This statement is taken from the web site of Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma, where my good friend Sam Storms is the Pastor. I have adapted it to describe my own church (Bethel Evangelical Church), and dedicate it to the members there. I’m missing them!
What do we mean when we say that Bethel is a gospel-centered church? We mean that the gospel is not simply the entry point into the Christian life but that it is also the foundation and force that shapes all we do as followers of Jesus both in our daily lives and in our experience as the corporate body of Christ. The gospel is the gloriously great good news of what God has done in the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to satisfy his own wrath and to secure the forgiveness of sins and perfect righteousness for all who trust in him by faith alone. Therefore, the gospel is not what God requires. The gospel is what God provides! The gospel is not an imperative, demanding things you must do. The gospel is an indicative, declaring things that God has done. The gospel is not about human action. The gospel is about divine achievement. The gospel is not a moralistic Do! The gospel is a merciful Done! We at Bethel believe that the gospel informs, controls, and energizes all we do. Our ministry values: mission, worship, discipleship, and community, are all the fruit of the grace that God has given us in Jesus.
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