The Lord is blessing Sovereign King Church with growth and we thank God for this growth. It is important, though, in times of growth to remind ourselves of our commitments as a church so that we do not lose sight of our mission.
Our mission statement is helpful: Sovereign King Church will be a church united around the confession that Jesus Christ is King while proclaiming the gospel of the King and seeking to construct all of life under the commands of the King.
This mission has three main components-confessing, proclaiming, and constructing. Each word teaches us about who we are to be as the Church. But one of the things it teaches us is that Sovereign King Church is focused on being what the Church has always been. We are church united in Christ, built on His word, and in proclaiming the gospel.
In other words, Sovereign King Church is committed to being "Nothing new." It is easy to chase after the newest fad or the next big thing. It could be easy to constantly appeal to the culture in an attempt to be relevant and to attempt to entice people to visit and join. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with being relevant because we believe the word of God is always relevant. The problem occurs when being relevant and appealing is the goal rather than faithfulness. When that happens, the new thing might just be plain old compromise with sin. At Sovereign King Church our commitment to being nothing new is not a commitment to being stuck in rote traditions without any purpose. It is not a commitment to doing things the way they have always been done because they have always been done that way. Instead, it is a commitment to follow the old path of the people of God. It is a commitment to be faithful to the teaching of scripture held throughout the years by the faithful of God. Sovereign King Church is a church committed to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. We believe this faith is most accurately represented by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Sovereign King Church is committed to teaching and preaching in harmony with this confession.
Sovereign King Church is also a church that is committed to preaching the whole counsel of God. Sovereign King Church believes that all of the Bible is God’s word. It is always true and applicable to every area of life. The Westminster Confession rightly says that the Holy Scriptures are "the rule of faith and life." We are not ashamed of any part of God's word and we ask Christ to strengthen us in this commitment. Where scripture and our thoughts, feelings, or way of life meet, our thoughts, feelings, and way of life must give way. We are committed to preaching from God’s word on every area it touches without dulling its message. Whether it is on issues like economics, politics, sexuality, hospitality, history, family, relationships, work and vocation, we believe that God’s word is the supreme judge. It's principles, promises, and commands must be obeyed. You can and should expect, God’s word to be treasured and to be taught in a way that confronts both the sins of those outside and inside the church.
God’s word says that love is to be the hallmark of a Christian. We are to be known for our love for the brotherhood. Love is not just an emotional buzzword thrown about like in a pop-song. Biblical love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, that leads to action on behalf of its object. At Sovereign King Church, we will strive to love each other as Christ has taught us. When someone is in need, we will do due diligence to help each other. We will visit and comfort each other in sickness and in grief. We will love each other by instructing each other in God’s word. We love each other by speaking truth to each other. We will strive to have charity and forgiveness towards each other when we are sinned against. At the same time, we will not hate each other by allowing sin to go unchecked in each other’s lives. We will with mercy and graciousness seek to push each other towards holiness. You are familiar with the phrase "if you see something say something." While exercising Christian tolerance and patience, this phrase is helpful for us as a church. If you see a brother caught in a sin, then with all humility and gentleness help your brother out of the ditch. We must not a church that sweeps all our problems under the rug. Eventually the rug wears out and begins to stink. Love each other enough to speak to each other with truth and grace. And love each other and Christ enough to receive correction. This will make or break Sovereign King Church. Therefore, We must be a Church That is Committed to Loving Each Other in Word and Deed.
Sovereign King Church is Committed to Being On Mission. Someone once said, “You can’t follow a parked car.” Our God is a God on mission, and he requires us to be on mission. Sovereign King Church is not an insular group content with rigid ceremonies that have no meaning. We believe that we gather for worship so that we can then go out and serve Christ faithfully where ever he calls us. Sovereign King Church will not be a parked car. We will be engaged in ministry in the neighborhoods, in the nursing homes, at the state house, at places where babies are murdered, and in our own homes. Sovereign King Church believes that it has the duty to proclaim Christ’s reign in the public square. We will strive to be faithful to disciple you so that you can disciple the nations. As we grow it becomes important to remember this commitment. Pastors and elders will find much of our attention focused on you. We will be working to build you up, confront your sins, teach you the faith, and minister to you. But this focus is so that you will be equipped for the work of the ministry. God's calls each one of us to the work of ministry. We all have work to do to build not just Sovereign King Church but the kingdom of God. We are not a country club or a retirement home for the saints. We are not even just a hospital for sinners. We are military outpost that has the hospital to heal sinners along with the training fields to equip them for kingdom work.
