The Blog

CHBC Connect for September 13, 2024

Equipping, Exalting and Extending for the Glory of God:
3 Piers Upon Which the Church Must Be Founded:

Meriam-Webster's dictionary defines the word “church” as, “a building for public and especially Christian worship; 2 the clergy or officialdom of a religious body 3 often capitalized: a body or organization of religious believers: such as: the whole body of Christians.”

Biblically the word “church” is better understood this way. “The root meaning of church is not that of a building, but of people,” (What is the Church?, www.gotquestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-the-church.html.) We have said with frequency the church is not a building that people meet together in, but a people who gather to worship Jesus Christ as Lord. There is more to understanding the church than that one definition, or one sentence, but it is not less than that statement.

If the church is the people of God gathered for the worship of His Son, what are the foundations upon which that people gathers? What underlying realities must be recognized and adhered to? We define three categories of necessary foundations or what we call the 3 Piers of CHBC: The Centrality of the Scriptures; The Lordship of Christ; and the Glory of God.

Capitol Hill Baptist has a history of faithfulness to the Word of God, to Jesus Christ, and to reflecting the glory of the Lord to the world who needs salvation. We are remaining true to our Biblical and historical roots and working to raise up another generation to understand the Word of God, to inject the next generation with great affection for Jesus Christ, and to propel that generation into the world with a desire to see God’s glory spread over all mankind.

Our mission and purpose are the means by which the foundational commitments are expressed. Capitol Hill, embrace these piers and pray that we would be protected from the temptation to stray from our Biblical foundations, and pray that we would creatively contextualize those commitments to our world so that we will not only see the lost people of our world, but would become incarnational in our ministry among the world.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

CHBC Connect for September 6, 2024

Equipping, Exalting and Extending for the Glory of God:

God’s Vision for CHBC:

• We will be believers who are equipped to know God through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, by knowing His Word, the Bible; and by knowing Him through His providential work in our past and present.
• We will be followers of Christ who exalt the Lord by faithfully participating in the public gathering of worship, and who are committed to the pursuit of personal, practical holiness in our daily lives.
• We will be a church that is on mission extending the gospel to our neighbors and the nations through our personal witness, our faithful giving, and our willingness to be sent to the ends of the earth on short- or long-term missions.

The ultimate goal of CHBC is to produce fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who live by the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40) and who fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

A vision is what you will see when you arrive where you are going. I can look at pictures of faraway places I have never visited and imagine what it would be like to visit there. I can hear other people’s descriptions, and picture with my mind the sights, sounds, and smells of that place. Can you imagine what a church would be like that is fulfilling its purpose and mission?

The vision for our church is what it will look like as we are faithful at pursuing the purpose and mission of the church (see the previous two blog posts). It is my prayer that you catch the vision. That it becomes something you long to see in your life, the life of your family, and the life of your church family. I pray you desire it so much for all of us that you work toward it in your own life, and you pray for the rest of the church to catch hold of the vision as well. I want you to catch the vision and desire it so much that it captures your affections and motivates you to say no to sin and yes to God every day.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark