To where have we been called?
What do we believe?
What do we value?
What will we do (our mission) in this place with these beliefs and values?
What is our purpose in doing it?
What will it look like? What is our vision?
What is our strategy to get it done?
Throughout the New Testament we are continually reminded of the importance of unity within the church.
In John 17:23 Jesus prays for all believers that we "may be one" and that we will be "brought to complete unity" so that the world can come to know Him.
In Romans 15:5-6 Paul's prayer for the church was that "God would give them a spirit of unity among themselves as they followed Christ Jesus so that with one heart and mouth they could glorify God."
In Ephesians 4:3 Paul instructed the church to "make every effort tokeep the unity of Spirit through the bond of peace." And in Colossians 2:3, Paul said that his purpose in writing to the Church at Collosse was "that they might be encouraged in heart and united in love."
The most pointed scripture concerning unity in the church is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10. In that passage, Paul says..."I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."
It is clear that Paul agreed with Jesus' words in Matthew 12:25 when He said, "a household divided against itself will not stand."
Our intent at The Fellowship is to be a household united rather than a household divided so that God's purposes can be accomplished through us.
Our Call Statement
Turning Point Fellowship has been called to obey the great commandment and to fulfill the great commission in the communities of Manor, Elgin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Hutto and Taylor and in the counties of Williamson and Travis. Then through strategic planning and partnerships with like-minded churches we will expand our circle of influence to impact for Christ the state of Texas, the nation, and the world.
Our Faith Statement
In essential beliefs, we must have unity.
"There is one body and one Spirit.....just as you were called to one hope when you were called....one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:4-6
In non-essential beliefs, we have liberty.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters." Romans 14:1
In all our beliefs, we have love.
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2
The unity in the Turning Point Fellowship family flows from a living faith and an abiding message. This faith and message is grounded in the Bible which is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme and absolute source of God's transcendent values His truth for Christian beliefs and His principles for Christian living. These are the tenets of our faith and message:
- That in accordance with Psalm 90:2, God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is eternal and exists from "everlasting to everlasting."
- That in accordance with John 1:1-15, 10-18, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with God the Father and lived in human form among men to bring us "grace and truth."
- That in accordance with 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of the Lord" and is co-equal with God and Christ.
- That in accordance with 2 Corinthians 13:14, all believers have access to "the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." These three are co-equal and are one God called the Trinity.
- That is accordance with Romans 3:23, 6:23, everyone has "sinned" and can expect only "death" as the "wages of sin."
- That in accordance with 2 Peter 3:9, God's desire is that everyone escape this death and be saved. He is patient with us "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
- That in accordance with Ephesians 2:8-9, salvation is "by grace through faith." It is "the gift of God" and has nothing to do with our "works."
- That in accordance with John 3:16-18, the sole condition for receiving "eternal life" is "believing (trusting) in" the Lord Jesus Christ, who died a substitutionary death on the cross for man's sin and rose from the dead.
- That in accordance with John 5:24, if we have received that free gift of salvation we are permanently and forever saved. We "have eternal life," we "will not be condemned" because we "have crossed over death to life."
- That in accordance with 1 Peter 2:9, as part of our salvation experience every believer immediately becomes one of God's "chosen people" and a member of His "royal priesthood" and as such, has no need for human intermediaries.
- That in accordance with Ephesians 1:13-14, as part of our salvation experience we immediately receive and are "sealed" with "the promised Holy Spirit" as a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" until the day that Christ returns.
- That in accordance with Hebrews 6:1, once someone has been saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit, God then desires that they progress beyond "the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity." God wants believers to grow in spiritual knowledge and understanding. This process is called discipleship.
- That in accordance with Luke 14:25-35, discipleship requires first and foremost a commitment to Christ. We are to love Christ even "more than we love our families" and "more than we love our own lives."
- That in accordance with Hebrews 10:25, discipleship also requires a commitment to the body of Christ. We are not to "give up meeting together" with fellow believers, rather we must know our church family and be involved in their lives so that we can "encourage one another."
