About Us
Our
Core Values
If our beliefs as articulated in the statement of faith lay out what we believe, our core values lay out how, in a general way, we live out those beliefs and accomplish our mission as a particular local church.
Our Purpose: This serves as the foundation for why we minister.
The Community Bible Church exists to declare and display the gospel, making disciple of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the good of all.
“Community” reminds us that God has placed us in Northfield, part of the beautiful Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts. Who is better equipped to love and reach our friends and neighbors for Christ than we who live here? Many of us have deep roots in the culture and fabric of the northeast. As the body of Christ we bring the blessings of the presence of Jesus to Northfield – His kindness, comfort, love, good works, and truthful authoritative Word.
“Bible” reminds us that God has spoken. We have in the Scripture the written revelation of all that God would have us know in this age about Himself, His plan to save us through Christ, and how He wants us to live. Truly the Bible is the path to life and blessing, a source of divine comfort and assurance; it is our authority for faith and practice because it is God’s Word.
“Church” reminds us that God has called us into a family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, committed to love and serve one another. God, our Father, cares for and protects us within the structure of a local body of believers, each gifted by the Spirit for the mutual good and spiritual health of the whole, with Jesus Christ as the Head. We recognize that there is only one universal Church, of which our local church is a part; and so, we will seek joint fellowship with followers of Christ in other churches as a display of the unity within the body of Christ and for mutual edification, service, and evangelism.
Our Core Values: These shape the way we minister
We minister through…
(1) Teaching: Sound doctrine and expository preaching prayerfully presented with sincere exhortation and reliance on the Holy Spirit to give life and understanding
We are firmly committed to sound doctrine, not as an intellectual hobby, but as a foundation for understanding who God is an dhow we can enjoy a relationship with Him forever. We know we need God’s Word, and we are bold to cling firmly to the clear teachings of Scripture (while leaving room for diversity of conscience where Scripture is silent). We are convinced that embracing God’s truth will not make us “proud and stuffy” but rather will ignite us to more readily believe God, worship Him in truth, and sacrificially engage in the work he has saved us to do.
Calling on the Holy Spirit for his life-giving and illuming power, we are committed to preaching the whole counsel of God through practical verse-by-verse teaching and proclamation of the Bible. This is often referred to as expository preaching, which in simple terms involves not merely saying something about the Bible, but actually presenting what the Bible says. A sermon should guide the listener to understand the truth God has revealed in the text of Scripture on which the sermon is based. Application and exhortation are important parts of teaching God’s Word since our desire is not only to understand the Bible’s instruction, but also to put into practice what we have learned. The goal of preaching is (1) to explain what the Bible means by what it says, (2) to display the unified coherence of all of Scripture that reveals Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, and (3) to exhort people to put their faith in Jesus Christ as savior – to see that He is good, to yield their allegiance to Him as Lord, to love and obey Him as God, to look for His return, and to give witness of him to the world.
(2) Leading: A plurality of leadership accountable to the congregation
Local churches are to be led by a plurality of elders who are considered to be true equals. The elders will share in varied pastoral responsibilities within the body. The function of elders is to lead, oversee, teach, and care for the congregation under the authority of the Lord Jesus. The leadership must come with input and accountability from the congregation.
(3) Trusting and Obeying: God’s sovereignty and our responsibility
We recognize the sovereignty of God in salvation in all our efforts of evangelism. God saves as we prayerfully proclaim the gospel. As we present the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must find our hope and confidence in God who saves, not in our methods, our own skill in presenting facts or arguments, or in our ability to persuade. As we pray for the salvation of those we love, we are expressing our complete dependence on God our Father to give spiritual life through the Holy Spirit to those who are dead in sin.
Notwithstanding our belief in the sovereignty of God in all things, we hold that each person is accountable for his or her choices. We acknowledge that there is a tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility that is difficult to reconcile. We purpose to teach and proclaim the gospel in such a way that both of these truths are evident because both are presented in Scripture.
(4) Entrusting: Passing on the faith to the next generation and to other regions
We will make it a priority to pass on the faith to the youth in our church and to encourage and support families in the Christian discipleship of their own children. We will also endeavor to instruct and mentor one another for the work of the ministry so that each will in turn be equipped to pass on the faith. It is our prayer that some in our church will go out from us to establish other churches and engage in worldwide gospel minsitry.
(5) Loving: Every member, “life-touching-life” minsitry
We are committed, by God’s empowering grace, to joyfully and purposefully practice the “one anothers” our Lord commands us to embrace. This is the ministry that all of us, as followers of Christ, are called and gifted to do. These include:
- Loving one another. - Stimulating one another to love and good deeds
- Forgiving one another - Praying for one another
- Confessing faults to one another - Teaching one another
- Encouraging one another - Admonishing one another
- Serving one another