Ministry Distinctives

God is supreme (Isaiah 46:9)! He is our entire focus! He alone is worthy of all praise and honor. He is the reason the church exists. We seek to lift up the greatness and glory of God in all that we do (Romans 11:33-36) without compromise (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:6-8, 12-17, 21-26; 51:6-7; Psalm 8; 1 Corinthians 3:18-23; 10:31).

There is only one gospel (Galatians 1:8) and it is central to all that we are and do. It is the matter of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3). The message of the gospel is timeless and unchanging. It is the focus of our daily lives and it is the only message of hope for the world (Romans 1:16-17).

We believe that God’s word is the best and highest that we have to offer people. We are committed to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 3:15). For this reason, we are committed to primarily preaching expository sermons through entire books of the Bible, although we will take seasons to address the needs of the body through topical sermons. In our preaching, we believe the Word of God is for our transformation, not simply our information, and as such we will strive for application and life-change (Hebrews 4:12).

The church is only really growing when people are becoming Christians. Calling people to follow Jesus is the heart of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). As a result, our focus is on reaching people with the good news of the Gospel. We desire “conversion” growth, not “transfer” growth. We desire church growth through people experiencing genuine conversion as new creations in Jesus Christ. We realize that God, in His sovereignty, may move other Christians to serve in MVCC. We welcome these people if their hearts resonate with our vision and if they have sought to preserve the unity of the church they have come from.(Matthew 4:19; Luke 19:10; John 17:18; Acts 2:39-42; 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; 2 Corinthians 5:18-22; Colossians 1:3-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:8).

The Gospel message calls people to repent and be reconciled to God (Matthew 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). As we seek to proclaim it through our lives and our words (1 Thessalonians 2:8) we need to be wise in our approach (Colossians 4:5). Without changing the message of the Gospel, we seek to bring its power into the culture. This requires understanding the culture(s) we live in and seeking innovative ways to communicate the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). We believe every follower of Jesus should be equipped to actively live out the mission to share the Gospel and lead people to Christ. This is often best accomplished when small groups of believers work together to pray and engage those in their spheres of influence (Matthew 4:19; 9:37-10:42; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-24; Colossians 4:2-6; 1 Peter 1:13-16).

We were created to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23), which means worship is a way of life for the Christian and involves everything about us (Romans 12:1). As a significant part of this life of worship, our churches are committed to providing gathered worship settings and congregational singing where God’s people praise Him in spirit and in truth.

IN SPIRIT: By cultivating a freedom of expression as God’s Spirit engages the hearts of His people and empowers them to use their gifts and voices to worship Him with excellence (John 4:23-24; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:18-20).

IN TRUTH: By singing songs that celebrate and declare Gospel truths and promote a high view of God and His glory (Psalm 9:2; 95:1; 100:1-2; 150:1-6; Romans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Hebrews 2:12; Revelation 5:6-10;)

See more about our Music Ministry below.

We were created for relationship, first for relationship with God, and then for relationship with each other (Matthew 22:36-40). We believe that every Christian is to be experiencing dynamic, intimate relationships with others in the body of Christ (Acts 2:42-47). These relationships are the arena where all of the “one-anothers” of scripture are experienced and where we are made more like Christ by learning to put others above ourselves. Through these relationships, we learn to become more like Christ through serving others and being served in times of need. This is the true outworking of the New Commandment of Jesus in John 13:34-35. As we love one another, we show the world we are Jesus’ disciples, which allows us to effectively reach others for Christ. The world should be attracted to the love and joy that God’s people have amongst themselves. We are committed to foster these relationships through small group communities (John 13:34-35; 17:13-21; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 5:5-6; 12:12-31; Ephesians 2:19; 4:25-32; James 5:16; Hebrews 3:13-14; 10:19-25).