What does it mean to say that Calvary Baptist Church is a 9Marks Church?
The?”Nine Marks of a Healthy Church” is a book written in 2001 by Mark Dever, a Baptist Pastor in Washington, D.C.? The 9Marks website is based on the book and lists the churches across the United States that subscribe to the 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.
If you are looking for a church home and you are seeking a church that strives to be balanced and healthy, then we recommend our church.
While you likely will have no problem finding a church with a large building, entertaining youth activities and motivational speeches, we at Calvary have taken a different approach.? We believe that by striving to be a 9 Marks Church, we are fulfilling God?s purpose for His Church.? We would love for you to join us.
The Nine Marks are listed as:
1. Expositional Preaching
This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God?s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship. Read More
2.? Biblical Theology
Paul charges Titus to ?teach what is in accord with sound doctrine? (Titus 2:1). Our concern should be not only with how we are taught, but with what we are taught. Biblical theology is a commitment to know the God of the Bible as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. Read More
3.? Biblical Understanding of the Good News
The gospel is the heart of Christianity.? But the good news is not that God wants to meet people?s felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge.? Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ?s acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus? death and resurrection. That is the good news. Read More
4.? Biblical Understanding of Conversion
The spiritual change each person needs is so radical, so near the root of us, that only God can do it. We need God to convert us. Conversion need not be an emotionally heated experience, but it must evidence itself in godly fruit if it is to be what the Bible regards as a true conversion. Read More
5.? Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
How someone shares the gospel is closely related to how he understands the gospel. To present it as an additive that gives non-Christians something they naturally want (i.e. joy or peace) is to present a half-truth, which elicits false conversions. The whole truth is that our deepest need is spiritual life, and that new life only comes by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus. We present the gospel openly, and leave the converting to God. Read More
6.? Biblical Understanding of Membership
Membership should reflect a living commitment to a local church in attendance, giving, prayer and service; otherwise it is meaningless, worthless, and even dangerous. We should not allow people to keep their membership in our churches for sentimental reasons or lack of attention. To be a member is knowingly to be traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home. Read More
7.? Biblical Church Discipline
Church discipline gives parameters to church membership. The idea seems negative to people today ? ?didn?t our Lord forbid judging?? But if we cannot say how a Christian should not live, how can we say how he or she should live? Each local church actually has a biblical responsibility to judge the life and teaching of its leaders, and even of its members, particularly insofar as either could compromise the church?s witness to the gospel. Read More
8.? Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth
A pervasive concern with church growth exists today ? not simply with growing numbers, but with growing members. Though many Christians measure other things, the only certain observable sign of growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial. These concepts are nearly extinct in the modern church. Recovering true discipleship for today would build the church and promote a clearer witness to the world. Read More
9.? Biblical Understanding of Leadership
What eighteenth-century Baptists and Presbyterians often agreed upon was that there should be a plurality of elders in each local church. This plurality of elders is not only biblical, but practical ? it has the immense benefit of rounding out the pastor?s gifts to ensure the proper shepherding of God?s church. Read More
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