- That in accordance with Matthew 22:37-40, 28:19-20, discipleship also requires a commitment to the work of Christ. We are to "love the Lord" and "our neighbor." In addition, we are to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them" and "teaching them to obey" the commands of Christ.
- That in accordance with Romans 12:1, we are to be motivated in our discipleship by gratitude for "God's mercy."
- That in accordance with 2 Corinthians 5:14, we are to be motivated in our discipleship by gratitude for "Christ's love."
- That in accordance with 2 Corinthians 5:10, we are to be motivated in our discipleship by the knowledge that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," to receive what is due us "for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
- That in accordance with Revelation 20:11-15, 21:1-7, Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. Christ will return to judge both the living and the dead. Those who have rejected salvation will be "thrown into the lake of fire," while those who have been saved will "live with God" for eternity.
Our Values Statement
- We Value Growth Acts 2:47
- We recognize that The Fellowship is a living organism and the state of its health is determined by growth on three levels:
- Internal - equipping existing members
- Expansion - enlisting new members
- Extension - establishing new churches
- We Value Servant Leadership Matthew 20:28
- We recognize that Jesus himself set the standard for self-sacrificing servant leadership and that He commanded those of us who would be His disciples to follow His example.
- We Value Innovation 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
- We recognize that while our message is timeless and unchanging, our methods must be evaluated and adapted to the people and the culture we are trying to reach.
- We Value Seekers Acts 17:27
- We recognize that lost people matter to us, but they can not be expected to live like believers until they are believers. We must be willing to do what is necessary to meet them where they are so we can show them where God is.
- We Value Relevance Matthew 7:24-25
- We recognize that many people believe the Bible's message is outdated and does not address the practical issues of life in the modern world. We must make every effort to present God's truth in a way that is pertinent and applicable.
- We Value Family Ephesians 2:19
- We recognize that all believers everywhere make up the universal church family and that all believers who unite with this congregation make up The Fellowship church family. It is critically important that we are united in purpose and committed to serve, support, encourage, and hold each other accountable as loving family members.
- We Value Fellowship Acts 2:42
- We recognize that God expects us to take time to develop personal relationships. He expects us to become involved in each other's lives, to recognize needs, and to seek to meet those needs both spiritual and practical. Cultivating Biblical fellowship is just as critical as any other purpose of the church.
- We Value Encouragement 1 Thessalonians 5:11
- We recognize that living out our Christian beliefs and principles is incredibly challenging. In fact, it would be virtually impossible if we tried to accomplish it on our own. We must have the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit and the positive reinforcement that only fellow believers can give.
- We Value Giftedness 1 Peter 4:10
- We recognize that God has gifted every believer and that His will is for each of us to use our gifts in serving one another. Until we have discovered our areas of giftedness and begun to develop them through genuine service we can never reach our potential in Christ as individuals or collectively as a church.
- We Value Commitment Hebrews 12:1-3
- We recognize that in many ways our society has lost touch with the true meaning of commitment. We also understand, however, that as believers we are expected to persevere in three critical areas:
- Commitment to Christ
- Our Commitment to the Body of Christ
- Our Commitment to the Work of Christ
Our Mission Statement
To be a growing body of loving, joyful, and obedient servants of Jesus Christ.
Diligently seeking unified direction and power from the Holy Spirit through applied scripture, believing prayer and celebrative worship.
Innovatively reaching out to seekers and the unchurched with the relevant gospel message of restoration and forgiveness in salvation by grace through faith.
Lovingly incorporating believers into the family of the church through membership and fellowship and continually encouraging one another to mature as obedient disciples, gifted ministers and committed missionaries of the Lord.
Our Purpose Statement
We are here to reach people for Christ and help believers grow to be like Him.
