Holly Springs

Bible Fellowship

INTRODUCTION

When a baby is born, it experiences different stages of growth. A child goes from an infant, to a toddler, through childhood, then adolescence, and finally into maturity. A church, which is composed of a body of believers, will experience the same cycles of growth as it progresses toward maturity.

Psalm 127:1 teaches us that it is the Lord who must build a house. The New Testament is clear that Christ is to be the foundation. The Bible also teaches that we are the builders and the laborers for His Church. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of this church, not the members, deacons, elders, or pastor. Christ is the one who leads, provides, and guides this ministry. When God started this church in 1990, the cause or vision of this ministry was the primary focus. As this church has grown, we have developed the need to have some structure and organization in order to keep our course and vision clear. Because of our different church backgrounds, culture, and diversity, we have to establish some guidelines that will keep this ministry focused, balanced, and continuing in the direction God has mandated for us. We want to maintain our diversity, yet also keep unity within the body. These guidelines should not hinder our fellowship, but rather enhance it.

A philosophy of ministry is simply a direction, not a destination. This document helps us decide how we believe the Lord is directing us to build His house in this community. It helps us keep the pressures of people, programs, and ministries in their proper balance, and it is the direction we believe God is currently leading us. This philosophy has been gathered from a number of different sources and has been developed with much prayer.

Regarding our Purpose

We do what is biblical, not what is religious

Our Doctrinal Statement reveals what we believe are the essentials on which all Christians must agree in order to work together for a common goal. Our philosophy is to align ourselves only with people and churches who are in agreement with these essentials to Biblical Christianity. Therefore, we do not participate in something because it is a “religious” or has a “Christian” label involved. It must be biblically based and doctrinally sound before we participate as a church fellowship. The Bible, not tradition, is our authority in all matters of faith and practice and the word of God is the main instrument of growth in the lives of Christians.

We are a country church, not a “mega” ministry

We believe that Holly Springs Bible Fellowship has the gifts and people to build a large church. People in this area are hungry for Bible teaching and Christian fellowship. We seek to offer both to our church and community. If we had the room, this church would continue to grow and grow. As we cope with building options in the future, we could continue building and moving our facilities to always accommodate the people. There would be nothing wrong with this approach. “Mega” churches can meet the needs of a community and provide a tremendous world outreach. But this is not our philosophy of ministry.

Regarding our People

At Holly Springs Bible Fellowship we believe in the biblical principle that the ultimate work of the church in the world is to be done by the saints – plain, ordinary Christians – and not by professional clergy or a few selected laymen. We believe the purpose for the church is revealed in Paul’s statement that apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers exist for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of
Christ. (Ephesians 4:12).

Regarding our Membership

We believe that every member of the body of Christ is a member of Christ’s body (Romans 12:5). Therefore, we seek to help each person take the next step spiritually in their Christian walk. We try to minister to people based on where they are in their walk with Christ. We feel that strong expository preaching is the primary tool for challenging people to take the next step spiritually. Our goal in preaching is not to simply comfort, but rather to challenge people to godly living. Second, we also believe that every member of Christ is a minister. Scripture teaches that servant gifts are as equally important as leadership gifts in building a healthy, disciple-making church. We believe that God has uniquely gifted individuals with natural as well as supernatural gifts. We do not believe that God saved us to be “spectator” Christians. We believe that stewardship includes the proper use of your God given gifts. Christians are not to be critical consumers or detached by-standers. They are to be positive contributors to the body. This is essential to who we are in Christ. We encourage members to use their gifts creatively in this church. We do not expect an eternal commitment to a ministry, however we would hope that each person would find an effective ministry for an extended period of time (3-5 years) in this church. We believe this helps in the stability of the church and the faithfulness in those ministering. We do not want to spread guilt, however, if a person feels it is time to move to a different ministry.

Regarding Spiritual Growth

We believe that spiritual growth is intentional (Phil 2:12,13), practical (1 Timothy 4:7), and involves an element of time (Ephesians 4:13). True spiritual growth is demonstrated more by behavior than beliefs (Matthew 7:24-27). We also believe that spiritual growth involves the body (1 John 1:7) and a variety of experiences. It does not occur in isolation, but rather in the context of fellowship. Spiritual maturity is shaped by one’s spiritual gifts, talents, his heart for God, his abilities, personality, and personal life experiences. It is in this context that God molds him into the person he wants him to be.

