Our Faith
First Congregational Church is, first and foremost, a family of Christians. And Christianity is more than just believing beliefs. We are followers of Jesus Christ, who is our only savior and Lord. As such we are committed to a life together that involves these five practices:
- Worship
- Learning
- Prayer
- Service
- Witness
Following Jesus is the most important commitment a person can make. It can transform your life and begin a new path that leads to eternity. We invite you to join us as we walk together, seeking to grow in faith, hope, and love.
The mission of First Congregational Church is...
- To share the saving grace of Jesus Christ to our community and world.
- To provide Christian education for people of all ages to strengthen their love and service to Jesus Christ our Lord.
- To utilize faithfully the various resources in the church family: money, skills, and time.
- To show a loving concern for the needs of all people: those who are active participants, those loosely connected to the church, and those outside the church.
The history of Congregational Christianity has been an evolution from a strict version of Calvinism to a greater variety of Christian understandings of God and life. As such we are not creedal in a rigid sense, but we consider ourselves orthodox and are in conversation with the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, which are universally accepted by most Christians around the world. And we also value other significant faith expressions that have developed for Congregational Christians through the years, such as the Cambridge Platform of 1648, and the Savoy Declaration of 1658. Historically, our congregation has also accepted the 1913 Kansas City Statement of Faith, which is as follows…
- We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness, and love, and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord and Savior, who for us and for our salvation lived and died and rose again and liveth evermore, and in the Holy Spirit, who taketh of the things of Christ and revealeth them to us, renewing, comforting, and inspiring the souls of men.
- We are united in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord, made known or to be made known to us.
- We hold it to be the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace, and the realization of human brotherhood.
- Depending, as did our fathers, upon the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God, and we look with faith for the triumph of righteousness, and the life everlasting.
- We believe in the freedom and responsibility of the individual soul, and the right of private judgment.
- We hold to the autonomy of the local church and its independence of all ecclesiastical control.
- We cherish the fellowship of the churches, united in district, state, and national bodies, for counsel and cooperation in matters of common concern.
- While affirming the liberty of our churches, and the validity of our ministry, we hold to the unity and catholicity of the Church of Christ, and will unite with all its branches in hearty cooperation; and will earnestly seek, so far as in us lies, that the prayer of our Lord for his disciples may be answered, that they all may be one.
First Congregational Church has been a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) for decades. We are joined with them as part of the common mission to bring together Congregational Christian Churches for mutual care and outreach to our world in the name of Jesus Christ.
Since 1998, First Congregational Church has also been a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC, or the 4 C’s). As a member church we also then accept the CCCC Statement of Faith.
For more information feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to tell you more.