LBF Mission and Vision
LBF Doctrinal Statement
LBF Church Polity

LBF Position Statements:
Baptism
Infant/Child Dedication
Divorce and Remarriage
Women in Church Leadership
Work of the Holy Spirit Today
The Church and Political Action
The Emergent Church Movement

Mission:
God has called us to make disciples of Jesus Christ by reaching unchurched people with the Good News of Christ, and by helping Christians grow as devoted followers of Christ who love God and others.

Vision:
Worship: Encountering God’s Presence.

We envision our corporate worship as an outgrowth of our daily passion for Christ. We believe God has called us to create varied and frequent opportunities for corporate worship that include the exposition of Scripture, meaningful musical expression, creative use of the arts, and celebration of Christ’s ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We envision worship that is passionate, honest, Spirit led, and Christ centered. We are also committed to corporate worship that is culturally relevant to the unchurched and that invites unbelievers into God’s presence.

Community: Connecting People with God’s Family

God has called us to be a church where we are growing in authentic community with each other that is characterized by sacrificial love. We believe that community most often happens in small groups through personal relationships; therefore, we are committed to being a church that creates many and varied opportunities for these kinds of relationships to occur. We believe that our level of community creates a loving, caring, and safe environment for people to find personal healing and spiritual maturity. We also believe that care in a church happens best as members bear each other’s burdens together.

Discipleship: Pursuing Christ’s Likeness

We believe that all Christians are on a spiritual journey of transformation into Christlikeness. We are passionate about helping people along in this journey no matter what stage they find themselves in. We envision a church where, under the direction of God’s Spirit, our members are investing time and energy into spiritual disciplines and spiritual friendships. We dream of being a church that helps members develop a thoughtful, biblical worldview on life, thus developing Christian values and convictions as they relate to the issues of our time.

Ministry: Empowering Every Member to Minister

We envision a church where the members truly see themselves as Christ’s ministers. We believe that the calling of pastors is to equip church members for service. We are committed to being a church where our members are discovering their gifts, talents and abilities, and then using them to serve God and minister to the needs of others. We are committed to helping our members become generous people, who live a lifestyle of giving for the sake of God’s kingdom. We are committed to being an incubator for fresh and innovative ministry ideas, continually launching new ministries that make a difference in the lives of people.

Outreach: Sharing Christ Through Relationships

We believe that the Good News of Christ is the answer to our deepest needs. We envision a church where all our members are reaching out with Christ’s Good News to their friends, family and associates, and where LBF provides culturally relevant events to bring these people to. We want our outreach to engage our culture without compromising to its values. We are passionate to create worship services that provide a safe environment for seekers to encounter the life changing Good News of Jesus Christ. We also desire that the family of LBF reach out as well into the community with acts of service. We desire to be a church that makes a difference within its community by serving the needs of that community. We are committed to reaching out beyond our culture with the Good News of Christ by sending members on short-term cross cultural experiences, sending out missionaries, and partnering with foreign church leaders. We dream of sending a tenth of our resources cross culturally to bring Christ to the nations.

We believe the Bible (a) is the divinely inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, (b) and is , therefore, the final authority in matters of faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

We believe in the Triune God, one in essence, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, coequal in attributes, power and glory and equally worthy of all obedience, worship, praise and adoration (Matthew 28:19; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 14:6,7; John 5:23; Acts 5:3-4).

We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and that He is in very truth God and in very truth man (Luke 1:30-35).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, having lived a sinless life, was buried following His crucifixion on the cross at Calvary and rose bodily from the dead; and that He is the only Savior through whom fallen man can find forgiveness and salvation (Luke 24; John 1:29; 8:46; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5).

We believe that humanity is lost and sinful and therefore needs to be saved; that the forgiveness and salvation made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross comes to humanity through personal faith in Christ, the Crucified One, and that salvation is by grace alone, not by any good works (Romans 3:10-23; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24).

We believe that the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ at salvation, distributes Spiritual gifts to each believer as He wills, and seals the believer for the day of redemption (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30)

We believe that Jesus Christ will come to this world to rule and reign in righteousness, and that His coming again is imminent and that it will be literal, personal and visible (John 14:1-6; Acts 1:11).

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are unsaved unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29; I Cor. 15; Rev. 20:4-6, 13; Daniel 12:2).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted and commanded two ordinances for His church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:17-19; I Cor. 10:16; 11:23,24; Acts 2:38; 8:34-38; 10:47-48).

