Purpose

We exist to present every man complete in Christ, being empowered by His Spirit and sustained by His grace, in order that God might be glorified above all things. 

This is our purpose statement, and every word and phrase is necessary. First, the end of the purpose statement reads, "in order that God might be glorified above all things." We believe that this is every human's ultimate purpose in being created. We agree with the Westminster Catechism as it states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Therefore, everything we do has its ultimate end in that which is stated at the end of our purpose statement, namely, that God might be glorified above all things. Colossians 1:16-18 says of Christ Jesus, our Lord, "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities... all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything." 

Therefore, in accordance with that ultimate purpose, we strive to present every man complete in Christ. We believe that this was the purpose of Jesus Christ as He presented His disciples to His Father in John 17. It was also the stated purpose of Paul as he wrote to the Colossians, "And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me" (Colossians 1:28-29). Therefore, for the sake of the glory of God it is at the center of our purpose statement as well. 

We also strive to do these things empowered by the Spirit of God. Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:11, " ... whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." Therefore, in order that God alone might receive glory and no man would look simply at us, we strive to fulfill this purpose by the strength which God supplies as He empowers us through His Holy Spirit. 

Finally, we recognize that it is only by grace that we are what we are, and it is only by grace that we will ever fulfill this purpose. For that reason, even in our purpose statement we choose to publicly recognize that it is only feasible as we are sustained by the grace of God. As Paul ends every one of his letters, "Grace be with you,"¹ it is our prayer that God would be pleased to lavish His grace on us as we recognize that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). 

The manner in which we believe God wants to use us (as we seek to fulfill this purpose) is by allowing us to serve as a "channel" through which He will be able to send individuals and provisions for the advancement of His kingdom. We believe our Lord will use us, as we remain humble before Him, to "distribute His grace to the multitudes," much like the disciples in Mark 8:6. Therefore, even as we proclaim the gospel to the world and God draws them in, it is also a passion of ours to send many out from us in order that we might carry out this purpose to which God has called us (Ephesians 4:12). 

Thus, it is our desire to be a covenant community of believers, devoted to the word, prayer, fellowship, and holiness so that God (by His grace) might find us vessels "useful to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21) and entrust us to equip His saints in order that they might passionately devote their lives to the sake of His glory. 

May His grace be with us. 

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 ¹ i.e. Romans 16:20, I Corinthians 16:23, II Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 5:18, Ephesians 6:24, Colossians 4:18, I Thessalonians 5:28, II Thessalonians 3:18, I Timothy 6:21, II Timothy 4:22, Titus 3:15, and Philemon 25.