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August 29, 2008

Partnership Form

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A JOINT VENTURE: What Does It Mean?
CHURCH PARTNERSHIP

A Gallup Poll in May 1991 revealed seven basic needs of Americans. When we consider these needs the answer to the question, "Why should I be committed to a local church?" becomes clear. The local church is the place where these needs are met.

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP IS COMMITTED TO MEETING YOUR NEEDS

  1. NEED: To believe that life is meaningful and has a purpose.

    CHURCH: We believe that each person was created by God and has meaning and purpose through Him. Liberty Christian Fellowship is a church that helps people find fulfillment and peace through Jesus Christ. Hundreds of people have developed a relationship with God through our church’s ministry. That decision will benefit them in this life and prepare them for eternity. There is nothing happening in our world more important than the work of the many local churches which offer the keys to a satisfying life. Liberty Christian Fellowship is one of those churches.
     
  2. NEED: For a sense of community and deeper relationships. Nearly one-third of all Americans say that they have been lonely for a long period of their lives. There is in each of us a desire for community.

    CHURCH: Liberty Christian Fellowship focuses on fellowship as one of the keys to its ministry. We are striving to enable each part of our church family to find friends and build lasting relationships. We not only exist to help people know God, but we exist to help people know one another.
     
  3. NEED: To be appreciated and respected. In our society people are often overlooked or treated as a number. The Gallup poll reveals that the closer people feel to God the better they feel about themselves.

    CHURCH: Liberty Christian Fellowship is committed to affirming the unique value of each person who worships with us. There is no one we touch who is not important to us. We also strive to bring people closer to God, to help them understand what displeases God and what brings His blessing. Those who walk with us will, we believe, draw closer to God.
     
  4. NEED: To be listened to and heard. In our society individuals can be overlooked and their opinions ignored. Many people are frustrated by the feeling that they do not really matter.

    CHURCH: Because we at Liberty Christian Fellowship affirm the New Testament principle that every believer is a priest with direct access to God, we also affirm the potential of each believer who becomes a part of our church family.
     
  5. NEED: To feel that one is growing in faith. This is an important need for all of us. We do not want to feel that we are wasting our efforts or making no progress in our faith.

    CHURCH: Liberty Christian Fellowship exists to enable our church family to grow. There is solid teaching, and an atmosphere in which we are free to practice our gifts and exercise our ministries. Those who commit to partnership with us, and who walk with us, will have the opportunity to enjoy visible spiritual progress.
     
  6. NEED: For practical help in developing a mature faith. Most of us sense that religion can be theoretical and not practical. We are reluctant to invest our time and energy in theories that are irrelevant to practical life.

    CHURCH: Liberty Christian Fellowship exists to demonstrate the practical nature of faith in God. We provide help in living out family life, in maintaining attitudes that will help us as we live in our world. We also offer practical ways to serve others. We believe in eternal values, but we are committed to living by those values in our world today.
     
  7. NEED: Shelter and food.

    CHURCH: Liberty Christian Fellowship is committed to helping to meet the needs of our church family. We are part of the community’s Food Pantry and do what we can to provide benevolence and assistance to those parts of our family who need help.

YOU CAN SUPPORT LIBERTY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP’S MINISTRY TO OTHERS

  1. You can support by a commitment to partner with us. We can never be the church God has called us to be, touching our community and our world, without commitment from believers like you who will stand with us. Partnering with us is saying, "I don’t just worship here, I am committed to the life and ministry of this church." Individually we can make a difference in our community. Together we can multiply our effectiveness. Scripture states it this way: "Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand" (Leviticus 26:8 ).
  2. You can support by financial commitment. God never planned that the ministry of the Gospel be financed by secular government. His plan has always been to reach the world through the generous giving of His people. We have invested our financial resources in ministering to this community and our world. As you give, remember the promises of God: "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38). "‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’" (Malachi 3:10).
  3. You can support through personal participation.
    1. You participate just by your faithful attendance. As we worship God together you will be blessed. You also help provide an atmosphere of praise and worship that blesses others who are present. It is an exciting part of a church’s life when believers come together to worship God and encourage one another. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25).
    2. You participate by taking part in the ministry. By helping do the things that bless others you will touch many lives with God’s love. There are many ways in which you can serve God with us. You have something to contribute and as you volunteer you will bless many, many others. Each believer has been given gifts and talents by God. As you invest what God has given you in the lives of others, our church will make a difference in our community and our world.
  4. You can support through prayer. Many people only pray general prayers, but there is tremendous power in specific prayer. When you are part of a local church you can pray specifically for the elders, deacons, leaders of various ministries and for the church itself. It is clear from Scripture that nothing happens of lasting value apart from prayer. Paul challenges us to prayer in Ephesians 6:18-19: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."

OUR CHURCH

Liberty Christian Fellowship has been a spiritual factor in the Outer Banks since 1974. From our location in the Outer Banks we have reached out and touched our community, our nation and our world. We are committed to the truth of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. The personality of our church is marked by teaching, worship and the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching is an important part of our ministry. The foundation of everything we believe is in Scripture. We believe that the practical, relevant proclamation of God’s Word is a key to our success as a church.

We have, from our beginning, focused on worship. God is worthy of our praise and deserving of our worship. It is our praise and worship that creates the environment in which God dwells. Psalm 22:3 (NAS) declares "Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel." We know that God is enthroned on the praises of His people.

One of the strong emphases of Liberty Christian Fellowship is the work of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the operation of the Holy Spirit both in the lives of individual believers and in His empowering presence as we worship together. We are committed to His renewing power and His miraculous work among us.

WHAT IS A "CHURCH PARTNER?"

Partners with Liberty Christian Fellowship are "members" of the Body of Christ who want to make a commitment to this local church. The New Testament never uses the term "member" as though it were the equivalent of joining a club. Instead, it uses "member" entirely in the sense of members of a living body. Juan Carlos Ortiz describes Biblical membership in the following way:

  1. A member is not an independent item in body-type membership. A member belongs to the body. Noses don’t walk down the streets by themselves. A member is a part of the body that unites two other parts. The forearm connects the hand to the upper arm. A member in a church body is a uniting force, pulling people together.
  2. A member is one who nurtures. Each part of a body receives nourishment from one part of the body and passes it along to another part of the body. This is done by teaching, helping and encouraging one another.
  3. A member sustains other members. I cannot lose my left foot because my ankle will not let it go. In a New Testament church each member holds on to another member when there is a crisis or attack from the enemy.
  4. Members pass along direction. Direction comes from the Head, which is Christ, and it passes through the whole body so the body moves in one coordinated motion.
  5. Members bring elasticity to the body. Members are not all the same. In a healthy body the differences provide strength and flexibility. Our goal is to see each member function effectively in the body as he or she was designed to function. There is room for diversity.

WHY BE PART OF A LOCAL CHURCH?

  1. Anyone who believes in Jesus becomes a member of the Church of Jesus. Why, then, is it important to become part of a local church?
  2. Becoming a partner with Liberty Christian Fellowship is not a substitute for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the key to life and faith in Him is the only source of successful living. What we at Liberty Christian Fellowship mean by church partnership is this: If you are a member of the body of Christ already, commit to a part of that body so that you can be part of the life of the Spirit and divine energy that is flowing through it. To be a partner in Liberty Christian Fellowship means that you are connected with other believers. We believe that it will be an invigorating and energizing experience.

CONCLUSION

Liberty Christian Fellowship is a body that is alive in the Spirit. We encourage believers who worship with us, and have a heart for what we are doing, to become partners with us. Find your place (and we will help you) so you can participate in the life of the Spirit that is flowing through this part of the Body of Christ.