Every church has its various ministries and emphases. However, each congregation functions around five basic areas of ministry as found in the scriptures. They are fellowship, worship, missions, teaching and mercy. While each church involves itself in each of these ministries, a given church may well emphasize some areas over others. It’s helpful to prioritize these areas to identify resources which are often limited and focus which can easily be lost. Although there shouldn’t be great distance between any area of ministry, Providence Bible Presbyterian Church has ranked them in the following order making us essentially a Worship-Teaching church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worship<\/strong> Every church has its various ministries and emphases. However, each congregation functions around five basic areas of ministry as found in the scriptures. They are fellowship, worship, missions, teaching and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-138","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138\/revisions\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbpcnm.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
God has created us to worship Him. \u00a0Throughout the Bible this is the essential activity amongst the Covenant community of God’s people. \u00a0 The scriptures indicate that worship is the only activity of this life which will continue in the life that is yet to come in Christ. \u00a0 That places an unusual emphasis on worship. \u00a0Therefore, at Providence Bible Presbyterian Church we take the worship of God very seriously. \u00a0We seek to make our worship as pleasing to the Lord as possible. \u00a0We believe only God has the right to decide what pleases Him. \u00a0Therefore, we seek to follow as closely as possible the guidelines for worship provided in the Bible. \u00a0 We hope our services are characterized by reverence for a holy God and joy expressed from hearts sovereignly redeemed by grace.
Teaching<\/strong>
In a day such as ours when truth is considered to be relative, an objective standard for truth is needed more than ever before. \u00a0At Providence Bible Presbyterian Church we believe that objective standard is the Bible, the word of God. \u00a0We not only acknowledge this to be so theologically and intellectually but practically as well. \u00a0Therefore, we encourage each other to conform our lives according to the teachings of the Bible. \u00a0That translates into ministry which is Bible centered. \u00a0We place great emphasis upon the faithful exposition of the scriptures. \u00a0 It is the Bible which drives our lifestyles, our thoughts and our ministries as a church. \u00a0The central, but not the sole, activity of our worship service is the responsible preaching of the scriptures. \u00a0 Our Sunday School ministry, Sabbath ministries and mid-week ministries are centered around the proclamation of the Bible. \u00a0It is our source of truth and guide for all we do.
Fellowship<\/strong>
The scripture says,\u00a0\u201cIron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Proverbs 27:17) \u00a0At Providence Bible Presbyterian Church we believe this spiritual \u201csharpening\u201d occurs best in Christian fellowship. \u00a0The Church of Jesus Christ is a Covenant community which makes it a spiritual family. \u00a0As such, we seek to spend time with one another as members of that family. This is often done informally amongst the congregation. \u00a0But we also encourage fellowship in a more organized way. \u00a0Each week our home fellowship groups meet, one on the eastside of town and another on the westside. \u00a0These groups consist of a study time followed by sharing and prayer for each other and are usually lead by an Elder of the church. \u00a0We also have regular fellowship meals and a once-a-month congregational get-together organized by our Fellowship Committee which is just for fun. \u00a0An outside observer of the early New Covenant Church once remarked, \u201cSee how they love one another.\u201d \u00a0 We do.
Missions<\/strong>
Jesus has left His Church with a Great Commission to\u00a0\u201cgo and make disciples of all nations.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Matthew 28:19) \u00a0He has left us with the words of eternal life. \u00a0If the Church does not declare the Good News of salvation in Christ, no one will. \u00a0Therefore, we believe at Providence Bible Presbyterian Church that we have a solemn duty and holy privilege of taking the message of redemption in Jesus to the world. \u00a0We continually pray in our gatherings for the lost to be saved. \u00a0We encourage our people to look for opportunities to tell others what Christ has done for them. \u00a0We also have a ministry of evangelism training and outreach through the Evangelism Explosion program. \u00a0Further, we have catalyzed and continue to sponsor a daughter church in Farmington, NM and assist other church plants in the west where the gospel is emphasized. \u00a0We also financially support numerous ministries and agencies of the gospel both in Albuquerque and overseas. \u00a0 These efforts are consistent with our being\u00a0\u201cambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.\u201d (<\/em>2 Corinthians 5:20)
Mercy<\/strong>
James, the brother of our Lord, states that\u00a0\u201cthis is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(James 1:27) \u00a0Over and over in the Bible the Church is exhorted to care for the poor and indigent. \u00a0At Providence Bible Presbyterian Church we wish to take these exhortations seriously. \u00a0We have an active deaconal ministry for needs both inside our church and outside as well. \u00a0We try to monitor our people’s lives to be able to help in time of providential need. \u00a0 With our post-Communion offerings we support three ministries in the city which reach out to the homeless, the battered and the poor. \u00a0 We periodically organize volunteer groups from within our congregation to help with these works. \u00a0We are ready to assist with any need as the Lord provides.
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