We believe as Christians we are called to walk by the Spirit, not after the flesh, so our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in all things (Gal. 5:16-26; I Peter 4:11; Romans 12:1,2).

Life Bible Fellowship Church is an elder led church. The Elder Board determines all major policies for the church. These include our doctrinal statement, doctrinal distinctives, purpose, mission, vision, and major goals of LBF church as a whole.

Life Bible Fellowship Church’s Pastoral Staff have the responsibility and authority to develop procedures, goals, strategies, and structures in alignment with the Elder Board’s policy. The pastoral staff is recognized as having more accurate understanding and training regarding their specific area of ministry; therefore, they are given as much freedom as possible within the policies and parameters set by the Elder Board. The pastoral staff shall manage the administrative details of ministry programming, freeing the Elder Board from micro-management.

In general, the Elder Board is a leadership board, focusing on congregational wide issues relating to church purpose, vision, values, etc. The Pastoral Staff shall be an executive team, focusing on the specific implementation of purpose, vision, and goals within the perimeters set by the Elder board. The Elder Board operates on a 2/3 majority on most issues, and consensus on major issues such as budget, purchase of property, hiring of pastoral staff, etc.

There is a lot of confusion among people today about water baptism. Some people tell us that unless a person is baptized, he or she is not a genuine Christian, while other Christian traditions don’t even practice baptism. Some churches baptize infants; others only baptize adults. Some baptize by sprinkling or pouring water, while others demand full immersion. This pamphlet is designed to help you sort through the confusion, so you can make an educated decision about water baptism.

What is the Meaning of Baptism?
The Greek word translated “baptize” in our English Bibles is bapto or, in some cases, baptizo. These words simply mean “to dip” or “to wash.” Water baptism is an external symbol of the internal washing and renewal that takes place when a person trusts in Jesus Christ. For example the biblical writer Paul wrote, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 1:3). This is an inner reality that comes through faith in Christ.

Baptism is also symbolic of a person’s union with Jesus Christ. Paul also wrote, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:3-4). Baptism, then, is a public confession of our new life in Christ and an outer sign of our obedience to Him.

Who Should Be Baptized?
When the Christian Church was born almost 2000 years ago, the people who heard Peter’s first sermon asked, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37), to which Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ...” (v. 38). Weeks later the same thing happened after an evangelist named Philip shared the good news with the people living in Samaria: “When they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12). These verses indicate that people who were baptized had first repented of sin and believed in Jesus. One must, therefore, be a believer in Jesus Christ in order to be eligible for baptism. Nowhere in the Bible do we see infants baptized.

Why Be Baptized?
There are three important reasons for a Christian to be baptized. The first is to follow Christ’s example. A Christian is a “follower of Christ,” and Jesus Christ was baptized (see Mark 1:9-11). Jesus Christ also commanded us to be baptized. He told his followers, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The last reason is because this was the practice of the early Christian Church. While Paul was a missionary in the city of Corinth, “many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). Therefore, our reason for being baptized is to express our love for Jesus and our obedience to His Word.

When Should We Be Baptized?
Perhaps the most detailed account of baptism is found in Acts chapter 8, where Philip led an Ethiopian eunuch to faith in Christ: “Then Philip... told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’... Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him” (8:35-38). There is no reason to delay. As soon as a person puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ, that person should be baptized.

To participate in our next Baptism service, call the church office at 981-4848 or check the appropriate box on your “Keep in Touch” card during one of our weekend worship services.

The task of raising godly and healthy children in our culture today is very difficult. More and more parents are recognizing that they need help. The Bible teaches that parents are responsible to nurture their children spiritually.



These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV).

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4 NIV).

Child dedication at Life Bible Fellowship Church is a public act of parents, where they express their conviction that their child belongs to God and their commitment to raise their children in a way that honors God. This act of child dedication does not produce salvation in a child, but it is a public expression of dedication by the parents. Dedication is the parents’ promise that they will seek to nurture and raise their child in the love and truth of God. Child Dedication is also the parents’ appeal to us as a church family to assist them and hold them accountable in raising that child in a godly and biblical way.

Because of the unique nature of child dedication, parents who dedicate their children must first become members of Life Bible Fellowship Church by completing “Meet Life Bible Fellowship Church” (Seminar 101) and sharing their testimony of Christ with our leadership team. Since part of child dedication is asking the church for help and accountability, this is a statement appropriate for church members, not attenders or occasional guests.

