Our Characteristics

A Christ-honoring Church –
Our entire goal and desire is to glorify Jesus Christ as our Lord, Head, and Cornerstone and to worship him alone (Rom. 11:36, Eph. 2:20). The self-centeredness of man is the root of our sin (Rom. 1:18-25). For that reason glorifying Jesus – and not mankind – is the main focus of all of scripture and therefore also the main focus of the church, the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:18, Heb. 1:1-4). That is why we strive to see that in every ministry in the church God will be glorified, praised, and worshipped. Yet not only in the church, the gathering, but in all our doings (Rom. 12:1-2, 1 Cor. 11:30). Therein lies man’s entire fulfillment – loving God and glorifying him alone (Mt. 22:37-38) – and for this reason we are a Christ-glorifying church.

A Bible-preaching Church – We are convinced of the inerrancy and the all-sufficiency of the holy scriptures, God’s infallible word (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Petr. 1:20-21). The bible alone is the foundation and authority of the church, for which reason we are focused on expositing the scriptures, since that alone makes us „complete, equipped for every good work“ (2 Tim. 3:17). It is the word of God and the Holy Spirit, which are sufficient for the growth of every believer and for all problems of mankind (Heb. 4:12). We stand on and for the Word of God alone and not for any worldly system or approach (Is. 40:8, 1 John 2:15-17) – for we are a church faithful to the Bible.

A Discipleship-centered Church – It is the command of Jesus Christ which compels us to go into the world and make disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the might of Word of God, so that they would surrender their lives to the Lord and worship him alone (Mt. 28:18-20). This command to make disciples is one of the central foundations for all our acts in the church, and in each ministry, but also in all our doings in this world, wherever we are and whatever we do (Mt. 22:37-40, Rom. 12:1-2). We intentionally live contrary to a world of transience and superficiality in that we consciously lead relationships, which have as their goal growth in likeness to Christ (Eph. 4:7-16) – for we are a discipleship-centered church.

A marriage- and family- building Church – We are convinced of the validity of the biblical model for marriage and the family, that God led one man and one woman together, so that they would be one flesh and found one family (Gen. 1:27, Gen. 2:21-25). In an age of perversion and heresy we intentionally live out the truths and obligations of scripture for husbands, wives, and children and desire to regularly teach and uphold these principles so that the marriages and families of the church of God would glorify Christ alone (Eph. 5:22-6:4) – for we are a marriage- and family-building church.

A Serving Church –

Each Christian’s calling is to serve as Christ served in order to leave us an example (Mk. 10:45, 1 Pet. 2:21). The aim here is to serve Christ himself above all others and to love him by following him wholly and obeying his word (Mt. 22:37-40, Rom. 12:1). This service is seen in the equipping of the saints, in the various ministries of the church, opposed to a self-seeking world (Phil. 2:4-5). We are convinced of the differing gifts of the saints as part of the body of Christ, to the building up of the individual members (1 Cor. 13, 1 Pet. 4:10-11) – for we are a serving church.

An evangelizing church – We are a church devoted to our immediate environment for it is the love of Christ which compels us to lay down our lives for each other and for this city (Ps. 71:15-18; John 13:34-35; 2 Cor. 5:14). Our heart is to see people continually reached with the Gospel so that they surrender their lives to the savior of the world (Mt. 28:18-20). This is our commission from God, to preach the Gospel, whether in our surroundings or in the furthest-removed tribes of this world, so that all the world might experience the saving message of the cross – that is why we are an evangelizing church.

A Counseling Church – We are convinced that the holy scriptures are the sole authority and solution for all the problems of life (2.Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:3). Our wish is to help the believers in our church with the one truth so that they can experience true healing in their hearths, reorient their lives on the one truth, and give God all the glory (Col. 1:28-29). It is the care of people’s souls which we have in focus – for we are a counseling church.

A loving Church – The true characteristic of a disciple of Christ is love (Mt. 22:37-40; John 13:34-35). This is not the worldly type of love – which is to take – but rather the biblical truth about love – which is to give (1 Cor. 13). It is giving without demanding anything in return, in order to achieve the best for the one loved (1 Pet. 4:8). It is the love which God showed to us in his son, while we were still sinners (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:7-12, 5:2). It is the Christlike love which should permeate our church in its ministries and relationships – for we are a loving church.