in the way that he knows is best. We commit to pray for one another, for our corporate Church, for our communities, families, friends, and missionaries around the world. Whether we’re in a season of waiting or a season of harvest, we will continue to sow seeds in prayer trusting that God will make them grow in his perfect timing.
Discipleship
Our value of discipleship flows out of our time in God’s word and prayer. The Holy Spirit is always sending followers of Jesus out into the world to make disciples. Discipleship is the process of journeying alongside of another person in pursuit of Jesus. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul says, “what you have heard from me entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” That is a beautiful model of discipleship! At FAC we desire to raise up men and women who can lead others. Discipleship is the primary tool for maturity in Christ and leadership development. There is no greater privilege in this life than to have the opportunity to journey alongside of someone who has responded to the good news of Jesus. It is our goal to maintain a culture of discipleship where all believers are actively engaged with one another as they share life and actively seek after Jesus together.
Worship
At FAC we love to gather together and worship Jesus, we trust this will be evident to all who join us on Sunday mornings. While we enjoy worshiping with instruments and voice, we also recognize that God has designed all creation to worship him. Because people have been created in the image of God we have been given the amazing opportunity to live in such a way that our entire lives worship God. Romans 12:1 says, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.” It is when we surrender our entire lives to Jesus that we enter into the worship that God most desires. One role of the church is that we help each other live lives of worship. We learn to lead in business in ways that please God, we vacation in ways that please God, we spend our weekends in ways that please God, we handle our marriages and parenting in ways that please God – all of life is to be an act of worship. We take great joy in worship and we hope to help others discover to joy that comes from worshiping Jesus.
Mission
We believe God is always on the move. Acts 1:8 is at the core of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, it says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” From the beginning of time God has been on a mission to see people come to himself, it is our desire to be actively engaged in God’s mission locally, regionally, and globally. Beyond equipping and mobilizing people in our church to participate in God’s mission right here in rural Ohio, we also have strategic partnerships with workers around the world who are living in areas with very little access to the gospel.
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If you want to know more about our vision and mission do not hesitate to ask. If you have a desire to know more about the Christian faith or the person of Jesus, we would love to talk with you about some introductory options we have for new believers or those exploring the faith. If you’re already a follower of Jesus who wants to grow stronger in faith, or if you’re looking for a place to live completely for Jesus as you participate in the mission of God, we’re praying that you will join us if it doesn’t require you to leave a healthy church community. We are excited about what God is doing through his Church in rural Ohio and through our network of missionaries who are working around the world.
Learn more about The Christian and Missionary Alliance by clicking the logo below.
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