Our mission and motto at Emmanuel Baptist Church is "Life Together Under the Word." That is EBC in a nutshell. We want to enjoy being together, and we want to live under the Bible. We try to accomplish this mission by means of authentic relationships and teaching with substance. 

 

Authentic Relationships -- The Bible assumes that the life of the Christian is lived in close community.  We have obligations to 'encourage one another' (Heb. 10:25), 'be devoted to one another in brotherly love' (Romans 12:10), 'instruct one another' (Rom. 15:14), 'serve one another' (Gal. 5:13), 'carry each other’s burdens' (Galatians 6:2), 'speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs' (Ephesians 5:19), and many, many more obligations according to the New Testament. 

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We are very concerned about the trajectory of modern life, which is a trajectory away from community and toward isolation. We are concerned about the individualism that has crept into evangelical life. To be frank: the authors of the Bible cannot imagine an unchurched Christian! But -- especially after COVID -- that is becoming more and more the norm. 

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Even though people and relationships are messy, they are 'mess worth making.' Even though leaders often fail, they are necessary for Christian growth. The Lord didn't give us '5-steps to growth;' He gave us other believers. Here at EBC we seek to build ministry around a community that, though sometimes difficult and frustrating, is seeking to grow together. 

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Teaching with Substance -- God has not only given us other people for our growth in Christ; He has also given us His word. Growth in the Word is the primary way we grow to look like Jesus. Therefore, we seek to teach all of the Bible to all of the people. Sometimes the Bible speaks to us in simple, short, life-changing ways. Sometimes the Bible speaks in deep, logical, soul-stretching ways. We try to honor all of it, and we try to build our lives and ministry upon the text of the Bible. 

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We are very concerned that while many Christians know Bible verses, they are woefully underfed. We need to be able to 'think God's thoughts after Him,' and that means understanding the logic and thought-flow of passages. We need deep truth to counter the deep lies of the world. We need to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The teaching ministry of EBC seeks to accomplish this by means of exegetical preaching. This means that we want to let the meaning of the passage of Scripture to be the message of our sermons. We try to teach our kids the Bible and its life-giving doctrine. Our youth dive 'into the text.' From head to toe we try to obey Paul's admonition to 'preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching' (2 Tim. 4:2).   

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If these two emphases excite you, then come and visit!