Berryville church of Christ Committed to the Community
In 1946 a group of Christians started a church on Shaver Street in Berryville. The old Shaver Street building, though owned by others, is still standing today. These Christians brought with them the same commitments that the church sets forth today.
First and foremost, the Berryville church of Christ is committed to Christ. Early in the first century, a baby was born to a virgin named Mary. This baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born the Son of God. Jesus grew physically, mentally, and spiritually ( Luke 2:40) and at the age of thirty began his public ministry. During this ministry he powerfully demonstrated that he was the Son of God ( John 20:30,31). Jesus lived a sinless life, however, he was rejected by his own people and crucified on a Roman cross. In contrast to those among whom Jesus lived, God accepted his sacrifice and raised him up from the dead. His sacrifice purchased salvation for all who believe on Him, obey Him, and enter into His covenant. This covenant is set forth for us in the New Testament and sets forth the pattern for His disciple's mission, worship, and organization. To neglect this pattern is to bring oneself out of a covenant relationship with Jesus the Christ, and His Father. The Berryville church of Christ is committed to Christ and His Covenant, which means we will labor, worship, and organize based only upon what we find revealed to us in the scriptures.
Second, the Berryville church of Christ is committed to Christians. The disciples of Christ met together as the church and were called Christians ( Acts 11:26). The body of Christ is the church of Christ (Eph.1:22,23) and only those who are "in Christ" can be members of his body, of his church ( Romans 12:5). To be committed to Christians, therefore, means that we are committed to those who are "in Christ" and committed to the process of bringing others "into" Christ. We do this by exhorting the hearer to belief "unto" the Christ. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness . . ." ( Romans 10:10a). We challenged the hearer to repent of those things which separate him from God--SIN (Isa.59:2). Repentance is also toward or "unto" salvation ( Acts 11:18). One who is to become a Christian must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, " . . . and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation" ( Romans 10:10b). All of these things lead one to Christ, but there is one final step that places one INTO Christ. This step is baptism. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal.3:27). After baptism, one is "in Christ," which means he is in the body of Christ and in the church of Christ. This baptized person is now a Christian. And, the Berryville church of Christ fully commits herself to aiding each Christian to live faithfully to Christ and go to heaven when this life is over. We do this through our Bible study programs, worship times, and other fellowship activities.
Third, the Berryville church of Christ is committed to the community. God's church was never designed to operate in an isolated environment. God calls his people to interact with the community around them in a fashion that will draw the community toward Christ and God the Father. This interaction is to be peaceful in nature ( James 3:17,18), but done is such a way that everyone is aware of God's actions through us (Mat.5:13-16). These actions are the work of the church in her community. This work includes caring for orphans and widows ( James 1:27), aiding young people to develop spiritual meaning in their lives ( Psalm 119:9), helping laborers to be happy and content in their work (Eph.4:1) and providing a loving and compassionate atmosphere for the sick, grieving, imprisoned, and hungry (Mat.25:34-36). Our work reflects this commitment to the community. The Berryville church of Christ provides support to elderly care facilities, orphans homes and educational institutions. We are also very active in shipping clothing overseas to countries less fortunate than us. We have an active presence on the Internet, through which we serve an even larger community--the world.
If you are committed to Christ, to Christians, and to the community, you can be a part of us at the Berryville church of Christ. We invite you to visit with us today and to inquire concerning any aspect of our commitment to God's work.
Posted in: Bible Lessons, Church