Our Child Dedication Services are special times in our weekend worship services where we give the opportunity for parents to publicly express their wish to dedicate their children to the Lord. These Services are part of our church’s worship experience.

Due to the size of our congregation, we practice child dedication in groups about twice a year. In preparation for the Child Dedication Service, each parent who will participate must meet with one of our church’s pastoral staff members. This is to ensure that the parent(s) understand the nature of child dedication.

To participate in our next Child Dedication service, email gary@lbfchurch.com with your child's name, birthdate, photo, and which service you attend.

LBF church will never directly counsel a person to divorce his or her spouse. However, we will support a church member’s decision to divorce if his or her spouse has been involved in marital unfaithfulness (Matt 5:31-32). In such a case, we would encourage reconciliation; however, if the non-offending spouse feels that the violation is too severe, we will support the decision to divorce. We will also support the decision to divorce in cases where a Christian has been physically abandoned by a non-Christian spouse (1 Cor 7:12-20).

LBF church will recommend separation in certain circumstances, such as physical abuse, and in certain cases of alcoholism or substance abuse. In these cases, we see separation as God’s provision for the safety and welfare of the family (1 Cor 7:10-11). Separation can also be helpful at times in motivating a spouse to seek out help for such issues. Our prayer in such cases is always reconciliation.

If a member is unwillingly divorced by a spouse who does not have biblical grounds, we recognize that according to our state’s laws there is nothing that person can do to stop the divorce. In such cases, we will support the person who did not initiate the divorce.

We will remarry people who have been widowed or divorced on biblical grounds. We will also remarry people who have been divorced on other grounds before becoming Christians. We will also remarry people who have been unwillingly divorced by a spouse.

Obviously, the issue of divorce and remarriage is very complex and each case is unique. As cases come to our attention, we will always treat each on an individual basis. Our commitment is to the authority of God’s word, while at the same time communicating an atmosphere of grace and acceptance. At times members of LBF church may go against our counsel on these issues. In such cases we will try as best as we can to continuing ministering to that person.

Note: Taken from the brochure, Life Bible Fellowship Church’s Position on Divorce and Remarriage. Consult this brochure for an explanation of the biblical passages on this issue.

Ordination is a slightly more difficult issue. Nowhere does the Bible directly address ordination. Our government allows churches to ordain “ministers.” However, we believe the Bible teaches that every Christian is a minister, uniquely endowed with spiritual gifts, special abilities, and God given burdens for specific ministries. God raises up leaders to “equip” these ministers to become more effective in their service of God (Eph 4:11-12). Therefore, we do not ordain people to “ministry” in general but to “equipping” ministries. According to our by-laws, “Ordination is the local church’s recognition of God’s calling and preparation in a person’s life to a vocational equipping ministry.” Based on this definition, a person may be ordained as a missionary, church planter, children’s ministry director, prison chaplain, pastor/teacher, etc. The specific sphere of equipping ministry is defined by the ordination, and the ordination is limited to that particular area. Some vocational equipping ministries are elder functions; others are not. For instance, in our church a pastor/teacher or church planter would be an elder function. However, a prison chaplain or children’s ministry director would not be an elder function. We will ordain a woman to non-elder vocational equipping ministries provided that person has demonstrated God’s calling in that area and has received the necessary preparation to perform that ministry. We will not ordain women to elder equipping ministries. Thus, LBF church would never have a female pastor of teaching, since this person must be an elder. Licensure is essentially the same as ordination, though on a more temporary basis. Licensure must be renewed annually, while ordination is lifetime.

We believe this position best reflects the Bible’s teaching on men and women as it applies to LBF church. Different local churches have different leadership structures, and we encourage a spirit of love and tolerance among Christians who apply the Bible differently to their particular situation.

Note: Taken from the brochure Life Bible Fellowship Church’s Position on Women in Church Leadership. Consult this brochure for an explanation of the biblical passages on this issue.

Life Bible Fellowship Church is not a distinctively charismatic church, in that we do not believe that miraculous signs and spectacular spiritual gifts such as tongues, miracles, healings, and prophecy are necessarily a normal part of the Christian’s life in every generation of the church. However, neither are we an anti-charismatic church, for we believe in the perpetuity of all spiritual gifts during the church age--including these miraculous sign gifts--and we recognize that God can choose to act in any way at any time consistent with his Word.

