THE MORGANTOWN CHURCH OF CHRIST
Love God. Love People.
Make Disciples of Jesus.
The Morgantown Church of Christ
We strive to follow Jesus with all of our lives, both in how we live and what we believe. As a church of Christ, we are part of a movement known as the Restoration Movement that seeks unity among disciples of Jesus by rooting everything in the Scriptures. Our aim is to restore the simple Christianity we read about in the New Testament. This means we “speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent.” All our beliefs flow from our best understanding of the Scriptures. We strive for unity in the essential doctrines of the faith, practice freedom in matters of opinion, and embrace love in all things.
If you’d like to learn more about what we believe or would like to study the Bible with someone, we would love to help you be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and be committed to the mission of Jesus!
OUR MISSION AND VISION
LOVE GOD.
We love God by orienting all our lives around following the Way of Jesus. Through the passionate pursuit of him in prayer and worship, we abide in Jesus. We deeply study the Scriptures so that we may walk faithfully in obedience to his commands.
LOVE PEOPLE.
We love people by serving the needs of our neighbors, practicing radical hospitality toward the hurting and broken, and a fierce loyalty to each other in intentional authentic relationships.
MAKE DISCIPLES OF JESUS.
We make disciples of Jesus by practicing the Way of Jesus in our daily lives and inviting not-yet-followers to follow Jesus with us. We equip followers to grow in maturity to become like Jesus. Through intentional life-on-life relationships (in environments like small groups and discipleship groups), we create space for people in every stage of the discipleship journey to grow and mature to become more like Jesus and embrace our God-given calling to be disciple-makers.
Discipleship
The invitation of Jesus is for all people to become his disciple, or follower. Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8v34-35). Being a disciple is about three things:
BE WITH JESUS
BECOME LIKE JESUS
COMMIT TO THE MISSION OF JESUS
OUR BELIEFS
We believe the Scriptures (commonly called the Bible) are the true, trust-worthy, reliable, and authoritative Word of God that directs all of our life, teaching, doctrine, and discipleship.
Psalm 19v7-11, 2 Timothy 3v14-17; 2 Peter 1v20-21, Hebrews 4v12-13
SCRIPTURE
We believe there is one God, who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the Creator of all things, he is all-knowing, perfect, and holy. We are made for his glory. He is loving, compassionate, and faithful to His people and His promises.
Genesis 1v26-27, Isaiah 43v1-7, John 1v1-18
GOD
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, who was sent from heaven to redeem humankind. He lived a sinless life, so that he could be a substitution for us in satisfying God’s demands for perfection. He defeated death and all powers of darkness in his resurrection so that we could have life. Jesus is the ultimate example to be human and obey God.
John 1v1,14,18, Philippians 2v5-11, Colossians 1v15-21, Hebrew 1v1-3
JESUS
The Holy Spirit is the Advocate promised by Jesus, who convicts people of their sin and transforms them to become more like Christ. We cannot live the life God intends for us without the Holy Spirit’s strength and guidance. The Spirit is the empowering presence of God in the life of a disciple.
John 16v8,13, John 14v6, 1 Corinthians 2v10, Galatians 5v22-25
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe all humans are made in the image of God. Humanity was created to have fellowship with God, but has been separated from him because of our sin. Only through Jesus can we be reconciled to him and live life to the full.
Genesis 1v26-28, Romans 3v23-24, John 10v10, Ecclesiastes 12v13)
HUMANITY
We believe we are saved by grace through faith. The Gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone. God created humankind, sin entered the world through humanity’s rebellion, and God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin through his death on the Cross and to defeat the powers of darkness. God’s plan is for us to respond and receive that salvation through faith, repentance, and baptism.
Romans 1v13, Romans 6v3-6, Acts 2v38, Ephesians 2v8, 1 Peter 3v21
SALVATION
We believe Jesus is the head of the church. The church is the body of Christ, called by God, and sent by God to bless the world and bring glory to God. We are called to radically love one another and to make disciples.
Matthew 16v15-18, John 13v34-35, Matthew 28v18-20, Acts 2v42-47, Ephesians 1v22-23; Ephesians 2v19-22, 1 Peter 2v4-10
THE CHURCH
When God created humankind in his image, he created us male and female. Men and women are equal in value, dignity and worth but distinct and complementary in design, roles, and responsibilities in both the home and church. Men are called to be the sacrificial servant-leaders within the home and the church. Women are called to come alongside as strong-help.
Genesis 1v26-27, Genesis 2v18, 21-24, Ephesians 5v22-33, 1 Timothy 2v11-14, 1 Peter 3v1-7
GENDER
Beginning in Genesis, and affirmed by Jesus and the authors of the New Testament, Scripture teaches that marriage is holy union between one man and one woman. By complementing one another’s divine design in marriage, a husband and wife reflect God’s image. Marriage serves as an example of the love Christ has for the church. It is only within this covenantal relationships that God has given the gift of sex. The gift of singleness is an equally holy pursuit and expression of obedience for followers of Jesus.
Genesis 1v26-28, Genesis 2v21-24, Mark 10v6-9, Ephesians 5v22-33, 1 Corinthians 7v7-8