Simple?  YES!  It is supposed to be!

Glorying God is the “why” that under-girds the vision and the work of the Church. Our Mission Statement describes “what” we are doing to Glorify God, as well as “how” we do it. As the apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:9, our aim or goal should be to please Him, whether in this life or the next. Such a goal will guide and dictate our vision, purpose, process, leadership, life, activities, and motives. If what we do and how we do it is not glorifying God, completely, then we do not do it. It’s that simple.

Everything is an outgrowth of the one mission, always aimed to praise and glory in God. As we pursue this goal, we will see individual and corporate (united and in once accord) spiritual growth in Christ, manifesting in obedience of heart and body, which again returns glory and honor to our God.

The leadership of the Church is responsible for leading this body of believers into a life of personal and corporate Worship, Growth, and Ministry. Three phases, with each phase motivating an individual to the next phase, all working together to fulfill the one goal.

You may ask what we use to measure and determine if something is in fact Glorifying God or not. I have a simple answer – The Holy Scriptures. We also have two pillars of support: Church history, including those who have journeyed before us offering us help in interpreting Biblical principles; and secondly guidance, which can be sought in wise, godly council and accountability.

Our Mission Statement is based on Mark 12:29-31 – the first and second greatest commandments: "Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We are to love God with all of our heart, mind, physical strength/body, and with and from the inner soul/being of who and what we are. It is because we love HIM that we seek to know HIM. Therefore we desire to learn of and from HIM, which is discipleship. The second commandment is to Love One Another, which is a continual way of loving God. Loving others is the automatic outcome of serving and loving God first and foremost in our lives.

As individuals who are striving to love HIM with our whole being, we unite and glorify HIM as one Church body. Romans 15:5-6 tell us, "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Here is what each phase of our Mission Statement means:

• WORSHIPING GOD

Worshiping God is pursuing God, praising God, honoring, reverencing, and exalting God. It is both an individual and corporate duty (corporately refers to being united or in one accord.) Worship is to be exercised in one’s private life and publicly with other believers. Yet, worshiping God should never be a duty in the sense of work, but always viewing it as a privilege. Worship is to be expressed in both our words and deeds, proceeding from the heart.

We encourage believers to gather together and worship as one body, in one faith unto one Lord and Savior on Sunday mornings. To Him be the Glory forever.

Dictating a “style of worship” isn’t the issue in our service, but rather reverence and unity. Too often a church is more like the cheering section of a basketball game rather than the picture of worship that is portrayed in the celestial throne room in the book of Revelation. Our attention at FCBC is honoring God in our music, words, and heart, not whether we are hip enough to be relevant or solemn enough to look pious.

God has spoken in Leviticus 10:3 and said, “By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.” Thus, our worship service seeks to assist individuals and the united body to draw near to God with a holy awe, a heart of thanksgiving, and from a sincere devotion of love.

• FOLLOWING JESUS

Following Jesus is to learn and conform to His Words and Commandments, precepts, principles, and guidance. In one word: Discipleship. This denotes spiritual growth, and includes Sanctification and Service towards Him and others, bearing fruit that honors God, and draws attention to Him. This is discipleship Jesus’ way - dropping your plans, purposes, direction, and philosophies, and pursuing Jesus Christ’s path. As Jesus said in Mark 8:34, “deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Me.” Together we want to pursue Him, learn of and from Him, and conform to HIS likeness.

Discipleship is carried out in various modes. It includes Sunday school and small group Bible studies, leadership mentoring, membership classes, and evangelism training.

Small group discipleship is where the majority of pastoral care will occur. It is through classes and ministry groups that God’s people will best experience, on the receiving and giving end, the support, prayer, accountability, admonishing, encouragement, and Biblical studies that is needed to grow.

What the Lord commanded HIS apostles in Matthew 28:18-20 still applies to us today. The scripture says, " Go therefore and make disciples…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”

• LOVING OTHERS

Loving Others is the fruit of discipleship; the fruit of a life that is following Jesus. We love others through various ministries within the walls of the Church and outside the walls in the community. This includes, but not limited to, personal evangelism, “Friends-in-Need” ministry, community service, and visitation to the homebound.

The early church won their neighbors over by loving them. They didn’t have multimedia presentations and acrobatic shows; they had the love of Christ in action with the truth burning in their hearts and the gospel on their lips. The apostle Paul tells us to speak the truth in love, and that is what we are learning to do. The apostle James reminds us that true religion is reaching out to those in trouble, needing help, and all alone when he writes in his Epistle of James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

We are a church that aims to Glorify God, and that is how we formulated our Mission Statement.