Our purpose statement is based on two key scriptures:
The Great Commandment Matthew 22:37-40
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
The Great Commission Matthew 28:19-21
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
From which we derive five key principles:
- To "Love the Lord your God" is worship
- To "Love your neighbor as yourself" is ministry
- To "Go and make disciples" is evangelism
- To "Baptize them" is fellowship
- To "Teach them to obey" is discipleship
Our statement of purpose results from organizing these principles into a process that is measurable in terms of results, therefore:
We exist to glorify God by encouraging:
- seekers to become believers
- believers to become members
- members to become ministers
- ministers to become missionaries
At Turning Point Fellowship Church we understand that personalities and programs are temporary but God's purposes are timeless.
Our Vision Statement
Turning Point Fellowship will be a dynamic force for Christ growing into a regional ministry of at least 2500 Attending members from a broad geographic area including Williamson and Travis counties.
We will be committed to obeying the great commandment and fulfilling the great commission through innovative worship, ministry, evangelism fellowship, and discipleship.
We will develop staff and maintain dozens of ministries designed to meet needs in both the church and the community.
We will place special emphasis on child care, Christian education, family development, professional Christian counseling services, social ministries, and mission outreach projects.
We will develop a church campus site on at least 20 acres that will include:
- Worship space for 2500
- Sunday School and meeting space for 2500
- A Family Life Center with Gymatorium
- A Fellowship and dining hall with commercial kitchen
- Staff offices
- A full service Christian counseling center
- A day care program
- A Christian school from Pre-K thru Senior High
- Indoor and outdoor children's play areas
- Family recreational facilities
We will trust God to provide direction, timing, and resources as we seek to fulfill our vision for His glory.
50% of our attending membership will be involved in "hands on" mission trips and activities on an annual basis.
70% of our attending membership will have come into the church from an unchurched (lost or disconnected) background.
100% of our attending membership will be involved in some area of service or ministry within the church.
We will plant on average two new churches per year and we will commission and support missionaries called out from our congregation to serve throughout the state, the nation, and the world.
Our Strategy
Strategy is defined as artful planning, and that is exactly what God has been engaged in since before time began. According to 2 Timothy 1:9, God artfully planned to "save us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time."
An then is the second phase of His plan, those of us saved by grace are to become the messengers of grace. We can read in 2 Corinthians 5:20, that "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us."
It is important for us to know that just as God has a strategy for reaching us, we must have a strategy for reaching others. We must have an artful plan to impact for Christ our local community, the State, the Nation and the World.
Paul understood this truth and in 1 Corinthians 9:19, he identified his strategy when he wrote, "though I am free and belong to no man I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Then in verse 22 he explained further by saying "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
Paul's plan was based on finding some common ground from which he could share the Gospel with those who were lost. Though he never altered his message, he adapted his methods to match his audience. It was a strategy that proved to be tremendously effective.
In our church family we have employed this strategy and diligently seek "to win as many as possible" by "becoming all things to all men." And we claim the promise of Proverbs 16:3 that says if we "commit to the Lord whatever we do, our plans will succeed."
At Turning Point Fellowship we will never alter our message, but we will adapt our methods to match our audience so that by all possible means some might be saved.
In Acts 17:16-34 we can read of Paul's trip to Athens and how he "spent time in the market place day by day with those who happened to be there." He tells us that he "walked around and looked carefully at their objects of worship."
Through observing and interacting with the community Paul discovered how they thought of themselves as "very religious" and intellectual. They enjoyed "talking about and listening to the latest ideas."
Then armed with what he had learned about them, Paul skillfully presented the truth in terms they could understand and to which they could relate.
He told them that "the God who made the world and everything in it ...did so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him." He explained to them that "God is not far from each one of us." He even quoted from their "own poets" in his effort to introduce them to Christ.
Paul studied the community. He came to understand how they felt and what they thought and then he crafted his presentation of the gospel so that they could see its relevance in their lives.
We must also observe and interact with the people we are trying to reach. We need to know how they feel and what they think.
We are blessed to live in an age when a great deal of very detailed statistical information is available about our community. This information can never take the place of spending time with people but it can be very helpful to us in determining the method of our ministry.
Our goal is to draw families from the uncommitted community into the center of committed ministry and missions through EDUCATION IN GOD'S WORD and ENCOURAGEMENT FROM GOD'S PEOPLE.