“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” - Revelation 4:11
Mission Statement
In a world and a time when there is so much change and confusion, and everything seems so convoluted and mirky, we want to provide come clarity about where our church is and where we are headed. There are some foundational truths that we have stood upon and we just want to say, these things have not changed in our 25 year history and they will never change! To capture well this unwavering commitment to Christ, we have developed a new Mission Statement that speaks to our vision, mission, and purpose as a church. At CBF, it is our vision to Equip One Another to Bring Glory to God!
Revelation 4 & 5 provide a beautiful picture of how awe inspiring our God truly is! Our God is big, and everything else is small and pales in comparison to Him! Because our God is the sovereign, supreme, omnipotent creator of all the universe, He alone is worthy of our worship. In fact, the very reason He created humanity was so that He would have worshippers to glorify Him. Paul says it well in II Corinthians 5:9...
Revelation 4 & 5 provide a beautiful picture of how awe inspiring our God truly is! Our God is big, and everything else is small and pales in comparison to Him! Because our God is the sovereign, supreme, omnipotent creator of all the universe, He alone is worthy of our worship. In fact, the very reason He created humanity was so that He would have worshippers to glorify Him. Paul says it well in II Corinthians 5:9...
"So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him."
Our mission as a church is not only to glorify God, but also to equip others to glorify Him. God has designed us to live in community with one another and to encourage one another to please God. Ephesians 4:1-16 teaches us to build one another up into maturity and unity of the faith. Therefore, not only is it our mission to bring glory to God, but the Scriptures are clear that we are to equip one another to bring glory to God as well!
From this statement flow six core commitments that define who we are as a church and provides the means to accomplishing this vision, mission, and purpose.
From this statement flow six core commitments that define who we are as a church and provides the means to accomplishing this vision, mission, and purpose.
Core Commitments
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
- Ephesians 2:1-10
CBF is Totally Committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Ephesians 2 speaks clearly that every single person enters this world spiritually dead. This means that we are all born separated from God. Because we are all void of life in Christ, we all naturally follow the world's philosophies and ways of thinking, the Devil's evil schemes, and our own selfish desires. Romans 3:10-12 says we do not possess the capacity to follow Christ or to even seek after Him. All of humanity is spiritually dead and sinful and without hope in this world apart from Christ.
"But God, being rich in mercy!" Thankfully, the story does not end with the bad news; rather the Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of good news! God is rich in mercy and grace and He loves me and you so much that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. He knew we were all sinners, enemies of God, but He chose to shed His blood on the cross for us anyway. He demonstrated His great love for us through paying the penalty for our sins. In His grace, He breathes new life into our hearts, giving us the faith we need to believe and exercise faith in Him, and He raises us from the spiritual dead to newness of life! This work of God in us is fully a work of His grace and is nothing we can accomplish on our own.
As a church, we are committed to sharing this gospel of Jesus Christ as an essential element in every one of our ministries. However, we do not want to stop here with the gospel. We believe the gospel extends beyond just the start of the Christian life as it is infused into every aspect of the Christian life. Titus 2:11-14 says,
"But God, being rich in mercy!" Thankfully, the story does not end with the bad news; rather the Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of good news! God is rich in mercy and grace and He loves me and you so much that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. He knew we were all sinners, enemies of God, but He chose to shed His blood on the cross for us anyway. He demonstrated His great love for us through paying the penalty for our sins. In His grace, He breathes new life into our hearts, giving us the faith we need to believe and exercise faith in Him, and He raises us from the spiritual dead to newness of life! This work of God in us is fully a work of His grace and is nothing we can accomplish on our own.
As a church, we are committed to sharing this gospel of Jesus Christ as an essential element in every one of our ministries. However, we do not want to stop here with the gospel. We believe the gospel extends beyond just the start of the Christian life as it is infused into every aspect of the Christian life. Titus 2:11-14 says,
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
The gospel actually trains us how to put off our sin and put on holiness. Marriage struggles, parenting struggles, relationship conflicts, forgiveness, anger, anxiety, fear, shame, guilt, and any other problem finds its help rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. All of the Christian life is shaped and influenced by the gospel, and for this reason, CBF will remain totally committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ!
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." - II Timothy 3:16–17
CBF is Totally Committed to the Bible! Paul tells Timothy that the entire Bible is "God-breathed." This means that as we read the words of the Bible, we are not just merely reading words that men wrote. We are reading words that are spoken straight from the lips of God Himself (II Peter 1:20-21). Because these are God's words and not just man's opinions on how we should live, the Bible is authoritative for us. This means that we are to submit ourselves to whatever God says in His Word. The Bible is inerrant, meaning that there are no errors in the Bible and it never contradicts itself. The Bible is also relevant for us today. The relevance of Scripture spans all time periods and all cultural boundaries. It is also one of our deepest convictions that the Bible is totally sufficient for us and speaks to our deepest needs. We love how II Peter 1:3-4 describes the sufficiency of God's Word and His work in the Believer.