Sovereign King Church believes that God expects believers to hold each other accountable. The Church and in particular the officers of the church have been given the responsibility to protect the purity of the church in doctrine and in moral character. We believe in church discipline in both its informal and formal forms.
Informal discipline happens all the time, through the preaching of God's word, a quick chat with an elder after church, fellowship at the pastor's house, a call from an elder, teaching in a bible study, and the loving conversations between each one of you. Its the encouragement to press on in the faith, the warning of a possible temptation you may face, a plead to stop a certain sin, or even this post.
Formal discipline is when the informal isn't being heeded and the elders as a body/court are needed to make a judgement. We believe that this church discipline should be transparent and done with accountability. As a member you can expect that there will be accountability for both the members and officers of the church. One way that this happens is through association and partnership with other churches. Sovereign King Church is united for mutual accountability, discipline, and gospel work with other churches. This association is sometimes called a Presbytery. This means that in instances of disagreement within the church or disagreement over church discipline there will a process of appeal to like-minded elders from several churches that oversee all of the churches in the Presbytery. Sovereign King Church is a member of Evangel Presbytery. Sovereign King Church believes that God expects believers to hold each other accountable while working for the peace and purity of the Church.
This means that we must be truly committed to Christ and His church. Sovereign King Church is not a perfect church. Just as we do not desire but do expect that you will sin, you should also expect that we are an imperfect church. We are a church made of people with indwelling sin that must be overcome by the Spirit of God. We will strive our best to be obedient to God’s commands. We will seek to love you and care for you as God calls us to do. That said, we will not be able to meet your every demand and preference. People come with all kinds of preferences for what they want in a church, some of them good and some bad. We will not meet all of your preferences even if they are all good. The truth is no church will be able to meet every preference of every member. We will strive to meet the preference of our Savior. Church members should be committed to work through differences with each other and with the leadership of the church with charity and love. Church isn't disposable. We don't take our ball and go home when troubles happen. We have to love each other. As we grow, it means our love must grow. When a family has their first baby, they wonder how they could ever love anyone that much. But when they have more children, the love doesn't divide, it multiplies. Sovereign King Church, we must multiply our love for each other. Don't grow weary of doing good.
Be united around Christ. He is the Sovereign King. Proclaim His word. And Construct our lives on His word.
Our mission statement is helpful: Sovereign King Church will be a church united around the confession that Jesus Christ is King while proclaiming the gospel of the King and seeking to construct all of life under the commands of the King.
This mission has three main components-confessing, proclaiming, and constructing. Each word teaches us about who we are to be as the Church. But one of the things it teaches us is that Sovereign King Church is focused on being what the Church has always been. We are church united in Christ, built on His word, and in proclaiming the gospel.
In other words, Sovereign King Church is committed to being "Nothing new." It is easy to chase after the newest fad or the next big thing. It could be easy to constantly appeal to the culture in an attempt to be relevant and to attempt to entice people to visit and join. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with being relevant because we believe the word of God is always relevant. The problem occurs when being relevant and appealing is the goal rather than faithfulness. When that happens, the new thing might just be plain old compromise with sin. At Sovereign King Church our commitment to being nothing new is not a commitment to being stuck in rote traditions without any purpose. It is not a commitment to doing things the way they have always been done because they have always been done that way. Instead, it is a commitment to follow the old path of the people of God. It is a commitment to be faithful to the teaching of scripture held throughout the years by the faithful of God. Sovereign King Church is a church committed to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. We believe this faith is most accurately represented by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Sovereign King Church is committed to teaching and preaching in harmony with this confession.
Sovereign King Church is also a church that is committed to preaching the whole counsel of God. Sovereign King Church believes that all of the Bible is God’s word. It is always true and applicable to every area of life. The Westminster Confession rightly says that the Holy Scriptures are "the rule of faith and life." We are not ashamed of any part of God's word and we ask Christ to strengthen us in this commitment. Where scripture and our thoughts, feelings, or way of life meet, our thoughts, feelings, and way of life must give way. We are committed to preaching from God’s word on every area it touches without dulling its message. Whether it is on issues like economics, politics, sexuality, hospitality, history, family, relationships, work and vocation, we believe that God’s word is the supreme judge. It's principles, promises, and commands must be obeyed. You can and should expect, God’s word to be treasured and to be taught in a way that confronts both the sins of those outside and inside the church.
