Our Mission
2019
This is where church begins, by having a gathering of people. We know that God’s presence can be felt amongst a group of believers meeting anywhere (Matthew 18:20), but there is no doubt that God has designed a regular meeting place for believers to come back to repeatedly—the church.
The Bible warns us not to forsake the gathering of believers (Hebrews 10:25), but instead, we should fit the description of the group of disciples found in Acts 2:44, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” This is what we are striving for at Southern Oaks, an atmosphere filled with the Holy Spirit mixed with the gathering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. These gatherings include our regular service times on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and also any other time that we meet for fellowship or service.
Not only are we gathering together, but when we are together we should have an appetite for growth. 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.”
Surely no one has reached the peak of their knowledge about the Bible or spiritual things, therefore we must strive to gain more understanding through different types of learning opportunities such as the preaching of God’s Word, Bible Study classes, and also Growth Groups, which are intensive courses that take place on Sunday nights covering different books of the Bible, topics, and other spiritual books, as we develop better disciples of Christ.
As is clear from Jesus’ final command to His disciples, we are to go (Matthew 28:19). The final step in discipleship is letting other people know about what Christ has done in our lives. Let us remember the instruction given in Luke 14:23, “And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.’”
We cannot be satisfied with selfishness when it comes to Christianity, but we must be willing to share Christ with others through our words and actions wherever we go. Whether it is at home, school, work, or even while serving at the church, we should be looking for more people to gather together with, which is what starts this whole process over again.