When it comes to church, there seems to be only two options: the traditional model where liturgy and tradition have high importance, or the contemporary approach where entertainment is king. Isn't there another alternative? 

We believe there ought to be a deeper purpose for church, that of glorifying God. This is accomplished through helping people have a personal and vibrant relationship with Him by an unchanging standard - the Bible. Therefore, we place a high premium on the Word of God and on the proclamation of its truths in a clear and understandable manner. We endeavor to live out our motto in everyday life: Knowing Christ and Making Him Known.

Living for God's glory through a deep and personal relationship with Him: this is...

radically

                life-changing.

Just as any structure needs a solid foundation to be stable, we know New Life Baptist Church needs a firm base upon which to build. Because the Word of God is authoritative and sufficient for faith and practice, we believe that we can derive a biblical foundation for our church from it, which will, in turn, cause solid growth in the lives of those who attend.

This "foundation" is our purpose statement. A purpose statement answers the question: "Why do we exist?" The answer to this has to be specific enough that we are able to comprehend and obey it, yet general enough that it would apply to all of our members equally. This purpose statement runs like a golden thread through the Bible, but Revelation 4:11 gives one example:

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

That idea is also communicated through the picturesque language of scripture:
Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17–18).

If your life was reduced to its basic parts - if your family was taken from you, if your employment vanished, if your ability to enjoy the many recreational activities which exist was removed, could you still say that your life had purpose? We should be able to do so, and this verse indicates that even in a time when life has been stripped of everything but life itself, we are still to give praise, honor and glory to the One who created us.

The purpose statement of New Life Baptist Church embraces this idea...We exist to glorify God.

This phrase is the foundation of our ministry philosophy at New Life Baptist Church. Upon this foundation we are building the superstructure of our church. Many churches are program based, that is, they think that they need to have various and certain programs. However, they eventually get in a rut because they lose sight of what the program was initially designed to accomplish. When this happens, people continue "doing things" without any real purpose (other than the fact that they have always done them).

Establishing programs for New Life Baptist Church is not as important as articulating what our purpose is and how we will accomplish our purpose.

The question is, what ministry priorities will we give ourselves to in order to accomplish our purpose of glorifying God? The Bible is very clear in answering this question. In Matthew 28:18-20 we read:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age." Amen.

Jesus commanded the Church to occupy its time with an emphasis upon the Great Commission until He returns. That same evangelistic thrust is seen in other passages such as Acts 1:4-8.

Unfortunately, some believers get the idea that the Great Commission has no bigger purpose other than evangelism. Some might even include discipleship into the Great Commission. However, it is interesting to note, that when we read of the Apostles carrying out the Great Commission in the book of Acts, we find that they traveled around for the purpose of planting churches. That is, they entered an area, preached the gospel, saw people saved, baptized them, and then formulated bodies or assemblies of believers called local churches.

A closer examination of Acts 2 shows that this church planting task revolved around 4 principles: evangelism, discipleship, worship and fellowship. This then, becomes the controlling principle in which we will carry out our biblical purpose. Therefore, New Life Baptist Church has adopted the ministry philosophy: We exist to glority God by knowing and loving Him (worship), and through making and maturing disciples (evangelism, discipleship).

Therefore, we at New Life Baptist Church intend to carry out our biblical purpose through the Great Commission, with the goal of establishing churches. Our focus will be New Life established through emphasis upon evangelism, discipleship, worship and fellowship, and then to endeavor to reach other areas with the goal of establishing like-minded churches. We have therefore, identified 11 priorities in which we, as a church and as individuals, will focus our time for the purpose of glorifying God. These are still biblical priorities, and that means that unlike programs, these can never change, for they are based upon the Word of God.

Our Biblical Priorities:

Worship:

1. We intend to establish God-centered worship which is joyful and reflective (Ephesians 3:21).

2. We Intend to authentically worship God which will be evidenced by the transformation of believers and conversion of sinners (1 Corinthians 2:1—5; 14:24—25).

3. We intend to grow in our knowledge and love for God and in our attitude of visionizing faith and prayer (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; Jude 1:20).

Evangelism:

4. We intend to bring our church to a self-supporting status through evangelism, discipleship, service and sacrificial giving (Matthew 28:19—20 applied in the Book of Acts).

5. We intend to develop a programs to which unbelievers can be invited and feel welcome (John 1:41, 45; 13:34—35).

6. We intend to faithfully take the good news of God’s love through Christ to our community without discrimination or prejudice (John 17:14—18; Luke 5:27—32; Romans 1:16; 10:13—17; 1 Peter 3:15).

7. We intend to actively cooperate in the establishment of other like-minded churches in our region and worldwide (Acts 13:4a; 15:36, 41; Titus 1:5).

Discipleship/Fellowship:

8. We intend to develop and encourage godly servant-leadership (Acts 6:3; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:2-3; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 4:15-16).

9. We intend to cultivate a warm and loving atmosphere to assimilate believers into the church, for the mutual benefit of all (Acts 2:46; Ephesians 4:16).

10. We intend to equip believers for Christ-like living and service with an emphasis upon expository preaching (Mark 12:30; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:16, 4:2).

11. We intend to develop a strong community of believers who lovingly participate in the growth of all its members (John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:12-16; Romans 15:14).