Philosophy of Ministry

Philosophy of Ministry

Foothill Christian Fellowship began as a community of believers under the headship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know and worship God and to grow as His disciples.

We have built our common faith on the foundation of the supreme authority of the Bible, the Word of God.  This we hold to be inerrant and infallible in the original autographs, and profitable in all areas of life. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

We confess Jesus Christ to be God-incarnate, the Messiah of the Old Testament promise. We also agree with God about the sinful, fallen condition of man and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. (John 20:31; Romans 3:23; John 3:16)

We believe that the church gathered (local) is primarily for the purpose of edification of the saints, not the evangelization of the lost. Therefore, we emphasize expository Bible teaching. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

We believe that the church should be “governed” by a plurality of spiritual men under the headship of Christ. So our Elders oversee and shepherd the flock. We believe their greatest teaching tool is their example - their personal lives and families. (Acts 20:28-31; 1 Timothy 3:1-7)

We believe in the responsibility and ability of every Christian to be a functioning member of the Body. Therefore, we encourage the exercise of spiritual gifts and participation of all members in all areas of ministry and in sharing from Scripture at Communnion services. Also, we encourage every member to be involved in “making disciples” personally. (1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-17)

We believe that “worship” is not so much something we do as an attitude of heart. Therefore, we consider remembering the Lord's death in communion vital to promote self-evaluation and to focus our thinking on our risen Lord. We use a variety of Christian music to aid us in corporate expression of a worshipful heart and spirit. (John 4:23,24)

We meet together to grow, to become like Christ. We then live our lives day to day seeking to “make disciples of all nations.” We “go to church” to be equipped to serve Christ and each other; we live that we might know Him and that others might know Him through us. (Matthew 28:19,20)  Therefore, evangelism is not the primary purpose of our meetings.

We believe that the family is the God ordained teaching place for children to learn about God and His Word. We also believe that the home is the most effective teaching place where teaching can be verbal and by example (example being the most effective teaching tool). Therefore, we consider the church meetings as equipping for parents in the task of teaching their children.
The children's program is primarily designed to give additional teaching from God's word to our children while we as adults are being taught. (Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

We believe N.T. Fellowship involves open sharing of our lives, and accountability to one another for obedience to Christ. We seek to encourage the development of relationships in the body wherein these concepts will operate. (1 John 3:11-20)

We hope to remain flexible and responsive to any leading of the Holy Spirit or wise counsel. We have not “arrived” in any of these things and changes may be needed in the future. Our prayer is that you would make it your desire and responsibility to see all of the rest of us grow into the character of Christ and that you would use your own creativity freely to “stimulate us to love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24).