We believe that the church, the Body of Christ in the earth, is the apple of God's eye and the love and desire of God's heart. God not only takes pleasure in His people individually, but corporately as well.
He delights in the saints assembling in one mind, offering prayer, praise and worship as with one voice, lifting up and exalting the name of Jesus. We believe that God has definite and distinct purposes for the corporate gathering of the believers. Some of those purposes are that the church might become:
- A place where a fresh, challenging word is preached through God's ordained servants, (John 8:31 -36).
- A place where the Holy Spirit is moving in the midst; convicting, changing, refreshing and renewing each believer, (II Chron 15:8; Is 40:30-41; Eph 4:23).
- A place where there is proper use of spiritual gifts to strengthen, encourage and build up each believer in the many-membered Body of Christ, (I Cor 12:4,7; Rom 12:3-8; Eph 4:7-16).
- A place that gains the reputation as an accessible assembly where all those genuinely seeking God's help, God's ways and God's encouragement can come, (Is 4:1-6).
- A place providing a framework for creating and beginning to lead God's people into the flow of His ordained changes, (Mt 9:16 -17; Amos 3:7; I Cor 14:7-8).
- A place of the significant corporate expression of the church in every given locality for the God-ordained purpose of influencing their community for righteousness, (Mt 28:18-20; Dan 12:3; Mt 5:13 -14)