The Providence Vision
The church I serve, the Providence Canadian Reformed Church, recently adopted the following document. In the weeks ahead, I hope to have a series of sermons on biblical texts that tie into each of the key elements of this vision.
The Providence Vision
We aim to preach and witness to the good news of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, first among ourselves, and then through the communities in which we have been placed by our Father’s providential hand.
Putting the Vision into Action
We rely entirely on the almighty God’s grace and power. With his help, we endeavour to make this vision reality through the following means:
- Magnifying Jesus Christ in public worship, particularly in our administration of the Word and sacraments
- Moving congregation members to maturity and ministry within our church community
- Moulding congregation members into active witnesses to our neighbours and the nations
- Motivating our youth to an active interest and involvement in mission inside and outside our own community
Our Core Values
We are biblically grounded. We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. We joyfully submit to its authority in all areas of life.
We are worshippers of the Triune God. We believe with the historic church of all times and places that there is one God, eternally consisting of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We are gospel centered. We believe the gospel is that good news which announces Jesus Christ as the Saviour of undeserving sinners. This gracious message transforms believers into people who love God and want to joyfully live for him out of gratitude.
We are prayerfully dependent. We believe prayer is a means God uses to create in us a greater sense of dependence on him. We believe it is also a means God uses to accomplish his will in this world. We therefore call upon God in prayers of faith, trusting his love for us and his sovereign power.
We are outwardly focussed. We believe our community is a mission field. We do not exist for ourselves, but for the glory of God and our neighbours’ salvation.
We are family oriented. We believe the family is foundational to building a strong church community. Therefore, we seek to grow families in grace through the encouragement of regular family worship, church catechism classes, and marriage enrichment resources.
We are confessionally connected. We earnestly hold to the Ecumenical Creeds (The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed) and the Three Forms of Unity (The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort). We are a confessional church and so we cherish these documents as faithful summaries of the Word of God. We hold them forth to the world with gratitude for the doctrines we find in them.
