Essentials
3 Essential Doctrines
We find great joy and pleasure in the celebration of many wonderful doctrinal truths. However, there are three which specifically guide us in community and provide for us a shared foundation.
God’s glory is a big deal in Scripture and therefore, a big deal for us here as well. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections and character. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God”.
What does this mean? It means nature itself is shouting at us the grandeur and greatness of God. Consider the volume with which the clouds, the blue expanse, the sun on the horizons, and the stars of the galaxies shout, “God is glorious!” Do we see it? Do we love it? As a church, we do! We are redeemed and saved for this very purpose, and it is with this purpose in mind that we do all we do as a church fellowship. As a church, we celebrate and serve a Big God and seek to declare and proclaim His great fame and worth to all in life and ministry.
We believe, with great humility and joy, that God is receiving a people which Christ died for on the cross. The Good News is about God’s work and not ours (Eph. 2:8-9). However, we must be clear that we believe His sovereignty in no way diminishes the responsibility for all mankind to repent and believe the gospel. Nor does it marginalize the necessity and power of prayer or our calling to be on mission for God’s glory and man’s ultimate good. Instead, it reinforces and further feeds our passion and zeal for each as the ordained means by which God is accomplishing His purposes. As Christians, we learn that God’s sovereignty does not make works unnecessary; it literally makes them possible! God’s sovereignty is the gasoline for the fire of our responsibility and work. His sovereignty literally stokes the fires of our prayer, evangelism, and missional zeal. Simply put, we find joy in dependence on God’s provision and care rather
than man’s attempts – however commendable – to exist and operate apart from Him (Isa. 64:6).
We believe with great enthusiasm that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. In Scripture, the Psalmist states, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25-26). Our deepest desire and prayer is for psalmist’s pursuit of Joy in God’s goodness to become an expression of our worship corporately and a reality to those who watch and see us in everyday life. It must also be clearly stated and understood that this pursuit for joy in God’s goodness is counter-cultural, God-focused, and
biblically defined.
3 Essential Joys
Eastwood Community Church has a myriad of emphases, values, and joys as a church. However, our desire is to assist our members and guests in focusing on, understanding, and embracing the following as essentials to our church.
God reveals Himself and His gospel though His Word, the Bible. At
Eastwood Community Church the focus of all preaching is rooted in and flows from the text of Scripture. The Word of God is our supreme authority in all matters of faith, worship, life, and witness. The early church had a deep love and passion for the Word of
God and devoted themselves to the knowing, teaching, and proclaiming of it. It was the wholehearted foundation for all they did, and it must be ours as well. One cannot truly understand how to honor Christ apart from His Word. Non-theological preaching, self-
help sermons, or entertainment laden speeches utilizing out-of-context verses to make the sermon fit into a pastor’s desired meaning must never be a substitute for the exegetical (rooted in and from scripture) preaching of God’s Word.
While God gives us His Word and His Spirit for our personal growth
in holiness, He has also given us each other. In this community, we are called to celebrate together the common salvation that we receive through Christ. God desires these open, honest, and loving relationships to spur us on to greater love and good deeds. We cannot profess to love Christ if we do not love His bride the Church and if we
are not committed to the gathering of His people. The desire we have here as a Church is to be a faith community known for our mutual connectedness to the gospel, attentiveness to God’s Word, and ministering to each other. It is our desire to be individuals representing varied backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, social class, and age who share a common bond in the gospel and God’s Word together. This is the counter-cultural witness that can only be explained by a supernatural God. (Eccl. 4:9-12; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor 12:25-27; Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Pet 4:8-11)
We are a relationship driven church where our people serve as the vehicle and driving force of our gospel witness. Our aim is both to empower and unify our church family to use their time, talents, and resources to become a gospel-centered community on mission for God’s glory and the good of others through hospitality,
community engagement, and personal outreach. It is our prayer that each member here understand that evangelism is the action and lifestyle of every believer, not just the
church in name or a select few. If we are effective for God’s glory in making disciples as a church, it will be due to the strength of the personal witness of our people in everyday life through intentional care towards outsiders in both word and deed.