Regarding Leadership

Our philosophy regarding lay leadership is to involve as many people in the process of ministry as possible. We are training people to do the “work” of ministry. The importance of “lay people” instead of “professionals” is a distinctive of this ministry. We would rather have someone from our fellowship ministering than professional paid people ministering to our fellowship. Therefore we allow people the freedom to minister and learn from mistakes, rather than requiring people to be “professional” before they can minister. We give people in ministry a degree of trust rather than demand absolute control. This trust allows people the freedom to fail with the understanding of the responsibilities that are involved in their ministries. We also allow people the needed authority to fulfill their God given responsibilities. Responsibility involves both authority to do ministry, and freedom to make mistakes in ministry.

Regarding our Programs

Regarding Ministries

We believe God’s people do God’s work, therefore, we will not beat our heads against a wall trying to recruit people to fill a certain need. Specialized ministries depend on the gifted people that God sends to our church. If a certain ministry begins to die, it could be that we no longer have the leadership or the need for that ministry. We will let it die until God brings along the right people with the right gifts to administrate and lead that ministry. We also realize we are not the only church in this area. We cannot be the whole body of Christ, we are only part of that body. Since we cannot meet every need, we do not feel guilty for not having certain ministries.

Regarding Activities

We believe that every member of Christ needs maturing on a consistent basis (Ephesians 4:13). Therefore, the main purpose of our activities is to develop and further produce disciples “ for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). Our activities are simply a means to an end. We evaluate activities based on their ability to mature saints and allow opportunities for ministry.

Regarding Money

Realizing that money can easily become a major focus of any ministry, we have established some strong beliefs regarding money in this ministry. We believe that God’s people should willingly give to God’s work and that they should not have to give grudgingly or out of necessity. We have placed offering boxes in the back of the church so that people may give privately, purposefully, and with a grateful heart. We do not believe the world should be asked to support the work of God, so we do not have fund-raisers, bake sales, or church rummages. We also do not participate in fund raising, letter writing campaigns, or pleading for funds.

Regarding Family

We believe the family is a God ordained institution, therefore we seek to focus on family orientated activities, rather than age determined activities. While we do provide some age orientated activities, our main focus is on the development of the family as a unit. Therefore, we do not schedule too many activities that would tear families apart. We try to schedule church activities in order to allow the family time together. This also allows our people time to be involved in community activities so that we can be salt and light in the community.

Regarding Government

At Holly Springs Bible Fellowship, we hold to the principle of separation of church and state. The role of the church is to lead people to Jesus Christ and disciple them. We are not to become an organizational political caucus to lobby for the changing of the civil laws. Individual members of our church are very involved in many political issues, acting as salt and light in the community. We believe this is how God directed the Apostle Paul to organize New Testament churches. Paul never led the church as an organization to demonstrate against slavery in the first century. Paul taught the principles of how to be moral in an immoral world. This is our calling as well. We meet to worship and study the principles of God’s Word. We are called to lead people into a personal relationship with a Holy God through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to teach the principles of biblical morality. We do not feel that the United Sates is God’s special blessed country or that we are to keep it pure through legislation. We believe that the only way to keep our country pure is by humbling ourselves, praying, and seeking God’s face (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Regarding Evangelism

We are a soul-winning church, but not an evangelistic meeting church. We do not bring the world into the church buildings to be saved, but we send believers into the world to evangelize. God has given each one of us gifts, and we are to use these gifts to bring people to Christ. It is our ministry to move out into the community and use our gifts to witness. We do not bring people to our meetings so that our pastor and church leadership can lead them to Christ. We are not a seeker sensitive ministry which can produce a “consumer mentality”. We focus on the family of believers that God has called together to invest themselves in the lives of others. When properly trained and fed, they will automatically reach their community for Christ. While some churches see the church as a primary tool for evangelism, we believe that each member of the body is the primary tool for evangelism. We believe that Christians are to go into the world (or their own personal mission fields) and be light and salt. Therefore our services are not designed to bring the world to us, but rather to minister to the believers who will each week take Christ into the world.

Regarding Missions

From a worldwide perspective this philosophy addresses our missions program. We pray for the day when our own people (whose missionary gifts have been recognized by the church) desire to go to the mission field as missionaries. We believe we should provide as much of their support as possible (even to 100%). We would be able to say to the perspective missionary, “You need not take the time to raise support – GO!” From a monetary standpoint, we have seen the importance of native missionaries doing the work of the ministry. We believe these people, who have very few contacts in the states, should have a priority in the disbursement of missionary funds. While the accountability is not as easily tracked, with some careful planning and dependence on the Holy Spirit, we believe we can honor God with the wise use of His money.

Regarding our Property (Facility)

We do not build elaborate facilities. Our buildings are a testimony to our community in that they are functional and appear nice, but they are not flashy. We believe that a majority of our money should be put into ministry rather than buildings.