 All Saints exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Word, Deed, and Sacrament creating a community of believers who live to worship God, and extend His kingdom in Boise and beyond. "All Saints exists to proclaim the Gospel…" Author Tim Keller says of the Gospel: "all of us are spiritually poor and bankrupt before God (Matt 5:3), and even when we put on our best moral efforts for God we appear as beggars clothed in filthy rags (Is 64:6); yet in Jesus Christ God provided a righteousness for us (Rom 3:21-22), a wealth straight from the account of the Son of God, who impoverished himself through suffering and death that we might receive it" (2Cor 8:9). That is the message we want to proclaim. "through Word, Deed, and Sacrament…" We believe that when the Word is read, studied, and preached; when deeds of mercy, justice, and love are exhibited; and when the sacraments are frequently and properly administered the Gospel is proclaimed. And when the Gospel is proclaimed (and accompanied with fervent prayer) everything is changed! Individual lives are united with Christ and transformed into His likeness, the Church is built up and strengthened in as a radiant Bride, and the world is filled with salt and light (Matt 5:16). "creating a community of believers…" The Gospel creates an 'Us' and not just an 'I' - a sweet tonic to the rugged individualism of our age. According to Christ, believers are made members of His Body, a part of which we are a small but meaningful portion. Following that analogy, we believe that each member of the Body should recognize how they share an inherent value to, a critical function in, and a fundamental need for the rest of the Body. We hope that organic associations will produce in us an authentic, encouraging, and attractive community both to insiders and outsiders. "who live to worship God..." It has been written, "Worship is not part of the Christian life; it is the Christian life." We live to worship the Triune God and consider it to be the highest priority of the Church- the center from which everything else revolves. Therefore, we encourage members of our church to worship in a three-fold manner according to the Scriptures: namely in public, family, and private worship. We aim to equip and teach them how to do so. "and extend His kingdom in Boise and beyond." We think that kingdom extension begins with the Christian mind. Os Guinness defines the Christian mind as "thinking about anything at all in a distinctly Christian way. Of allowing the truth of God's word to so inform and influence our thinking in terms of our assumptions, values, and presuppositions that increasingly we see as God sees, though in an imperfect way." We want to promote the use of Christian minds in the world believing that as our minds are transformed, we will be able to respond in loving obedience to the Scriptures in the city of Boise, and the city will be better for it. |
