415 16th St NE, Fayette, AL 35555
Mission
Our mission is to help people Learn from Christ, Live in Christ, and Lead others to Christ.
Values
LIVE THE WORD
Who is Central
The Central Church is a family of believers seeking to serve God, serve one another an serve our community. We strive to live in alignment with the commands of Jesus, share Hi love and help those in need. Specifically, we strive to –
Central was formed to be an exciting, bold and courageous Church. A Church that loves God, loves each other and shows the love of God to our community by the things we do. Central is a Church that’s not afraid of change, a Church that will not keep doing the same old things, getting the same old results. A Church that’s not afraid to try, even when we sometimes fail. A Church with members tied to Jesus and not to the cross ties of tradition.
That is Central!
What Central Believes
Central is firmly founded in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We believe there is one true God who provided us salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. They were written by human authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the result that Scripture is God’s Word – entirely true and without error in the original writings. They are the supreme and final authority for Christian beliefs and living, and nothing is to be added or removed. We further believe that the focus of all Scripture is the person and work of Jesus Christ. (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:11, 89, 105; Jude 1:3; Romans 15:4; Titus 1:1-3; Rev 22:18)
God
We believe there is one living and true God, who is the Creator, Preserver, Redeemer and Ruler of the universe. He is infinitely perfect in every way and eternally exists as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (in a relationship known as the Trinity). We believe these three are one God and each possesses fully the nature, attributes and perfections of deity. (Gen 1:1; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 6: 1-3; 40: 12-28, 45:5-7; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 28:19; Acts 17:24-25; Romans 11:33-36; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 John 3:20)
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin named Mary – a miraculous process by which he received a human body and a sinless human nature. He is fully God and fully human in one person. We believe He lived a sinless life of perfect obedience to the law of God. Through His death on the cross, He made provision for the salvation of sinful people. We believe He was raised from the dead with a glorified body, ascended into heaven where He rules over the universe and prays for His people, and will one day return visibly to earth. (Matt 1:18-25; Luke 24: 14-43; John 1:1, 14; Romans 8:34, 1 Cor 15:3-8; 2 Cor 5:21; Colossians 1:15-22, 2:9; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3, 7:25; 1 Peter 2:21-24)
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit comes to live in those who are “reborn” as God’s children. The Holy Spirit acts in many ways including by the giving of spiritual gifts, empowering the life of every believer, revealing spiritual truth, convicting of sin and drawing the lost to Christ. We also believe that Spirit inspired the scripture and fuels the mission of the church. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to overcome the power of sin and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. (John 10:28-29; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 1:8, 2:12, 3:16; 2 Cor 5:17; Galatians 5:16)
Salvation
We believe that God created mankind in His own image and for His glory as the crowning work of His creation. However, man sinned against God and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. This spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race (except for Christ) with the result that every person is born into the world with a sinful nature that rebels against God and is under His condemnation. (Gen 1:26-28; Psalm 8:3-8, 14:1-3, 51:5; Isaiah 59:2; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 19, 6:23; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:1-3)
We also believe the incredibly good news found in the Bible that those who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior become spiritually new people who are declared “not guilty” for their sin and receive the gift of eternal life. This salvation is required by grace through faith alone, apart from any good or religious works, and is based entirely on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as their substitute. We believe that Christ’s resurrection demonstrated God’s full acceptance of His death as payment for sin and foreshadows the final resurrection of all believers. (John 3:16, 18, 36, 14:6; Romans 4:25, 5:1, 6-9, 6:23, 8:1; 2 Cor 5:17, 21; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5-7)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in those who are “reborn” as God’s children. As Christians live in obedience to God, the Holy Spirit empowers them to gradually overcome the power of sin and become more like Christ. It is a gift that provides the supernatural power to overcome our fleshly sinful nature. We believe that those who are truly born again will be protected by God’s power and steadfastly continue in their Christian life. (John 10:28-29; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 1:8, 2:12, 3:16; 2 Cor 5:17; Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 5:23-24; Jude 1:24, John 10:27-30)
The Church
We believe in the one, universal Church made up of all who have trusted Christ, who is the Head of the Church, which is His body. We also believe in the local church, which is a local congregation of baptized believers who gather for worship, spiritual growth, service, fellowship and observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The local church operates under Jesus Christ and is governed by elders who are assisted by deacons. It grows as each member serves the body using the spiritual gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit, resulting in maturity, unity and glory to God. Christ has commissioned the church and its individual members to spread the Gospel throughout the world. (Matt 16:16-19, 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-47, 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 3:20-21, 4:11-16; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Tim 3)
We are committed to being a church no longer bound by traditions but focused only on the plan God has set up for His church in scripture. We strive to remove the scars of judgmental practices and show love to each and all of our members. (Mark 12:28-29; 1 Peter 5:2; John 13:34-35.
We believe that the Lord Jesus has given the local church two religious rites: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. All who have received Christ as Savior should be baptized by immersion as a symbolic testimony to their participation in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Likewise, believers should regularly partake in the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Christ’s death and as a testimony of our fellowship with Him and our unity as the body of Christ. (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-42; 1 Cor 11:23-26)
Worship
We believe worship is not just an activity – it is an encounter with God. True worship expresses love to God with heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:30) We want to pursue worship that is emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically engaging. We should expect to be moved, awed, convicted, humbled, instructed and encouraged. We believe exciting assemblies, engaging music, motivating messages and warm fellowship are modes of worship that all Christians should grow from and appreciate. (Acts 2:42-47) We believe in a worship involving prayer, praise, teaching, giving and we are honored to take communion each Sunday. We believe expressions of worship may include instrumental music, praise teams, as well as various media platforms utilizing technology.
We treasure our children and youth and encourage their participation in our services with glad and sincere hearts. Children of all ages are allowed to pray, lead singing, read scripture, and take part in plays, puppet shows or other activities that may be a part of our worship services. We pursue children and youth ministry programs that will encourage students on a secure path to learn from Christ, live in Christ and lead others to Christ. We strive to give them a foundation rooted and established in love that they may grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Ephesians 3:16-19; Matt 18:6; Matt
19:14)
Marriage
We believe that marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the Church and that the relationship between husband and wife should reflect the covenant relationship of Christ and the Church. We believe the word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. Marriages outside of these parameters will not be performed by church ministers or on church property. (Matt 19; Colossians 3; Song of Solomon 1-8; Mark 10; Ephesians 5)