God’s word says that love is to be the hallmark of a Christian. We are to be known for our love for the brotherhood. Love is not just an emotional buzzword thrown about like in a pop-song. Biblical love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, that leads to action on behalf of its object. At Sovereign King Church, we will strive to love each other as Christ has taught us. When someone is in need, we will do due diligence to help each other. We will visit and comfort each other in sickness and in grief. We will love each other by instructing each other in God’s word. We love each other by speaking truth to each other. We will strive to have charity and forgiveness towards each other when we are sinned against. At the same time, we will not hate each other by allowing sin to go unchecked in each other’s lives. We will with mercy and graciousness seek to push each other towards holiness. You are familiar with the phrase "if you see something say something." While exercising Christian tolerance and patience, this phrase is helpful for us as a church. If you see a brother caught in a sin, then with all humility and gentleness help your brother out of the ditch. We must not a church that sweeps all our problems under the rug. Eventually the rug wears out and begins to stink. Love each other enough to speak to each other with truth and grace. And love each other and Christ enough to receive correction. This will make or break Sovereign King Church. Therefore, We must be a Church That is Committed to Loving Each Other in Word and Deed.
Sovereign King Church is Committed to Being On Mission. Someone once said, “You can’t follow a parked car.” Our God is a God on mission, and he requires us to be on mission. Sovereign King Church is not an insular group content with rigid ceremonies that have no meaning. We believe that we gather for worship so that we can then go out and serve Christ faithfully where ever he calls us. Sovereign King Church will not be a parked car. We will be engaged in ministry in the neighborhoods, in the nursing homes, at the state house, at places where babies are murdered, and in our own homes. Sovereign King Church believes that it has the duty to proclaim Christ’s reign in the public square. We will strive to be faithful to disciple you so that you can disciple the nations. As we grow it becomes important to remember this commitment. Pastors and elders will find much of our attention focused on you. We will be working to build you up, confront your sins, teach you the faith, and minister to you. But this focus is so that you will be equipped for the work of the ministry. God's calls each one of us to the work of ministry. We all have work to do to build not just Sovereign King Church but the kingdom of God. We are not a country club or a retirement home for the saints. We are not even just a hospital for sinners. We are military outpost that has the hospital to heal sinners along with the training fields to equip them for kingdom work.
Sovereign King Church believes that God expects believers to hold each other accountable. The Church and in particular the officers of the church have been given the responsibility to protect the purity of the church in doctrine and in moral character. We believe in church discipline in both its informal and formal forms.
Informal discipline happens all the time, through the preaching of God's word, a quick chat with an elder after church, fellowship at the pastor's house, a call from an elder, teaching in a bible study, and the loving conversations between each one of you. Its the encouragement to press on in the faith, the warning of a possible temptation you may face, a plead to stop a certain sin, or even this post.
Formal discipline is when the informal isn't being heeded and the elders as a body/court are needed to make a judgement. We believe that this church discipline should be transparent and done with accountability. As a member you can expect that there will be accountability for both the members and officers of the church. One way that this happens is through association and partnership with other churches. Sovereign King Church is united for mutual accountability, discipline, and gospel work with other churches. This association is sometimes called a Presbytery. This means that in instances of disagreement within the church or disagreement over church discipline there will a process of appeal to like-minded elders from several churches that oversee all of the churches in the Presbytery. Sovereign King Church is a member of Evangel Presbytery. Sovereign King Church believes that God expects believers to hold each other accountable while working for the peace and purity of the Church.
This means that we must be truly committed to Christ and His church. Sovereign King Church is not a perfect church. Just as we do not desire but do expect that you will sin, you should also expect that we are an imperfect church. We are a church made of people with indwelling sin that must be overcome by the Spirit of God. We will strive our best to be obedient to God’s commands. We will seek to love you and care for you as God calls us to do. That said, we will not be able to meet your every demand and preference. People come with all kinds of preferences for what they want in a church, some of them good and some bad. We will not meet all of your preferences even if they are all good. The truth is no church will be able to meet every preference of every member. We will strive to meet the preference of our Savior. Church members should be committed to work through differences with each other and with the leadership of the church with charity and love. Church isn't disposable. We don't take our ball and go home when troubles happen. We have to love each other. As we grow, it means our love must grow. When a family has their first baby, they wonder how they could ever love anyone that much. But when they have more children, the love doesn't divide, it multiplies. Sovereign King Church, we must multiply our love for each other. Don't grow weary of doing good.
Be united around Christ. He is the Sovereign King. Proclaim His word. And Construct our lives on His word.