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PURPOSE
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VISION
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VALUES
OUR PURPOSE
Our purpose is to grow God's family, making disciples complete in Christ by bringing people to Jesus and membership in his family, developing them to Christlike maturity, and equipping them for their ministry in the church and life mission in the world, in order to magnify God's name. (Matthew 28:19-20, 22:37-40)
OUR VISION
Our vision is no less than to win Downriver to Christ. Because God wants all to be saved, and everyone needs a relationship with Christ, reaching people with the life-changing Good News of Christ is at the heart of God's plan for our lives and His church. He is glorified when we do this. So our aim is to share God's Good News in a refreshing relevant way, focusing on the things that really matter--right relationships with God and others.
To do this, we strive to make Southpoint a church where people who have rejected church or never been to church, those who would not consider going to a traditional-style church, and those wanting to return to simple New Testament Christianity, can "come as you are" and be accepted, regardless of religious background, family situation, race or social status. We intentionally design our worship and communications to be "seeker-sensitive" so that the message of Christ is able to be understood and applied by all. Our desire is to take away unnecessary religious stumbling blocks, whether in form, language, or tradition that keep people from believing the message.
In this way, we can better be a contemporary form of the New Testament community of faith, developing each person into a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, who is equipped to share His love and message from here to the ends of the earth. Our founding minister declared on that first Sunday that God would build one of America's great churches here, where thousands will come to know the Lord.
It is the dream of a place where every person is important, and has a place of service. It's the dream of children and teens being shown the joy of loving, serving, and growing in the Lord; the dream of developing people to spiritual maturity through Bible studies, small groups, and classes; of training every member for ministry, and sending out scores of full-time Christian servants, missionaries and church planters; the dream of being a force for promoting Christian unity, and raising the character of Downriver communities in all arenas.
OUR VALUES
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WORSHIP
- "Being the church" everyday, not just "being in church" on Sundays, we seek to be enthusiastic about our faith daily. Still we stress the importance of weekly worship together to express our faith, hope, love and joy--endeavoring to be spiritually real and avoiding empty ritualism. We aim to make Sundays relevant for both the person who has long known Christ, and the one getting to know Him for the first time. To meet this challenge we use a variety of contemporary communications, including music, drama, media, and deaf ministry.
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TEACHING
- Because life change happens when God's inspired, authoritative Word is understood and applied, Biblical messages and classes aim to show how God's Word speaks to our needs for living today and prepares us for eternity. Our Lead Minister's down-to-earth, conversational approach applies the personal, practical and positive solutions from God's Word for life's questions and challenges. Free New Testaments are offered to newcomers, and a library is open to all.
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EVANGELISM
- Since lost people matter to God, they matter to us, and so we seek to be constantly reaching out to unbelievers and expanding. This is done primarily through each Christian building relationships, and personally sharing the message of Christ and an invitation to church. Our desire to win the world to Christ means we also support missionaries, both in American and foreign areas, with an emphasis on planting new churches.
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SMALL GROUPS
- Because people are best discipled in interactive relationships, where we can practice building up one another, informal groups of 3-12 people get together to develop spiritual growth, closeness to God, and caring relationships. These provide Bible-based discussions, opportunities for fellowship and prayer. Groups meet regularly for a certain number of weeks, and may be content focused (Bible book, special need, etc.), or cateogry focused (men, women, young adults, etc.).
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MINISTRY OF ALL BELIEVERS
- Understanding that God has equipped all Christians with spirtual gifts for kingdom service, we endeavor to engage every Christian in meaningful ministry and meet needs. The people are the ministers; the pastors and staff are the "coaching" ministers. Class 301 enables believers to discover their giftedness, while teaching and modeling help to train them to use their gifts in a variety of ministries. We encourage members to become involved in an existing ministry, or to find a need and fill it by beginning a new ministry.
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CHILDREN'S MINISTRIES
- Through education and nurture, every child is started on the path to maturity in the Christian faith. Nursery ministries give care for each child under 13 months. Each class is staffed with a caring, trained volunteer teacher and assistant, using solid, hands-on Bible curriculum. Sonshine Express includes singing, prayer, giving, and lessons. We also provide a children's book and video library, a Kids "Joining God's Family" class, parent-child deciations, summer vacation bible school, summer camp, Halloween alternative carnival and other fun events.
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STUDENT MINISTRIES
- Bible classes are offered Sunday mornings for Jr. High. Sr. High teens meet Sunday nights, while Jr. High teens meet Wednesday nights. Check out the "Youth Stuff - Students" page on this website by clicking here.
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PRAYER MINISTRIES
- We seek to involve every believer in personal prayer and a Prayer Force team; to make every meeting a prayer meeting; and to promote special prayer emphasis throughout the year.
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ENCOURAGEMENT
- We aim to develop encouraging relationships through social events (picnic, bonfire, banquets) and sports teams (basketball, softball, bowling, volleyball). To meet the needs of hurting people, we aim to provide support and hope, especially when needed most--during loss, crisis and illness--through hospital and home visitation, counseling, the Food Pantry and CARE Fund.
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EXCELLENCE
- God deserves our best so we desire to keep improving every area of ministry.
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