We recognize that signs, wonders, and miracles had particular significance as the signs of a New Testament apostle (2 Cor 12:12), who were unique to the New Testament period of church history. However, we also recognize that God continues to perform signs, wonders and miracles today, the most amazing miracle being the transformation of a sinner into a child of God. We will therefore be open to God’s unique working in our church and will pray for healing of the sick. However, supernatural demonstrations of the Holy Spirit through tongues, prophecy and other miraculous gifts are not a regular part of our ministry distinctives.

At LBF church we reject the notion that the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit occurs at any time other than conversion (2 Cor 12:13). We believe that upon conversion, every Christian is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit from the point of conversion on (Rom 8:9). However, the filling of the Holy Spirit is not automatic (Eph 5:18), and every Christian must strive to voluntarily yield his or her life to the Holy Spirit’s leading and empowering. To speak of this filling as a “baptism” is the wrong application of biblical terminology. Moreover, we affirm that the genuine sign that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit is not miraculous gifting but Christ like character (Gal 5:22-25). Although spiritual gifts and extraordinary phenomenon can accompany the Spirit’s filling, the fruit of the Spirit will always accompany the Spirit’s filling.

We affirm that an important part of the Christian life is experiential. Moreover, we believe a Christian may have many supernatural experiences during his or her Christian life. However, every experience must be evaluated in light of the Bible, and no experience ought to be seen as normative for every Christian.

We encourage a spirit of love and acceptance among our charismatic, evangelical, and Pentecostal brothers and sisters in Christ who differ from us. We must not allow this distinctive to divide us from mutual love, support, and prayer.

Over the last few years, the Emergent Church Movement (ECM) has become the focus of much attention within the Christian community. Some Christians praise it as the answer to what ails the church today and others condemn it as repackaged heresies of the past. Since part of the job of our Elder Board here at Life Bible Fellowship Church is to safeguard the doctrine of our church, the ECM has been the topic of much discussion and research by board members. We will attempt to clarify our current thinking, research, and conclusions regarding this movement.

One of the major problems that immediately arise whenever there’s an attempt to discuss ECM is that there isn’t a single definition that seems to accurately capture all facets of the ECM. It means very different things to different people. And like the New Age Movement, it is best understood by its family traits or its shared characteristics. There are elements that are common to its participants. At the benign end of the scale, the ECM represents a retooling of the methods that the church uses to evangelize those who are lost. In its most malignant form, it represents a radical reformulation of essential doctrine and what it means to be Christian. It is vital that we understand that the ECM is not a monolith, but rather a movement with many different flavors.

What is the Emergent Church?
In a very broad sense, ECM is an attempt to rethink the Christian faith and practice for our life and times. From our research, here are some of the key elements associated with the ECM:

• A view of theology that is sympathetic to the post-modernist approach. Post-modernism rejects the notion of absolute truth in favor of a relativistic view. Rather than challenging the foundation assumptions of post-modernism, the ECM seeks to present Christianity to the unchurched within the context of post-modernism.
• A rejection of the post-modern approach to theology in which everything is subjective. For some, this is a reaffirmation that there is such a thing as absolute truth and post-modern’s elevation of relativism and pluralism cannot be foundational.
• A desire to move toward a more decentralized form of church organization.
• A hunger for a more authentic Christian living experience.
• A strong focus on evangelism and outreach.

When we survey these elements of ECM, we can sympathize with many of the goals. After all, what church doesn’t want its congregants to hunger for a more authentic Christian life or become more outreach-minded in their focus? Likewise, what church leader doesn’t recognize that their church has been infected with a multitude of cultural viruses? You may recognize that the last two elements sound very similar to our Life Bible Fellowship Church mission statement.

One way of breaking down the diverse thinking of the Emergent Churches is using the framework of Ed Stetzer, who serves on the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Missions Board. He sees these churches as falling into one of three categories:

Relevants are classified by Stetzer as those individuals and churches that are simply attempting to translate the gospel and its implications into an increasingly secularized culture. These churches/people share the conservative values of traditional evangelical faith and are concerned with trying to communicate the message of Christ in biblically faithful and culturally meaningful ways.

Reconstructionists, according to Stetzer, argue that the current form/structures of modern, organizational church are frequently irrelevant and unhelpful in reaching lost people. These churches/people typically hold a more orthodox view of gospel and scriptures, but they reject the hierarchical, organizational models that often accompany the American mega-church movement.

Revisionists go beyond the reconstruction of church form, structure, and method to the revision of core Christian belief. Issues such as the inerrancy of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, sovereignty of God, the substitutionary nature of the atonement, the reality of hell, and the exclusivity of Jesus are being questioned and reformulated in ways that bear little resemblance to historical, orthodox Christian faith.

