OUR HOPE
Scroll below to learn more about our vision, mission and values
Eastern North Carolina
We feel that God has called us to a particular area to do His mission. The fact is, there is very little church planting activity in North Carolina east of I-95. In general, denominations are not planning on spending their church-planting budgets in Eastern North Carolina (ENC). We believe that our church is called to bring the Gospel to an area that is currently being overlooked.
Gospel Centered
We don’t think ENC just needs a bunch more churches - it needs the gospel. When the gospel is left out, we end up emphasizing that we should be good people, rather than pointing to the fact that we have a good savior. ENC does not need any more dead religion, but it does desperately need communities of faith that place the gospel of grace at the very center.
Spirit Empowered
We don’t want to plant churches in our own effort that run primarily on best practices or church growth techniques. We want to plant churches that are dependent on God’s Spirit for God’s power, and that are filled with life as a result of His presence. Our dependence on the Spirit helps guide everything that we do and each decision that we make.
Locally Contextualized
Our vision is that the communities of Eastern North Carolina would have churches that reflect the local neighborhoods they minister to. We don’t want to plant cookie-cutter churches, or try to replicate what has happened in Morehead City, Beaufort, or Swansboro. We believe that churches must contextualize the Gospel into the culture of that community.
Churches
We want to plant local churches that are on Jesus’ mission of making disciples and pushing back darkness. We want our vision to be about Jesus’ kingdom advancing through His Church, not just about One Harbor Church advancing. We believe that Jesus’ “plan A” for accomplishing His mission in the world is the local church, so we want to continue what the early church began in Acts.
Make Disciples
Gospel Proclamation. Ever since Jesus commissioned His church before His ascension, it has been her duty to proclaim the good news that He is King, and with His blood He paid for our sins and purchased our reconciliation to God (Matt 28:18-20). The central role and the first priority of the church is to call people to put their faith in Jesus and begin following Him as disciples. Disciples do not exist only for the sake of their own discipleship, but they are always making more disciples who will in turn make disciples.
Push Back Darkness
Gospel Demonstration. It was Jesus’ intent that His church be a city set on a hill, penetrating the darkness with His light (Matt 5:14-16). When Jesus Christ becomes our King, all of our life comes under his Lordship, and it transforms how we live in such a way that it confronts the darkness around us. The way our faith integrates with our work, the way we care for the poor and marginalized, and the way we love one another in a reconciled community of faith all expose the darkness around us as we walk as children of light (Eph 5:8-11). The way the church lives and loves gives the world a preview of the kingdom of God.
All for the Sake of the Gospel
Gospel Motivation. We do not make disciples to have a large following. We do not care for the poor so that people will look up to us or be indebted to us. We do everything so that the Gospel of Jesus will advance (1 Cor 9:23). We go on mission for the Gospel because we have been saved through the Gospel. We do not strive on mission in order to earn the favor of God. All we are, we are because of Jesus. Now, all we do, we do because of Jesus.