PRIORITIES
The most important thing about Trinity Church is not what makes us distinct—it’s what we share in common with every other true church. Still, it’s inevitable that every congregation will have its own voice and uniquenesses. The following priorities are not mere formalities, rather they are what we pray will be the very heartbeat of our church, the core of our life together.
PURPOSE
We are a family of believers that exist by God’s grace to make disciples who increasingly love, enjoy, and reflect Christ to God’s glory.
Scripture: 1 Cor. 10:31, Matt. 28:19, Col. 1:28, Eph. 4:15, Mk. 12:31, Rom. 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 3:18, Eph. 2:4-8
PLAN
The way we pursue our purpose is by gathering together, equipping the saints, praying consistently, serving one another, and scattering for the sake of others.
Gather. Equip. Pray. Serve. Scatter.
Scripture: Heb.10:24-25, 2 Tim. 3:17, Eph. 4:12, Col. 3:16, Rom. 12:12, Matt. 6:7-15, 1 Thess. 5:17, 1 Pet. 4:10, Rom. 12:11, Rom. 10:13-15, Matt. 28:19, Rom. 12:1-2
PRIORITIES
These priorities not only undergird our plan, but begin to explain what it looks like to increasingly love, enjoy, and reflect Christ to God’s glory.
We seek to glorify God by...
• ...fearing God - God is holy, sovereign, infinitely wise and perfectly just, as such He is worthy of all praise, glory and honor. To fear the Lord is to have an appropriate view of God, a reverential awe. This is why we talk about God’s sovereignty and His attributes as we see them in Scripture.
• ...exalting Christ - Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named. To exalt Christ is to make him central in our lives, to make much of his name, and to revel in his atoning death and life-giving resurrection. This is why we proclaim the gospel in our preaching, teaching, singing, and fellowshipping week in and week out.
• ...depending upon the Spirit - The Holy Spirit works to empower, purify, and unify the people of God. To depend upon the Spirit is to acknowledge our weakness and trust in him to give us the strength to walk in wisdom and obedience. This is why we pray ofen, both when we are together and individually, in public and in private.
• ...proclaiming the Gospel - The Gospel is the good news that a holy God has sent his righteous Son to die for unrighteous sinners so that all who repent and trust in Him can increasingly love and reflect Christ to God’s glory and live with Him forever. To proclaim the Gospel is to tell others of this glorious message of God’s saving grace and to remind ourselves of God’s transforming grace. This is why we scatter to share the gospel and we gather to hear the gospel.
• ...prioritizing the Word - God’s Word is his revelation of himself and his redemptive purposes in written form, thus it is as true, authoritative, and sufficient as God himself is. To prioritize the Word is to devote ourselves to read, study, and delight in the scriptures. This is why we preach expositionally and study through books of the Bible when we gather; it is why we equip believers to understand their bibles on their own.
• ...displaying supernatural community - Supernatural community is the display of the manifold wisdom of God as people from every tribe, nation, and tongue are saved through the gospel by the power of the Spirit and united as one church family. To display supernatural community is to live in unity and love with the church family, regardless of commonalities like social status, age, ethnicity, or wealth. This is why we gather as one church family, why we have small groups that are multigenerational, and why we don’t have specific age segregated groups, outside of children and youth.
• ...loving earnestly - Earnest love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Earnest Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. To love earnestly is to be moved to care for others with genuineness and fervor, to sacrificially serve others, to tell others the truth, and ultimately to share the gospel with them. This is why we serve one another and why we scatter for the sake of others.
Scripture: Prov. 1:7, Eccl. 12:13, Acts. 2:33, Phil. 2:9, Eph. 1:20-21, Rev. 5:12, John 14:26, Rom. 8: 1-27, Gal. 5:16-23, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, Eph. 3:10, 1 Pet. 4:8, 1 Cor. 13:4-7, Col. 3:14, Titus 2:11-14
