Our focus is love.
The Gospel
The word gospel means “good news” and is explained by the following six key truths:
God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.
(Genesis 4 – Malachi 4)
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Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
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Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John)
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Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.
(Acts – Revelation)
Certainly, there is more that can be said about the gospel, but at the core of it is the message of what Jesus did to forgive us and redeem us from our sins so that we might have communion with him.
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*Here at LCIA it's our aim to teach the -Bible-
with care and simplicity. It is time out for over- complicating things. We will just teach the gospel and let its' words clearly speak for themselves.
Discipleship
In church, we hear all about the importance of discipling others. These days it seems that discipleship is a buzzword in Christian circles. Yet, for many people (and churches), “discipleship” is a word that glorifies an idea- more than it is an action that glorifies our Lord. There is a much higher buy-in to the concept of discipleship than there is an actual production of disciples.
We believe that a disciple of Jesus is not just someone who learns from him, but someone who takes Jesus’ yoke upon them (Matt 11:29), which includes reproduction. Our fellowship strives to take on that exact mindset.
*Here at LCIA we are aware that It’s much more difficult to make disciples who make disciples. Therefore, we are committed to embracing the simple approach of getting back to the basics of Christ and His message in order to competently carry out our commission.
Community
Building community is important and it's something we believe in cultivating. All believers should want to be a part of a Christian community, to fellowship with other believers, to do life together with them, and to celebrate God with them. By nature as Christians, we are a communal people. God planned it that way, and we want to honor God’s design.
*Here at LCIA community is vital to our culture as we pursue a pure faith experience. We don't intend to be a fellowship of strangers, but a people who relates, knows and cares for one another. (See Acts 4:32-35)
Evangelism
According to a LifeWay research study conducted in 2012, 80 percent of church-going Americans who attended church one or more times a month believed they had a responsibility to share their faith. Of that same group, however, 61 percent had not shared the gospel in the six months prior to the research. The research also found that 48 percent of church attendees had not invited an unchurched person to attend church, or to a program at their church over the six months prior.
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The simple point worth noting here is that not every believer falls into this category, but there is a disturbing pattern coming into focus. Many believers just aren't very comfortable sharing their faith.
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*Here at LCIA one way we want to simplify evangelism is by making it a part of our everyday lives. In order to do so we are focused on teaching people to know what they believe and to believe what they know. When we are competent we can be confident sharing our faith.
Worship
Worship Is a Lifestyle. The first Christians disciplined themselves to a daily, worshipful, lifestyle. Worship isn’t simply an event or a place—it’s an orientation. It’s a way
of life. It’s the result of our decision to exalt God above everything else. In our fellowship, we realize and acknowledge that God is truly great and worthy of all praise.
We believe that one of the major benefits of worship is that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us.
This is why we think worship is crucial to the life of every believer.
*Here at LCIA we are convinced that worship must transcend a mere moment and begin to bleed into every part of our lives. Our view is that worship is a way of life that truly honors God and we are determined to live it.
Outreach
Hospitality or outreach is a wonderful means of not only sharing the love of Christ in a practical way, but also it provides us an opportunity to build friendships and share the gospel. To be clear, though showing the love of Christ to others through good works is important, it is not sharing the gospel.
Here we feel hospitality/outreach can be one means to that end. So to us, outreach is all about serving our local community. We want people to feel God's love through our hospitable service.
Hebrews 13:2 gives us a beautiful picture of outreach: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware."
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*Here at LCIA we are committed to seeing outreach as an opportunity to serve others, extend our Christian culture and share the love of God.
