PHBC VISION STATEMENT

At Pleasant Hill, it is our desire to be a church of irresistible influence in the community as we engage in leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Through God’s provision, we dream of creating a place where the Word is taught, the Spirit is alive, God is worshipped, and people find real relationships with Jesus Christ.

We are a family of imperfect people bound together by our love for Christ, looking for tangible ways to share that love with one another, our community, and the world.

SUPPLEMENTAL DOCTRINAL SUMMARY

"A casual discussion from one of our Associate Pastors..."

From a doctrinal standpoint, we are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).  This for us is a doctrinal and theological stance, not necessarily a political one (since there has been much made over the last several years about competing conventions in the Baptist denomination).  In particular, our hallmark doctrines are:

• We believe in the priesthood of the believer (1Peter 2:4-5).
• We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture (2Timothy 3:16-17).
• We believe that salvation is by faith alone through grace alone through Christ alone (John 14:6 & the rest of the New Testament!).
• We believe in the doctrine of the Trinity:  God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit.  Scripture overflows with Trinitarian references such as Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:1-6; 2Corinthians 13:14.
• We believe in water baptism by immersion (Acts 2:38).

There is a host of other sub-doctrines which would exhaust millions of keystrokes, but we seem most frequently to be questioned regarding the doctrine of election.  We are what I would call “Modified Calvinists.”  By that I mean that there is no question that Scripture teaches predestination and election.  Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5,11 (as well as much more of Paul’s and Peter’s writing such as 2Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1Peter 1:1; 2Peter 1:10) make that clear.  What is often debatable then, is “who are the elect?”  Our doctrinal stance differs from traditional covenant theology which teaches “Limited Atonement.”  We believe in “Unlimited Atonement” which means that Christ died for all (not just the elect), but that only the elect will receive His free gift of grace.  It is receiving that gift of grace that is the evidence of being elect.  God only knows who those elect are; we do not.  As such, we will boldly proclaim the Gospel message to any and all.  This drives our evangelism and missions efforts.

Subsequently, we believe that discipleship was not merely a suggestion of Christ but rather a command (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 5:1-2).  We believe that discipleship drives all other efforts.  Discipleship simply means “leading people to become more like the person of Jesus Christ.”  That’s our mission.  In perfect lock-step with discipleship is worship (John 4:23; Hebrews 13:15; Romans 15:7, Psalms!).  Worship is responding to who God is...because of the relationship afforded to us by the redemptive gift of Christ.  So then, discipleship and worship drive ministry, outreach, and evangelism as an overflow of our hearts.  From this outward overflow from our internal relationship comes our mission strategy.  We are committed to missions but recognize that missions cannot happen unless we legitimately have a story to tell (i.e., “witness” as in Acts 1:8).  1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  Once we have clearly reflected the relationship with Christ that He invites us to enjoy, we will be a church of irresistible influence in the community and the world.  THEN we celebrate what God has done in us and through us in fellowship (1Peter 2:4-5; Ephesians 2:14-18).  There is a progression in church life (ecclesiology) and is important that we do not forego any of the components.

We are in an exciting and formative time in the life of our church.  We believe that the local church is the hope of the world and that we are to be the “bride of Christ” prepared for His return (Revelation 19:7; 22:17). We are in the midst of “re-architecting” everything we do to facilitate that vision.

          --Eric Barton - Associate Pastor, Pulpit Ministry & Discipleship

            eric@pleasanthillbaptist.org