“What does your church basically believe?”
“What does your church strive to be?”
These are questions I have been asked over the past couple months as we move toward launching Imago Dei on September 11. We have plenty of things on our website that talk about what we strive to be and believe (check out our Vision, Values, and PEACE Plan). But I thought it might be helpful to give the snapshot answer I sometimes give in conversation or over an email.
We are first and foremost Christian, which means we are committed to the orthodox Christian faith (Exclusivity of Christ, Inerrancy, Trinity, the person of Christ, etc.). Primary to us as well is that the Gospel is the main thing and it unites us.
We also hold some secondary beliefs as important for how we will order our church. These secondary beliefs are basically Baptistic and are outlined in the BFM2000. We are committed to believer’s baptism, regenerate and meaningful membership, and religious liberty. Governance we believe should be handled by a strong plurality leadership but with a congregation voice in membership, discipline, and budget.
Above all, we strive to be a church that is very theologically minded but at the same time missional, both in Raleigh and to the ends of the earth. We hope to model the Apostle Paul and to be both deep thinkers about God with no fluff, but also to be zealous and passionate missionaries and evangelists so that Christ is worshipped, as He should be among all nations.
—Nate Akin, disciple-making pastor