Our Mission

The great commandment (Deut. 6:4-5; Matt. 23:36-38) instructs us to love God with everything we have: heart, soul, mind, and strength. The great commision (Matt. 28:19-20) commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. These two primary imperatives from scripture provide the foundation for all we want to do and be at The Church in Caronport.

Seeking the Lord and making disciples are basic and foundational. However, each church will use different language to express how they live that out in their particular situation. Below are some of the specific areas we believe God is calling us to emphasize in our context.

Devoted

It’s important to know what we affirm or what we’re committed to. However, when it comes to where we stand with God, these terms fall short. God is not a principle to be affirmed or a cause to be committed to. Scripture doesn’t tell us to make God a priority. It tells us to love him. The language of devotion strives to express the covenant bond of love which is our only proper response to all that God has done for us.

Seeking

There is a sense, especially in our contemporary culture, in which seeking can mean wandering aimlessly. This isn’t the way the Bible uses the word when, over and over again, it instructs us to seek God in all his goodness, righteousness, and faithfulness. In seeking God we seek that these things should characterize us as well.

The Triune God

Belief in God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has historically distinguished orthodox Christianity externally from other monotheistic religions and internally from various cults and heresies. Therefore, along with our ancestors in the faith we confess that we believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth; in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.

Revealed in Scripture

We live in an age where many see truth as constructed (often based on experience and feelings) rather than received. However, even so, we continue to affirm that we know the truth about God and how we can relate to him through revelation. That revelation comes to us in the Bible which tells the history of God’s interaction with humanity culminating in his ultimate self-disclosure in Jesus Christ. It is to this source which we continually return to get our bearings as to who God is, who we are, and how we should live in this world.

Nurtured

Nurture speaks to the fact that growth in Christ-likeness doesn’t just happen. Making disciples involves a commitment to a high level of involvement in the lives of others. When a church is functioning well, we find ourselves part of a chain: receiving from those who are further along in their walk with the Lord and also pouring into those who are coming after us.

Kingdom Service

Our church is uniquely located on the campus of a Christian college which, for decades now, has been a place where callings are discerned and training for ministry imparted. However, whether short-term students or long-term residents, we want all who are a part of our congregation to know that serving within the body is something that happens “right here” and not just “out there.” As Pastor Josh frequently reminds us, when it comes to doing the Lord’s work in our midst, there is no “they.” It’s up to all of us to serve one another in love and so do the Lord’s kingdom work together.