A Community of Christ Followers Called to Know, Love, and Serve God and Others
Our vision speaks to two important topics: identity and calling.
Identity: A Community of Christ Followers
Simply put, we are Christians who follow Jesus. We are a community of people from different backgrounds whom God has called together to plant Living Stone Church. We are fathers, mothers, children, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends. Church is not a building, but the people of God gathered together to worship and proclaim the Good News of what God has done for us in Christ!
Calling: Called to Know, Love, and Serve God and Others
When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” he responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:36-37). In other words, our whole being is to be devoted to God. We believe that God is calling us to a holistic approach to the Christian life. We desire to Know (Head), Love (Heart), and Serve (Hands) God with all that we have.
Jesus did not simply tell people how to relate to God as if Christianity was some private experience that did not affect the rest of our lives. He followed the greatest commandment by saying, “The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:38). Therefore, we are also called to Know, Love, and Serve others. This happens in the context of Christian community - in the local church. We worship God together and we do life together. We are also sent out by Christ into our communities to be His witnesses.
We are Known by God
Therefore we…
Are Guided by God’s Word
The Bible is our ultimate authority in all that we do. The Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is foundational to our preaching, teaching, and worship. We seek to know God and make Him known through the faithful proclamation of His Word and encouraging one another to “let our lights shine before others so that they will see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Pursue Genuine Relationships
We desire to live out the “one another” imperatives in Scripture by spending quality time in community. Knowing others takes time and we want to provide opportunities for genuine relationships to be built and fostered. This includes relationships with those in our church and with neighbors and co-workers who are not a part of our church.
We are Loved by God
Therefore we…
Worship Him with Our Whole Lives
We wholeheartedly believe that Sunday worship with God’s people is vital to a healthy and growing Christian life. True discipleship happens in community and we prioritize corporate worship. At Living Stone Church, the faithful preaching of God’s Word and observance of the sacraments are central to our worship. But worship for the Christian is not reserved only for Sunday during the church service. We seek to worship the Lord with our lives by faithfully living out the truth of the gospel from Monday - Saturday as well!
Are Compelled to Love Others
Let’s face it, loving other people can be difficult and messy! When Jesus taught His followers about loving their enemies, He asked a very challenging question: “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have?” (Matthew 5:46) The gospel reminds us that we love others because God first loved us (1 John 4:19) and that the love of Christ is our motivation to live for God and share the good news with others (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
We are Served by God
Therefore we…
Seek the Restoration of All Things
The fall of humankind in Genesis 3 brought sin and death into the world, but God did not abandon His creation to utter destruction. We are still His image bearers and are still called by Him to be good stewards of His creation as we patiently and prayerfully wait for God to make all things new (Romans 8:18-28; Revelation 21:1-8). We look for opportunities to point people to the goodness and glory of God in His creation. We also seek to impact our communities and neighborhoods by seeking justice and reconciliation that flows out of the reality of what God has done for us in Christ.
Proclaim the Gospel through Word and Deed
Our name, Living Stone Church comes from 1 Peter 2:4-12. We are reminded that we are to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (v. 9) and to “keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (v. 12). Christ has called us and sent us out as His witnesses to share the truth of who He is with our words and with our deeds!