Embassy of Hope, a center-city campus of Evangel Temple Christian Center
CONNECT
1. Connecting people to Jesus the Light of Life
We as individuals first must have a change of mind and heart and follow Jesus as the rule of our living. As a person hears and experiences the goodness of God and places faith in the teachings of Jesus concerning God’s grace and truth, a person will either accept and follow Jesus or reject and continue their own path. To those that answer the call of God and by faith start following Jesus as Lord they have been given the right by the sacrificial atonement of Jesus to become the children of God. It is God who will then establish that person in Christ, and has anointed them, and who has also put his seal on them and given them his Spirit in their hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:22-23)
2. Covenant relationship to God the Father through Jesus Christ and being an active and living member of the body of Jesus on Earth.
Having answered the call of God the Father through Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior we affirm this by submitting to baptism in water and stand in agreement with the beliefs, values, strategy and structure of the Kingdom of God. We submit ourselves to God as Father through faith in Jesus as Lord and commit ourselves to a local body of believers where we can grow and serve according to the calling and gifting of Jesus in our lives.
GROW
3. Obedience to the Word of God.
The teachings in the Bible guides us daily by showing us what is wrong with our lives, what is true, and how to do what is right, (cf. 2Ti 3:16 NLT). Every teaching of a true follower of God must fit together with God’s teachings in Scripture. Everything we do, in all of life, needs to be based on the teachings of the Bible. God inspired His Word in such a way as to be relevant to everything, not just our religious practices. As we grow to become better followers of Jesus and children of the Father in Heaven, we will make a lot of mistakes along the way. People make mistakes, and every one of us has unruly behavior and wrong thinking to overcome. Embassy of Hope, a center-city campus of Evangel Temple Christian Center, must be a place where every mistake is forgiven, and where people are encouraged to keep growing—not encouraged to quit because they didn’t do it right the first time. Practice makes better.
4. We pursue a sensitivity and submission to the Holy Spirit and discovering what member we are and the gifts of service that Christ has given to each of us for the honor of the Father and His Kingdom.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living within them. We must develop our ability to hear him and follow his lead. We must learn how he behaves (by learning about him from scripture, and by taking leaps of faith to see whether he’s truly leading us or not) so that we can recognize whether he’s truly speaking to us. When he interferes with our customs and traditions, we need to let him do that, and trust that he knows what he is doing. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
SERVE
5. Compassion Ministries.
God commands us to love our neighbors (Ga 5:14) and Embassy of Hope, a center-city campus of Evangel Temple Christian Center, does this by reaching out to our neighbors in Springfield first; then our county, our region, and the world. We share our lives and the love of our Lord with them, regardless of any way they might bless us back. We focus on the people and their needs. We meet those needs regardless of what anyone might expect would be the” usual “or” proper “way for a church to behave—what we do is for God, and not to impress humans.
6. Outreach to the lost is our priority.
We take seriously Jesus commands to “go into all the world and make disciples” (Mt. 28:19). We do that by intentionally looking for opportunities to share our own story of Christ’s redemption in our lives and encouraging others to commit their lives to Him. Not because we want to grow the church, but because we know the effect that sin has on people and the love of God compels us to share how Christ saved them from their sin.
7. Participation in a lifestyle of worship.
Worshiping God is not just for professionals or talented people. Every Christian is a priest of God; every Christian can and should worship, and must learn to lead others—even people who are not yet Christians—in worship. It is through worship that we learn the most about who God is. We must also realize that worship is not just music, but the way we live out each day is our true worship. We show our love and worship by obeying our Lord’s teachings, speaking with him regularly, and loving others like the Lord loves us.