About Laurel Church - Who we are:
Vision, Mission & Values
Vision.
“Our vision is to see God's Kingdom come, & God's will be done, in Whatcom County as it is in Heaven.”
Mission.
Seeing the lost found, the found freed, the freed trained, & the trained sent.
Values.
“Our vision is to see God's Kingdom come, & God's will be done, in Whatcom County as it is in Heaven.”
Mission.
Seeing the lost found, the found freed, the freed trained, & the trained sent.
Values.
- Devotion. Jesus is worthy of it all.
- Community. We are committed to following Jesus, together
- Formation. Be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do the things of Jesus.
Our Rule of Faith
When it comes to sharing what we believe, we echo a quote often attributed to Saint Augustine, an early church father, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In everything, love.”
- First, this statement speaks to the truth that there are essential teachings within Scripture that the Church must be united on if the people of God are to rightly experience life with Him and with each other.
- Additionally, the Church has divided over the years due to smaller disputes, for which there should have been liberty and grace. Though the non-essentials are important, the essentials are what unite us.
- Lastly, in everything, we are a people of love. Right belief, expressed pridefully, is not love. Wrong belief, expressed gently, is also not love. But right belief, embodied by love, is the Way of Jesus.
That said, here are the essentials of Laurel Church:
- God. God is the loving Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is perfect and holy in every way. He has no beginning and no end. He has eternally existed as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The members of the Trinity are one in essence, distinct in persons, and worthy of our worship (Gen. 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22; Ps. 90:2; Matt. 28:19; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Cor. 13:14).
- Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus is also fully human. After living a sinless life, Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power and victory over sin, death, and the devil. He ascended into heaven and will return to the earth to judge the living and the dead, make all things new, and reign forever with the saints in His glorious Kingdom (Matt. 1:22, 23; Is. 9:6; John 1:1–5; 14:10–30; Heb. 4:14, 15; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 1:3-4; Acts 1:9–11; 1 Tim. 6:14-15; Tit. 2:13).
- Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus. He also regenerates, indwells, and empowers all who believe in Jesus, so the believer can bear the fruit of Christ’s character, align their mind and life with what is true, and use their spiritual gifts for Kingdom work. As followers of Jesus, our desire is to be led by, in step with, in awe of, and in submission to the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:17; John 3:3, 16:7–13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:14; 1 Cor. 2:12; 3:16; Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 5:18).
- Scripture. The 66 books of the Bible were written over a period of roughly 2,000 years by 40 different authors from 3 different continents who wrote in 3 different languages. And yet, every word penned by these human authors was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all scripture is God-breathed and authoritative, alive and active, trustworthy and true. Church tradition can act as great guardrails, but scripture alone, with the help of the Spirit, is our supreme source to understand the life and practice of the Christian faith (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 1:13; Ps. 119:105, 160; 12:6; Prov. 30:5).
- Mankind. God created mankind in His image and after His likeness. As His masterpiece, we were made to love Him and to co-rule the world with Him. Yet, mankind listened to the devil and disobeyed God. We sinned. Sin ruptures our relationship with God, enslaves us to the domain of darkness, and at the end of our life—if not for salvation—sin separates us eternally from God. This is hell. But God so loves us and desires relationship with us, that He came to us in human form through the incarnation of Jesus to save us (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 1:18-25; John 3:16-17; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 6:23).
- Salvation. Salvation is God’s free gift to us today, but we must accept it. It is only by trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation with God that anyone can be saved from sin’s power and penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God. It is in this moment that salvation occurs and eternal life begins. We are then called to work out and mature in salvation by following Jesus so we can live the life He’s won for us (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; John 14:6; 1:12; Tit. 3:5; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 5:1; Phil. 2:12-13).
- The Church. Though Christ’s glorified body is beside the Father in heaven, His body on earth is the Church. The Church functions as the embassy of the Kingdom, a people who are in this world, but not of this world. Who show the kingdoms of this world what life looks like under the reign and rule of Jesus. The Church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission (Matt. 22:37; 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-16; 1 Cor. 12:12-30; Luke 24:46-48; Eph. 1:19-23; 4:15-16; Acts 1:8).
- The Judgment. Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. As Judge, Jesus is both merciful and just. He will usher all those who have called upon His name for salvation into eternal union and everlasting joy in the New Creation. But to all who have rejected His offer of salvation, He will give them what they want—eternal separation from the life of God. This is known as Hell (John 3:16, 14:17; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 8:17–18; Rev. 20:15; 1 Cor. 2:7–9).
- The Sacraments. The sacraments of a New Testament church are baptism and communion. We follow our Lord’s command to give evidence of our salvation through water baptism and to remember His cleansing blood and broken body with the elements of holy communion. While water baptism and holy communion are not required for salvation, they are biblical commands that demonstrate our faith in Christ, our obedience to Him, and our participation in the mystery of His grace (Matt. 26:26-29, 28:19-20; Acts 2:41, 8:12-13, 16:30-33; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-30).
In addition to our essentials, we feel the necessity to clarify our beliefs regarding the sanctity of life and human sexuality.
- Sanctity of Life. We believe in the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to the time of death. All human life is precious in the sight of God (Luke 1:15; Gal. 1:15; Psalm 22:10; 71:6; 139:13-14; Mark 8:36; Psalm 72:14).
- Human Sexuality. We believe that God’s design for human sexual conduct as defined in scripture is faithful, lifelong heterosexual union for married persons and committed celibate behavior for unmarried persons. All other sexual practices are clearly defined as sinful and destructive of individuals, of community, and of the fellowship of believers, and like all sin, call for repentance, openness to the transforming power of God, and restoration to the community of faith. We also believe that we are to be motivated by grace when offering God’s saving and healing love to all people, because all people are wounded, sinful, and broken (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 19:3-9; Rom. 1:24-28; 1 Cor. 7:1-5; Eph. 5:22-33).
Our Rule of Life
In order for us to deeply and consistently abide in Jesus, we believe we need a Rule of Life just as much as a Rule of Faith. What is a Rule of Life? It’s a set of spiritual practices and relational rhythms that serve as the framework of our ordinary, day-to-day lives. It’s a way of intentionally ordering our lives individually—and the life of our church communally—around God with the goals of being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing the things of Jesus.
At Laurel Church, our Rule of Life consists of nine core spiritual practices that help us resist the powers and patterns of this world which seek to deform us, while simultaneously posturing ourselves before the Spirit of God Who desires to transform us. These nine core practices that mark the life of our church, and have long marked the lives of those who follow the Way, are:
Scripture
Prayer
Community
Sabbath
Solitude
Fasting
Serving
Generosity
Witness
Laurel Church is part of Mission Northwest. To know more about the commonly held essentials of the Mission Northwest, click here.