Worship, Life, Mission

WORSHIP

The story of the Bible is a story of worship. Every single human being has been created to worship God. The sin in every heart and the sin in this world cause us to worship everything else besides God. When God saves a person through the message of the gospel, the heart is changed and is compelled to worship God alone. All of this points us towards the truth that a day is coming when every person will worship the one true God. When Jesus returns, every knee will bow before the glory of the Lord.

This reality is the reality that drives everything we do at First Baptist Church of Roselawn (FBR). We minister with the awareness that everyone is worshipping something, and the call of the gospel is a call to turn from lesser things to worship the living God, the God we have been created to worship. After all, worship is simply our response to what we value most. Therefore, we want to honor God as the only One worthy of our value, praise, and worship.

As a church, we make it our aim to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ and make disciples of Jesus Christ. A disciple is one who worships God and is growing in his/her relationship with God. We want everything we do as a church to serve this purpose. Everything from our preaching of the Bible to our participation in front porch outreach, from serving the community together to eating meals together, from our work places to our worship services, worshipping God is a relationship that colors all of life.

LIFE

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We were made for relationships, not only a relationship with God but also relationships with other people. This is evident throughout the Bible, from the institution of marriage in Genesis to the institution of Church in the New Testament. Life was made by God to be lived in community with other people. This is especially true of the Christian life. It is impossible to honor God and grow as a Christian without living in community with other Christians. This is why God, in his goodness and wisdom, created such a thing as the Church; Christians need each other for life and godliness. Even a quick glance through the New Testament reveals how vital community is. Most books in the New Testament are written to churches or groups of people not just an individual person. Most of the New Testament commands are directed towards “one another” – there are commands to serve one another, love one another, confess sin to one another, and encourage one another, just to name a few. There is no escaping it: we need each other.

As we seek to make disciples, we are doing so in a way that acknowledges our need for each other. The primary way this happens here is through intentionally setting our lives up to be together, to walk beside one another. Community happens where normal life happens: at home, at work, at school, with family, with friends. Biblical community is just that: biblical. We strive to make each of the elements of the community in our church centered around Scripture.

MISSION

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The mission of God throughout all of history and throughout the entire world is to make His name known through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is a call to join in this mission. The first thing Jesus said to his disciples was the command, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Part of faithfully following Jesus is making Him known to others. Not only is this the mission of individual Christians, but it is also the mission of the Church as a whole. Right before He ascended to heaven, Jesus charged his disciples, “Go 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.” We move forward in obedience to this command with confidence that the mission will succeed because the gospel will save. This is what it looks like to grow in our relationships with the world around us.

Our aim is to equip the people of First Baptist Church of Roselawn (FBR) and engage them in the mission of God in this world. This takes place on two levels: local and global. Locally we seek to serve our community through individual/family counseling, work projects, at home BBQ/Bible Studies, and other opportunities throughout the year. Globally we seek to take the gospel to the nations through financial support of missionaries of the Southern Baptist Convention, prayer, and at times supporting church plants.