Friends of the Common Church
Friends of the Common Church are those outside the Common Church family and are a part of the world in the sense that they are under the judgment of God for their sin and in need of a savior.
Friends of the Common Church are those groups or individuals with whom we have relationships with but who have chosen not to commit to the values and convictions of the Common Church Family.
We do not judge the behavior of the Friends of the Common Church because they have not committed to King Jesus or to being under his rule. Therefore we have relationships with them, even to the point of involvement in their activities as long as they are not sinful, in order to be the gospel to them (I Cor. 5:9-13).
The Common Church Family
The Common Church Family will make efforts to judge one another in love (I Cor. 5:9). Members of the church family are committed to other family members within the church in everyday life and intentionally bringing the truth of the gospel to each other. We are to mutually encourage one another under the reign of King Jesus to live more and more consistently under his rule (Phil. 2:9-11).
Baptism is the visible expression of the invisible reality of salvation. It is the right of passage for those who are moving from a community under the judgment of God (darkness)to the community under the reign of King Jesus (light).
Values and Commitments:
We will submit our whole lives to authority of God’s word and the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42-47). Therefore we will bring God’s word to bear on each other’s lives to more consistently live under God’s reign as his people in the world.
God is the one who builds his church (Matt. 16:18). Therefore our primary activity as missionaries is prayer.
We will worship God with our whole lives, living life worthy of the gospel (Eph. 4:1) and we will not limit it to a worship event or meeting. Worship impacts our whole lives (Romans 12:1-3), therefore we will seek to live “gospel worthy” lives in everything we do.
We understand God’s mission has a church, or in other words: God’s mission is through the church. The church is called into being for the central purpose of being sent into the world to advance the gospel by making disciples (Matt. 28:16-20).
We will advance the gospel through faith in Christ and belief in his living presence and rule today (Phil. 2:9-11). Therefore we will put ourselves in positions where we need faith in God to advance the gospel.
We will commit to gospel ministry that is long term, low key and relational (I Thess. 2:1-12). Therefore we will not overemphasize “events” at the expense of gospel ministry in everyday life.
Mission is a group activity where the gospel is displayed in our love for one another (John 13:33-35). Therefore we will not commit to individual missions but do mission together, putting ourselves in positions where we are together as a church in the world in everyday life.
We are the people of God because of the work of Christ. As the family of God we can have fellowship with God and with each other. Therefore we will practice communion regularly with those in the family, making visible the invisible reality of our relationship with God and each other.
