We will not be satisfied with a church which exists only to perpetuate programs and tradition but also a place for sinners to come to repent. Our principle product is changed lives, biblical disciples who understand the impact of grace and who imitate Christ by training up disciples themselves. (See “Biblical Profile of a Disciple”)

Many people are looking for a “safe” place to worship. In the words of C.S. Lewis, Christ “isn’t safe, but he’s good.” Friendly Hills is a place for the wounded to come, to be loved, and to grow. For us, Christianity isn’t a spectator sport. Rather, every member is a minister. “God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are.” Leighton Ford

We are a purpose driven church. By this we do not mean that our purpose is the result of our own creativity or originality. We are about discovering God’s purpose for us and understanding His values. We are willing to be stretched in faith in order to walk in His purpose. We are less concerned with our own comfort and preference, and more concerned by the strategic objectives of our mission.

We are a church which desires to worship the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength. Through a contemporary/traditional blend of music and form, we hope to inspire and motivate our congregation to heartfelt, passionate worship. At Friendly Hills church, worship is not something done for us or to us. Each of us is called to worship in spirit and in truth. Our service of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other, but before all else, a meeting of the Triune God with his chosen people. (See our Philosophy of Worship”)

We are committed to the Scriptures, the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. So committed, we seek affiliation with like minded churches and have found our home in the Presbyterian Church of America. As a participating member of this denomination, we are engaged in a broader work of evangelism which extends to our community, presbytery, country and the world. The distinctiveness of the PCA lies in our stress on both reformation and revival.

We believe that God has called us to be a resource church to this area. We hope that as God prospers and grows our church, we will be able to facilitate the planting and growth of other PCA congregations.

We are committed to missions in both our going and giving. We hope to see an expanding ministry of short term missions in our church. Furthermore, we hope to see our focus on missions yield the fruit of both finances and full-time missionaries going out from our body.

Ours is a full-orbed family ministry. We will continue to invest in our youth and children through staffing and other resources. Our vision is to expand even larger our outreach to young people. For us, youth ministry is more than caring for the members’ children; it is a relevant witness to a skeptical generation.

Through a growing ministry of “Adult Bible Fellowships” and five kinds of “Small Groups”, we hope to promote significant spiritual growth. Our desire is to see individuals exposed to the Christian faith, and be equipped for ministry.

Here at Friendly Hills Church, we hope that you will discover the grace of a salvation given and kept in Jesus. Here, there are no superstars, and every member is a minister. Every member is lavished with spiritual gifts and equipped for ministry. We have but one head, Jesus Christ; one truth, the Word of God; and one reason, the glory of God.

Key Values

Grace

When truly mastered by the Gospel, a believer has understood that both his salvation and sanctification are by grace through faith alone. This biblical truth is woven through our purpose, vision, goals and expectations.

The Bible

We believe in teaching the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, the only infallible, inerrant rule of faith and practice. Believers grow as they are fed from the Word, and taught to feed themselves.

Prayer

Prayer as an essential means of growth and worship. The practice of prayer, individually and corporately is essential to ministry.

Leader-Equipped

In addition to his role of preaching and teaching, the primary role of the pastor and staff will involve the equipping and training of key leaders. We view the pastor as the keeper of the vision. It is incumbent on him to be free of the day to day operation so that he might pray, study, grow, dream and equip others.

Covenant Theology

-see (Presenting the gospel to Covenant Children)

Innovation and Growth

We are not satisfied to confine ourselves only to traditional approaches. We are willing to exercise our faith in order to carry out our mission. We are committed to a principle of perpetual growth, both quantitative and qualitative.

High Standards

We believe that Jesus Christ is worthy of our total devotion. We are called to demonstrate this devotion by giving of our time, talents, and treasure to His Church. We are committed to high standards of participation for church members with leadership standards even higher.

People Oriented

We are people oriented as opposed to program oriented. We hold in highest regard the individual and the family. We believe that programs are designed to serve people and not people to serve programs. If a program is not supported, it should be re-evaluated.

Every Member a Minister/Lay-Driven Ministry

The church member’s role and commitment is to grow as a disciple, to be trained to use his/her gifts, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to directly do the work of ministry. For a church to grow, gifted individuals must be creative, proactive, sensitive, and sacrificial in their approach to God’s work.

Seeker Friendly/Worship Driven

We will strive to maintain a welcoming atmosphere for seekers but not to the detriment of true worship and the teaching of the Word.

Worship Driven

Our church is committed to a God centered worship experience. In spirit and in truth, our hope is that Sunday will become an extension of personal worship and devotion through the week. Through a blend of traditional and contemporary forms, we desire to provide an atmosphere which encourages active participation. At Friendly Hills, worship is not something done to you or for you as much as it is something done by you.

Heritage

We are a connectional church, and as such we draw strength from our contemporary relationships in the denomination, and our sense of history in the reformed faith. With the appropriate use of liturgy, theology, hymns, etc., we hope to maintain a sense of history and roots which will help guide us for the future.

God continues to bind us together in love and common vision. As we grow stronger in our sense of mission, please pray with us that God would multiply the fruit of our labor to build His kingdom and draw many to Himself.

Elder Lead

While the Sr. Pastor may be the keeper of the vision, the vision emanates from the session. Our leaders are recognized by considering both character and giftedness. They are accountable to each other before God and must be model disciples.

Their primary responsibility is to oversee the establishment of broad policies and programs, to manage broadly the activities of the church, and to insure doctrinal purity in prayer and teaching of the Word.

Our session is not a democratic institution but theocratic. While every effort is made to communicate with and receive input from the congregation as a whole, in the end the session’s primary responsibility is to God. We have but one head, Christ.

Discipleship

We are called to point people to Christ and to disciple them. We will evaluate our activities by their effectiveness in producing disciples. (See “Biblical Profile of a Disciple”)

Purpose Driven

Our commitment is to see our people, ministry programs, budget, facilities, etc. to be shaped by God’s purpose for our church. Our commitment to be purpose driven will make us different from other churches who may be program or comfort driven.

Our staff, officers, teachers and group leaders must be growing disciples, committed to the church’s purpose and philosophy of ministry.

Missions

We are committed to being missions oriented, viewing nurture as a means to mission, never as an end in itself. Reaching the un-churched is a high priority, and we are committed to facilitating the penetration of all socio-economic, ethnic groups with the Gospel. Missions is both domestic and foreign.