Using these categories, Life Bible Fellowship Church would consider itself a part of the EC movement only to the degree that we share some affinities to Stetzer’s Relevants.

Where We Part Company
Our main difficulties with the Revisionists begin as we start to examine some of the elements of Christian doctrine and practice that they seek to question and rethink. While there are many doctrines and practices within Evangelicalism that do need to be rethought, there are also essential Christian doctrines that should be non-negotiable. When Jude 3 exhorts us to “…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints,” it’s clear that he’s talking about a body of knowledge. Doctrines like the triune nature of God (the Trinity), the nature of Christ (fully God and fully man), the vicarious atonement (that Jesus died for our sins), the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone are not up for debate. If you toss out any one of these essential doctrines then the Christian faith will be quickly transformed into something that’s hard to recognize.

In regards to high level of dissatisfaction with the current state of the church in western culture, it is important not to romanticize the existence of the church in ages past. The church has always had its share of problems. Nearly every New Testament epistle was written to address some collection of problems at a given church. Those within the ECM sometimes become hypercritical of the church and tend to forget that despite her faults, Jesus loves His bride, the church. The body of Christ is still the apple of God’s eye. We are all people in the lifelong process of becoming more and more like Christ, which we call sanctification.

With that in mind, there is plenty of room within the body of Christ for many different expressions of the church. For example, the house church movement is just as valid as the mega church.

The ECM approach to outreach also has some controversial aspects to it as well. As a board, we are open to works of God which grow the church as well as those designed to grow our church. And yet, while we would hope that our church is a place where all members are being trained how to share their faith, we still recognize that some members are uniquely called to be missionaries. In other words, we believe that every member should be a minister, but not every member is a missionary in the modern sense. Today when we use the term missionary, we typically think of ministers who serve the Lord in distant lands. However, in the New Testament sense, every Christian is a missionary since outreach is the responsibility of every believer.

In addition, there’s a social justice component to ECM that bares a close resemblance to the failed social gospel of decades past that is a great cause for concern. The irony of the social gospel is that the movement sought to change the world at the expense of evangelizing it. In the end, it denied the very gospel that launched the movement in the first place. It’s much easier to invest our time and energy into works for which the world will praise us than it is to confront our neighbor with the truth of the gospel which the world despises. Every local church still has finite resources. It is our view that the main focus of the church should be to make disciples as Jesus commanded in Matthew chapter 28. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t fight for what is just and righteous, but only that those things can’t be the main focus of our church. There are many para-church organizations that are better equipped to fight these battles.  

In Summary
So is Life Bible Fellowship Church an EC? No, if this means that we are moving away from biblical faithfulness on issues like the deity of Christ, the substitutionary nature of the atonement, the realties of heaven and hell, the doctrine of the Trinity, the authority of scripture, etc.

But we do believe that, while not compromising on the core doctrines of the Christian faith, we are called to utilize creative means and methods of communicating the truth of the gospel to the world around us. This approach is in line with the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22: “I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some.”

Therefore, we seek relevant forms and methods that help communicate biblical concepts and ideas in ways that are meaningful to today’s adults. We believe that the Bible gives ample permission to the church to adapt the means of transmission of the gospel to various contexts. However, that permission does not extend to adjusting core doctrine to better fit the cultural mood. We grieve that some, in confronting the mistakes and ineffectiveness of the evangelical church, have strayed from core doctrines of biblical faith. Nevertheless, we remain flexible in our approach to convey the unchanging truth about Christ.

Regarding church organization, we affirm that there are many valid expressions of church government. Each expression will have its strengths and weaknesses. We would affirm that the house or simple church is just as valid as the mega-church.

As elders here at Life Bible Fellowship Church, we seek to be like the sons of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32) who understood the times in order to know what to do. Rather than pursuing the latest Christian fads, we seek to be well reasoned and intentional in the changes that we make. We may not always get it right, but our earnest desire is to make changes that are for God’s glory and the good of our church. We will not pursue change simply for the sake of change itself. From time to time, we find great insights into our culture or God’s Word from people within the ECM. However, the fact that we might quote them shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement of everything they advocate. It should go without saying that this is true for any source we quote.

Life Bible Fellowship Church does not have any affiliation with the Emergent Village and we would seek to distance ourselves from any part of the EC movement where individuals or churches have disregarded clear biblical teaching on central doctrine.