For the glory of God the Mountain View Bible Church purposes to display God’s excellent worth by . . .
(1) making the essential goal of our lives knowing God through the obedient study and submission to His Word. The true measure of our church’s spiritual character is not found in outward activities or accomplishments (past or present), but in the strength and sincerity of each member’s walk with God. The personal pursuit of God and commitment to His will by each member is the well from which our other purposes draw meaning and vitality. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” Paul warns of those who “will have the appearance of godliness, but deny its power.” (Zechariah 4:6; John 15:5; 2 Timothy 3:5)
(2) gathering for reverent and sincere worship that is focused on hearing from God through the preaching of His Word and responding with praise, earnest prayer, and a purpose to obey. We desire that all aspects of our public worship present to others the true character of God and our love for Him. We seek to do this by maintaining an atmosphere in public worship that is neither overly casual nor overly routine or formal. Because God is seeking those who will worship Him in “spirit and in truth” our worship must be from the heart and grounded in the truth of Scripture (John 4:23-24).
(3) being enthusiastically committed to equipping the members of our church and the students of Dublin Christian Academy for Christian service (Ephesians 4:12) and the task of evangelizing the lost. We believe that our evangelistic efforts must focus on our community (Mark 5:19; Acts 10:24) and extend to the world through missions (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). We believe that the goal of evangelism is to see all who are under the care of our church become grounded in the Word of God (Colossians 1:28-29) so that each will evidence an increasing love for, obedience to, and worship of Jesus Christ as Lord. This will necessarily express itself in a sacrificial love for others and a lifestyle that turns away from the values of this world (1 Thessalonians 4:9; Romans 12:1-2).
(4) maintaining purity by being willing to confront sin and doctrinal error through speaking the truth in love and, when needed, through church discipline. We recognize that our purpose in knowing God (see #1 above), our purpose in worshiping God (see #2 above), and our purpose in serving God (see #3 above) will be hindered, undermined, and eventually lost all together if we do not “earnestly contend for the faith,” guard ourselves against the “deceitfulness of sin,” and “avoid those who teach and promote doctrine contrary to the Scripture.” (Jude 3; Hebrews 2:1, 3:13; Romans 16:17)
Our purpose can be summarized as follows:
We purpose to
1. PERSONALLY KNOW GOD
2. BIBLICALLY WORSHIP GOD
3. ENTHUSIASTICALLY SERVE GOD
*Equipping the saints
*Evangelizing the lost
*Expressing love for others
*Exemplifying godly values and behavior
4. CAREFULLY GUARD GOD’S TRUTH