|
Every
church has its distinctives -- practices or
beliefs that set it apart from other groups.
Sometimes
this is confusing to people. They say, "If
the Bible is true and Jesus was who He claimed
to be, why are there so many different churches
with so many different beliefs?"
We
are optimistic enough to believe that will all
the differences in beliefs and practices, most
Christian congregations still agree on 90-95% of
Christian teaching, and that the other 5-10% we
do not agree on falls in this category of
"distinctive".
While
we get our name from Jesus of Nazareth, you
might be asking what in the world is a
modern-day Nazarene? Well.....
We
are not Baptists, but like the Baptists, we
believe in calling people to repentance and to
witnessing to their new life in Christ through
public baptism.
We
are not
Presbyterians, but like the
Presbyterians, we believe in the power of the
preaching of the Word Of God to bring about
change in people's lives.
We
are not Lutherans, but like the Lutherans, we
believe in salvation through Jesus Christ on the
authority of Scripture alone, in salvation by
faith alone and in salvation as gift of God's
grace alone.
We
are not Charismatics -- No, we do not
"speak in tongues" in our services --
but like the Charismatics we believe in the
gifts of the Spirit, who gives people the power
to live a Christlike life and to make a real
difference in their world.
We
are not Episcopalians -- although John Wesley
was a lifelong Anglican -- but like the
Episcopalians we take worship seriously (we just
choose to be a little less "formal" in
our worship services).
We
are not Quakers or
Moravians, but like these
pietistic groups, we believe in living a careful
life that testifies to the watching world that
we belong to the Family Of God.
And
we are not United
Methodists, although we have
our roots in the Methodist tradition that grew
out of John Wesley's revival movement in the
1700's. We have good fellowship with our United
Methodist "cousins", but we are
organizationally separate for historical
reasons.
We
are a warm and friendly group of people who
desire, with God's help, to live holy lives that
bring honor and glory to Him. In three words our
theology is "JESUS IS LORD!" We look
to the Bible as our primary source for direction
in our worship and our lifestyles.
We
are life-centered in our teaching and sensitive
to the needs and concerns of others.
We
give people opportunities to put their faith in
to action through various avenues of service.
We
are honored to take our place among the many who
are called Christians.
We
laugh and cry together, rejoice and grieve
together, grow together, and walk in faith
together.
We aim to be a family for all who love Jesus,
the Nazarene.
We
want you to know there is room for you in the
River Valley Community Church. As we reach our
to our community, we can share our talents and
abilities. Come Join Us! |
