MUSTARD TREE MISSIONS – VISION & MISSION STATEMENTS

Who we are (vision statement): a Christian ministry serving churches and communities here in the U.S. and in other countries. Our mission: to advance the kingdom of God by serving and inspiring others, equipping leaders, building better communities and sharing the message of Jesus Christ with the world.

STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

1) There is one true and living God, the Almighty Creator of all things, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who function as one entity. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19). 2) The Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God, a revelation from God to man (2 Timothy 3:16). 3) Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh, the second member of the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal future return to this earth in power and glory (John 3:16; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-6). 4) Man in his natural state is a sinner, lost, undone, without hope, and without God. Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and through faith in the finished work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is essential for salvation which comes by grace alone. (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 10:8- 10). 5) We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and that all who receive Jesus Christ in the new birth are recipients of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit by whom the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a distinct and vital act of God’s power available to any redeemed person either simultaneous with or subsequent to the new birth. With this Spirit baptism comes the endowment of power for life and service, the privilege of speaking in tongues, and the bestowment of spiritual gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (John 1:33; Acts 1:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). We believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit recorded in I Corinthians 12:8-11 and elsewhere in the New Testament shall operate in and through anyone who is yielded to the Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts are a vital part of the church’s experience in worship, evangelism and congregational maturity. We believe in divine healing. The redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer (1 Peter 2:24, James 5:14-15). 6) The church universal consists of all regenerated followers of the Lord Jesus Christ whose trust is in Christ alone for salvation. The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We believe in the Priesthood of all Believers. (Matt. 18:20, Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Rev. 1:5-6). 7) Two ordinances are given in Scripture as essential and typical of the holy and redemptive purpose of God in the New Covenant: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Water baptism: Immersion in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have repented and truly believed in Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. It is a symbol of the believer’s identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. (Matthew 28:19, Acts 10:47- 48; Romans 6:4). The Lord’s Supper: A ceremonial remembrance of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the bread and the cup symbolizing the vicarious sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners. The words of institution given by Jesus on the night of His betrayal and repeated in communion bear witness to the eternal relationship between Christ and the church as the bride of Christ anticipates His Second Coming.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) 8) We believe in the sacredness of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31-33; Matthew 19:4-5; Leviticus 18:22).

MUSTARD TREE MISSIONS – VISION & MISSION

STATEMENTS

Who we are (vision statement): a Christian ministry serving churches and communities here in the U.S. and in other countries. Our mission: to advance the kingdom of God by serving and inspiring others, equipping leaders, building better communities and sharing the message of Jesus Christ with the world.

STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

1) There is one true and living God, the Almighty Creator of all things, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who function as one entity. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19). 2) The Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God, a revelation from God to man (2 Timothy 3:16). 3) Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh, the second member of the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal future return to this earth in power and glory (John 3:16; Acts 1:9- 11; Romans 1:3-6). 4) Man in his natural state is a sinner, lost, undone, without hope, and without God. Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and through faith in the finished work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is essential for salvation which comes by grace alone. (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 10:8-10). 5) We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and that all who receive Jesus Christ in the new birth are recipients of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit by whom the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a distinct and vital act of God’s power available to any redeemed person either simultaneous with or subsequent to the new birth. With this Spirit baptism comes the endowment of power for life and service, the privilege of speaking in tongues, and the bestowment of spiritual gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (John 1:33; Acts 1:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). We believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit recorded in I Corinthians 12:8-11 and elsewhere in the New Testament shall operate in and through anyone who is yielded to the Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts are a vital part of the church’s experience in worship, evangelism and congregational maturity. We believe in divine healing. The redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer (1 Peter 2:24, James 5:14-15). 6) The church universal consists of all regenerated followers of the Lord Jesus Christ whose trust is in Christ alone for salvation. The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We believe in the Priesthood of all Believers. (Matt. 18:20, Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Rev. 1:5- 6). 7) Two ordinances are given in Scripture as essential and typical of the holy and redemptive purpose of God in the New Covenant: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Water baptism: Immersion in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have repented and truly believed in Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. It is a symbol of the believer’s identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. (Matthew 28:19, Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4). The Lord’s Supper: A ceremonial remembrance of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the bread and the cup symbolizing the vicarious sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners. The words of institution given by Jesus on the night of His betrayal and repeated in communion bear witness to the eternal relationship between Christ and the church as the bride of Christ anticipates His Second Coming.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) 8) We believe in the sacredness of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31-33; Matthew 19:4-5; Leviticus 18:22).