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - II Peter 1:3–4
Also notice how profitable the Bible is. Paul is very intentional about the order in which he presents the points of profitability in the Christian's life. He says that the Bible is profitable for teaching. God teaches us what to think and how to think about God, ourselves, others, and the world around us. It teaches us absolute truth! The Bible is also profitable to reprove us, or show us where we are wrong. As normal, sinful people, we often miss the mark, do things we shouldn't, or we neglect to do the things we should. The Bible lovingly reveals to us where we are wrong. However, God in His loving mercy and grace also says to us in the Bible how to correct our wrongs. He tells us what repentance looks like. He tells us how to put off sin, be renewed in our minds and thinking, and how to replace our sinful habits with Christ honoring beliefs, thoughts, words, actions, and emotions. The Bible then goes on to further train us in righteousness. Through this fourfold process, the Bible tells us everything we need to know to live a life pleasing to Christ. Because of this we are totally committed to the Bible!
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - I Thessalonians 5:16–18
CBF is Totally Committed to Prayer! In fact, the Bible tells us specifically that it is the will of God that we be committed to prayer. Prayer is simply talking with God. When God saves us, He initiates a relationship with us. God speaks to us through His Word, and we speak to Him through prayer. And just like with any other relationship we have, it is important to talk to and engage with Him. This is an important aspect of the Christian life because prayer reveals dependence upon God. If we do not talk with Him, we are essentially saying we do not need Him. However, He is a God who loves us and satisfies our needs and longings, and we must continually talk with Him.
The Bible teaches us to talk with Him in a number of different ways and reasons. We can pray prayers of adoration where we adore Him and who He is. We can pray prayers of thanksgiving where we express our gratitude for who He is and what He has done. We can pray prayers of confession and repentance where we admit to God that we have sinned, ask His forgiveness, and ask for His help to turn around and live in a holy direction. We can pray prayers of requests or supplication where we ask Him to help us and provide for our needs. We can pray prayers of lament where we express to God the deepest pains of our hearts. Or we can pray prayers of intercession where we talk to God about the needs of others and ask Him to work powerfully on behalf of another.
There are many ways in which we can talk to God and there are infinite things in which we can talk to Him about. Because it is the will of God that we pray without ceasing, we want to be intentional about talking to God both as individuals and as a church family. In humble relationship with God, we are totally committed to prayer!
The Bible teaches us to talk with Him in a number of different ways and reasons. We can pray prayers of adoration where we adore Him and who He is. We can pray prayers of thanksgiving where we express our gratitude for who He is and what He has done. We can pray prayers of confession and repentance where we admit to God that we have sinned, ask His forgiveness, and ask for His help to turn around and live in a holy direction. We can pray prayers of requests or supplication where we ask Him to help us and provide for our needs. We can pray prayers of lament where we express to God the deepest pains of our hearts. Or we can pray prayers of intercession where we talk to God about the needs of others and ask Him to work powerfully on behalf of another.
There are many ways in which we can talk to God and there are infinite things in which we can talk to Him about. Because it is the will of God that we pray without ceasing, we want to be intentional about talking to God both as individuals and as a church family. In humble relationship with God, we are totally committed to prayer!
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:19–20
CBF is Totally Committed to Discipleship! One of the most fundamental commands in the Bible is for us to make disciples of Jesus Christ. This simply means that Jesus is telling His followers to make more followers of Him. The first step in our commitment to discipleship is that we must first be disciples. Before we can make followers of Jesus or teach others to follow Jesus, we must be following Jesus ourselves! The next step is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and lead people to faith in Him. After all, one cannot follow Christ if they do not first have a personal relationship with Him. The third step is to teach people how to follow Christ by teaching them to obey all that Jesus and His Word has commanded us.
It is our desire to be intentional about the discipleship process and to take seriously this command to teach others to follow Christ. We are to grow in holiness and we are to help others grow in holiness just as Peter says in I Peter 1:13-16,
It is our desire to be intentional about the discipleship process and to take seriously this command to teach others to follow Christ. We are to grow in holiness and we are to help others grow in holiness just as Peter says in I Peter 1:13-16,
"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'”
It is also important to understand that our commitment is to all people! This discipleship process must start in the home with parents discipling their children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). This process continues throughout the church as we teach people all the way up to our Seniors. We do not want anyone to be stifled in their growth because we are all in a process of growth and change until the Lord takes us home to Heaven. In order to obey the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will remain totally committed to discipleship!
"Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2
CBF is Totally Committed to Genuine Care for People! We are committed to not just talking to people about truth and pointing them towards Christ. We are committed to “getting down into the muck and mire” with people and walking with them, hand-in-hand, leading them all the way to the hope and help of the Savior! We are not interested in "playing church" and offering people empty platitudes. Because we believe that there is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Word of God is totally sufficient to speak into sin and suffering, we want to offer people help that will truly make a difference in their lives. This is the fundamental reason why we are a biblical counseling ministry. We do not just want to be a church that says we help people, we are a church totally committed to providing genuine care for people!
"And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." - Mark 16:15–16
CBF is Totally Committed to Serving the Church Globally! Not only do we want to have these commitments in our own church building and community, but we want to share these commitments all over the world. We want the nations to hear of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word. We want to be in prayer for our missionaries and the people they are discipling and for whom they are providing genuine care. We are not only committed to our local community, but we are totally committed to supporting missionaries who are serving the church globally!