BLOG.
BLOG.
TERRACE LAKE CHURCH
TERRACE LAKE CHURCH
WHO WE ARE
About Us
At Terrace Lake we have a very clear understanding of who we are as a church. This clarity has its foundation in the word of God. Once we understood what scripture says about our calling as a church, we developed our philosophy for ministry, our mission and our values. Out of those tenants we then worked to establish our aspirations (how we will know if we are reaching toward the foundation) and our strategy for ministry.
Our Foundational Scriptures:
Mark 12:30-31 - And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
Matthew 28:19-20 - 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.
Ephesians 4:12-13 - …to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
Romans 12:1-2 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Peter 1:5-8 - For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Philosophy:
Since our greatest command is to love the Lord our God, we are therefore continually transformed by Him though sacrificial service. Since we are commanded to love others, we will therefore make disciples, equipping them to grow in maturity and unity in Christ.
Our Purpose:
Who we are: Christ-Followers being transformed by a loving relationship with God.
What we do: We glorify God by growing in Christ, making disciples in community, and loving generously.
Our Values:
Seeking Truth
We believe that God’s word is transcendent and the ultimate, living and active source of truth. (Ephesians 4:12-13, Romans 12:1-2)
Making Disciples
We invest in relationships in order to make disciples, grow disciples, and train them in disciple-making. (Matthew 28:19-20, Ephesians 4:12-13)
Loving All
We commit to loving all people as Jesus does, by meeting needs and sharing truth. (Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 28:19-20)
Serving Joyfully
We acknowledge that serving others is a calling and a privilege and we love to share Christ through service. (Ephesians 4:12-13, Romans 12:1-2)
Living Generously
We admit that all good gifts we have (time, talents, treasure) belong to the Lord and we will hold loosely to these things, offering them to God and His will. (Mark 12:30-31, Romans 12:1-2)
Our Aspirations:
-
From where do I seek truth? Do I seek to understand and apply God’s word and allow it to transform my life? When considering issues facing our world today (same-sex marriage, abortion, etc.) do I submit to the authority of scripture or some other authority?
-
Where am I in my discipleship journey? Am I investing in the lives of others, building them up to be more like Christ? Am I allowing others to care for me and speak truth into my life? Is there some training or equipping I need in order to be more effective in discipleship?
-
Do I love as Jesus does? Do I love my neighbor as myself or do I love myself more than my neighbor? Do I love my neighbor without prejudice (racially, socio-economically, spiritually, etc.)?
-
Do I find joy in serving others? When I serve others what is my motivation (recognition, guilt, obligation or fulfilling a calling to obedience and love)? When considering my current areas of service, is it all comfortable or am I getting out of my comfort zone?
-
Am I generous with my resources? Do I hold everything I have with open hands (family, money, time, skills, career, possessions, etc.)? Am I using those gifts for His purposes or my own?
Our Strategy:
Growing
Worship Services, TL Kids, TL Students, Equipping Classes
Discipling
Community Groups, Discipleship Groups, Biblical Counseling
Serving
Doorkeepers, Missions, Outreach
Our Doctrinal Statement:
The Scriptures
We believe that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, by which we understand that the whole Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by holy men of God. We believe the whole Bible in the originals is therefore without error. (Luke 24:27, II Timothy 3:16)
The Godhead
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience. (Mark 12:26, 35-37, Romans 1:3-4, Romans 8:14-15 , I Timothy 3:16, John 1:1-4, I John 1:1-4)
The Blessed Hope
We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to receive them Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto His coming, and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus. (Mark 13:1-11, John 14:1-3, I Corinthians 15:51-52, I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The Great Commission
We believe that it is the explicit message of our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved that they are sent forth by Him into the world with the primary purpose of making Christ known to the world. (Matthew 28:18-19, Mark 16:15, John 17:18, Acts 1:8)
Man Created and Fallen
We believe that man was originally created in the image of God, and that he fell through sin, and, as a consequence of his sin, lost his spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and then became subject to the power of the devil. We also believe that this spiritual death, or total depravity of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire human race, the Man Christ Jesus alone being the exception. (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:6-11, Romans 3:10-19)
Salvation Only Through Christ
We believe that owing to the universal death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again; and that no degree of reformation however great can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation, and only accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin in our place. No good resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to the rules and regulations of any church can add merit to the finished work made possible for us by Him. (Matthew 26:28, Romans 5:6-9)
Eternal Security
We believe, that because of the eternal purpose of God toward the objects of His love, because of His freedom to exercise grace toward the merit less on the ground of the propitiatory blood of Christ, because of the very nature of the divine gift of eternal life, because of the present and unending intercession and advocacy of Christ in heaven, because of the regenerating, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are saved, all true believers everywhere, once saved shall be kept saved forever. (John 5:24, John 10:28, John 14:16-17, Romans 8:29, I Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 2:8, 9, Hebrews 7:25, I John 2:1-2, I John 5:13)
The Church, A Unity of Believers
We believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the church which is the body and bride of Christ, which began at Pentecost and is completely distinct from Israel. We believe that by the same Spirit all believers in this age are baptized into, and thus become members one of another, are under solemn duty to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Matthew 16:16-18, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:5, I Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 3:14-15)
The Sacraments and Ordinances
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only sacraments and ordinances of the church and that they are a scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19, Luke 22:19-20, Acts 10:47-48, Acts 16:32-33, Acts 18:7-8, I Corinthians 11:23-26)
Christian Sexual Ethic
We teach that God designed both Marriage and Singleness for His glory, both intended to point us toward our future hope in Him, and neither as our ultimate hope or fulfillment. God designed marriage as a lifelong relationship between one man and one woman for the purposes of fellowship and mutual aid, reproduction, and sexual intimacy. Specifically, God’s design for sex is within the marriage covenant and all sex outside of marriage goes against His Word. The marriage relationship between man and woman is to reflect the spiritual relationship that exists between Christ and His Church. Singleness is uniquely seen as a gift in scripture, with which we serve Christ, within the Family of Christ. (Genesis 2:23-25, Matthew 19:6, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 1:28, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5; 25-31, Ephesians 5:22-32)