Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
- Matthew 16:24 NIV
So what does it mean to be a Christian?
In theological terms, a Christian is someone who has accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior, relies on Him alone for the forgiveness of sins, does not trust in their own efforts to please God, and has chosen to follow Jesus as a committed disciple. The word "Christian" appears only three times in the Bible, emphasizing the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ rather than just believing in God or performing religious rituals. Being a Christian means striving to live a Christ-like lifestyle by allowing the Spirit of Christ to work in one's life and following Jesus' example of serving, sharing, and helping others. A Breath of Praise Community Church focuses on principles such as discipleship, self-improvement, leading by example, and reaching out to others through evangelism.
The church plays a crucial role in the lives of believers as it provides fellowship, encouragement, and a platform for worship and service. Church members are called to love one another, worship the Lord both publicly and privately, serve God using their gifts, obey His commandments, and support the ministry financially. The church also emphasizes prayer as the lifeline of the community and aims to cultivate a worship culture that invites God's presence. Additionally, the church is focused on discipleship with an urgency for Jesus' imminent return, aiming to embody a healthy community of believers through humility, hunger for spiritual growth, and holiness in their walk.
If you have any specific questions about these theological concepts or the mission of A Breath of Praise Community Church, feel free to ask!
Principles For Christian Service
In obedience to the Word of God, we strive to carry out our mission in our daily Christian practice. To this end, we adhere to these four principles below:
Discipleship - Follower of Christ & Student of the Scriptures. By being a follower of Christ and a student of the Scriptures, we learn more about God and His will thus improving our own conditions as we are transformed into His likeness.
Witnessing - As we learn and grow closer to God He wants us to share Him with others. We do so by witnessing, through our living, what we have learned as students. While we will always be students of the scriptures, we must move to the dual role of a witnessing-disciple.
Servant Leadership - Example Setters. We are all "Living Letters" of Christ to all who see our lives and read them. Although we realize that none are without sin, each of us should be striving to live a life that pleases God. We recognize that the world, even those that we are not aware of, look to us for guidance and we must lead by example.
Evangelism - Soul Winners. This takes us back to the Great Commission and our mission statement. Every disciple of Jesus Christ is called to reach the lost and become fishermen of Men.
Ask God, through prayer, to lead you to the place within His body where He wants you to serve. In the book of I Corinthians 12:12-31 the Apostle Paul tells us that there are many members that make up the body of Christ. Each member has a specific role or duty to perform. All members are vital to the body and no one member is more important than another.
Through the active participation in one or more ministries, you will find that God can do a
mighty work in, with and through you. You will grow in Christ through participation in the worship experience, Sunday School, Bible Study and other forms of Christian development offered here at A Breath of Praise Community Church. Your personal prayer life and Christian study time will also determine your Christian growth.
We are a church family where all are accepted for who we are, forgiven for what we’ve done and loved because of Christ. As we move forward in God’s Will we are persuaded that He has already made the way and fought the battles. We claim the victory but know that the work must be performed by us. We as a church are committed to rolling up our sleeves and doing a mighty work for the Lord.
God has given us a vision and while we may not be able to see it with our natural sight, we as His people will not be deterred because we walk by faith and not by sight. For that reason, and because God is with us, our future is bright.
The Church
God calls believers into fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Believers are told to assemble together to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:25). Jesus in His instruction to His disciples gives us the purpose of the church in what is known as the Great Commission. There He states:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV)
The responsibility of the church is to spread and share the good news of the Gospel throughout the world. To that end members of the church have the privilege of serving God and their fellow man. Some of the basic responsibilities of church members (Christians) are as follows:
Love the church: (Ephesians 5:25) Just as Christ loved believers, the church, believers are to love one another (the church). There must be love among and between members of the church. Christ set the example in this area by giving Himself for the church. We as the church ought to give of our time, talent, and resources to the church.
Worship the Lord. (Psalm 95:6, 96:6, 150) God desires the worship and praise of His people. The church is meeting the place where believers assemble to offer worship and praise to God as one. Worship and praise of God are both public and private (Matthew 6:6, Luke 4:16). The church is the physical location where believers can offer uninterrupted worship and praise to God.
Serve the Lord. (Luke 22:21, John 9:4, I Corinthians 10:31, 15:58) God calls all believers into service. God has placed within each believer a gift that is to be used to bring Him glory. In service to the church, we are to use those God-given gifts.
Keep God’s commandments. (John 14:21, John 15:10, 14) By adhering to God’s commandments believers show their love for God. While no one is sinless all believers should always be striving to remain obedient to the Word of God.
Support the ministry. (Proverbs 3:9, Malachi 3:8-12, Luke 6:38, II Corinthians 9:7) Believers provide the financial assistance needed to sustain the operations of the church. We must give financially as God has prospered us. By properly giving to the church we give to ourselves. How? When believers give to God He blesses them in return.