Our Mission Statement is:

Exalt God, Evangelize the Lost, Equip the Believers, Extend into the Community.

We want our ministries and activities to reflect this mission!

Here’s a brief description of each category and what we feel that means to us at Montgomery:

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Exalt God:

To exalt, means to praise.

Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Before anything else is accomplished, we want to make sure we give the praise that is due to our Heavenly Father. It is only through His love and grace that “we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28a)
Therefore we want everything we do to bring honor and glory to Him.

How does that play out in our lives?
Of course immediately we think of worship within the church. Do our times of worship and praise, our prayers, and our teaching and preaching bring glory to God?
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

How about as individuals? How can each individual exalt God?
Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
It is our desire that each of our lives reflect our desire to exalt God. What better way to bring praise to God then to do what pleases Him?
Is our life a reflection of the thanksgiving that should be in our hearts for all that God has done for us?
Does God have first place in our lives?
These are the questions we must answer with our lives as individuals if we want to show our friends and neighbors that we exalt God above everything else.
There is a song that says, “Let my life song sing to you”.

It is our goal to live our lives as a song of praise to God for all that He has done for us.

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Evangelize the Lost:

The phrase, “the lost”, may seem derogatory to some, but if you look into the definition of lost, it says someone that can’t find their way.  Lost doesn’t mean without hope, it simply means needing directions!
So in relation to our mission statement, the lost means anyone who needs directions to heaven!

So, what does this look like for us as a church? How are we to give directions to heaven to those that don’t know the way?
Jesus instructed His disciples before He ascended back to heaven…
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
His words were for those disciples then and for us as disciples now. But how can we practice this?

We live in a society where simply saying the words isn’t enough. Those words need backed up with actions. Our society has too many people making promises and never fulfilling them.
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Therefore it is our belief that evangelizing the lost involves building relationships, giving comfort to the hurting, and helping those in need.
1 John 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Simply telling others about Christ isn’t enough. We need to show Christ love to them by how we love them. If they don’t feel our love for them, then how can they believe it when we say God loves them?
1 John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Fulfilling this part of our mission statement means that others should see Jesus in us!

Our goal is that we each personally share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those that don’t yet know Him.

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Equip the Believers:

In order for any organization to be effective in their mission, their members must be properly equipped to fulfill the mission of that organization.
For the Church of Christ, believers are the ones who are responsible to fulfill the mission in which the Church is called, as described above.
How does the Church properly equip the believers?

First, Scripture must be taught and emphasized as the believer’s guide. Without a proper knowledge of God’s Holy Word, believers have no foundation for fulfilling the Church’s mission.
II Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Second, believers must be prepared to stand against the power of Satan and his host. Satan will fight any attempt at reaching the lost, and this is called spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Third, the Church must establish unity and peace among its members so there can be mutual support and accountability.
Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12 that the Church is much like our physical bodies. There are many parts but together they make up the whole. He also tells us in Ephesians 4 that the Church must strive to keep unity through the peace that Christ came to bring.
If the Church is to fulfill its mission to reach the lost, then there must be strength and unity with the believers.

Our goal is to equip believers within our church with the ability to strengthen their relationship with God and with others around them.

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Extend into the Community:

To extend into the community means a practical way for the Church to be active among the local area.
Before Jesus ascended back to heaven He told His followers,
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus’ instructions to His followers to reach the world with the gospel started with their own community, Jerusalem.

It is our belief that if we want to fulfill our mission as disciples and believers to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, then we must start in our own neighborhoods.

In practical terms what might this look like? It means first providing a welcome atmosphere for anyone to come visit in our worship services.
It might mean hosting a VBS, fundraisers for local organization, or community fun days.
It means supporting local events, showing compassion by lending a helping hand where needed, or raising funds to help a need in our community.

Our goal at Montgomery is showing our friends and neighbors that Jesus Christ has made a difference in our lives and we want them to know we love them!

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We invite YOU to come and visit and see if you might find a home at MONTOMGERY BIC!