About Us

 Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

What Kind of Church Is This?

From time to time people ask, “What kind of a church is the First Christian Church of Mesa? And what kind of a group is its parent denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)?” This pamphlet is an attempt to answer those questions.

We Are a Biblical Church
To begin with, we are very much a Biblical Church. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has “no book but the Bible, no creed but Christ.” Insofar as we are able to understand it, we try to follow the clear teachings of the scriptures. We do not worship the Bible, but we do consider it to be our basic guide to the will of God.

For Example:

• We are a biblical church in that we call “Bible things by Bible names.” That is why we call ourselves “Christians” or “Disciples of Christ” - not because we think we are the only ones entitled to use these names, but because they are biblical names for the followers of Jesus Christ. See Acts 11:26.
  
• We are a biblical church in that the only statement of faith we require of members is the Good Confession, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” See Matthew 16:16 and Acts 8:37.
  
• We are a biblical church in that we practive the form of baptism found in the New Testament - the immersion of believers after they make their Good Confession. We make no judgments on other forms of Christian baptism, though, and receive into membership persons previously baptised by any other method. See Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:1-5.
  
• We are a biblical church in that we celebrate the Lord’s Supper (or Holy communion, Eucharist) every Sunday, inviting all Christians present to share with us. See Acts 20:7.
  
• We are a biblical church in that our minister always preaches on a biblical text each Sunday morning.
  

We Are a Liberal Church
In the second place, we are a liberal church. By “liberal” we mean open-minded, tolerant of different views, willing to try out new ideas, and encouraging individual freedom.
For example:

• Theologically, we do not try to force everone into some sort of a doctrinal straitjacket or to label “unorthodox” or “heretical” those who do not agree with us. We recognize that no church or individual—including ourselves—has a monopoly on the truth. While we strive to follow the teachings of the Bible as best we can understand them, we realize there is room for differences of opinion as to what the Bible teaches on just about any particular subject.
  
• There is an old slogan which aptly summarizes our position, and which we try to put into practice at all times:
   In faith, unity;
   In opinion, liberty;
   In all things, charity.
  
• We are united in our confession of faith that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Beyond that basic common denominator, we enjoy the greatest possible freedom of opinion. The reason why we can work together, even though our theological viewpoints may differ, is that in all things we practice “charity,” or love for one another.
  
• Ethically, we do not subscribe to a uniform code of conduct which requires sameness of thought and deed from every member. Many elements of living are personal decisions which we believe should be individaully made in the light of the Bible, prayer, common sense, conscience and “the royal law of love.”
  
• Similarly, we grant each person the right and the responsibliltiy to decide the level of support that person wishes to give the congregation. Guidelines and helps are provided, but ultimate decisions should be prayerfully made by the individual and not demanded by the congregation.
  
• One more sign of a liberal church is the practice of a “two-legged gospel.” That is, we believe that the gospel is both personal and social - or, as someone once put it, “The gospel is first personal and always social.” It is essential that the Church meet the spiritual needs of individual men, women and young people. But it is equally important that the Church champion social justice by addressing such contemorary issues as racial prejudice and discrimination, war and peace, poverty and hunger, human rights, law and order, health care, prison reform, child abuse, addictive behaviors and other things which effect all of us. The Church must minister to the whole person - body, mind and soul.
  

We Are a Conservative Church
To be fair, we are also a conservative church. We understand “conservative” to mean “conserving (or preserving) the best values of the past.” This is not the same as being “reactionary,” that is “totally opposed to progress and determined to preserve the status quo at all costs.”

To be conservative, in the best sense of the word, simply means that we do not reject a thing because it is old, nor do we immediately adopt something just because it is new. Our standard of judgment is not, “is it old? Or, “is it new?, but “is it right?”

Some things - such as the Ten Commandments, for instance, are very old, but they remain as true and valid today as they ever were. So we are a conservative church in the sense that we do not automatically lay aside a belief or a practice simply because it has been around for a long time and someone thinks it is time to replace it with something new and modern. To the contrary, we believe that there are many tried and true values from the past which have stood the test of time and are still very meaningful today.
For example:

• We believe that the Chuch School is still an effective tool for teaching children, young people and adults the lessons which will enable all of us to live better Christian lives and to make our faith more meaningful.
  
• We believe that the local congregation is still a primary instrument for accomplishing God’s purpose in the world.
  
• We believe that preaching is still an effective means of communicating God’s message to people.
  
• We believe that the virtues of personal integrity, hard work, fair play, thrift, honesty, moderation, good citizenship and moral purity are still very much required of us.
  
• We believe that the family is still the basic unit of society and that marriage is a sacred relationship between two people who love each other so much they do not care to love anyone else in just that way.
  
• We believe that prayer is one of the most important activities in which we can engage; that God hears and answers prayer; and that “more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
  

We Are an Ecumentical Church

In the fourth place, we are an ecumenical church. The word “ecumenical” is a rather recent addition to everyday English usage. It comes from the Greek word “oikoumene,” which means “the whole inhabited earth.” As applied to the Church, it denotes the universal and worldwide nature of Christianity. To be ecumenical is the very opposite of being narrow, sectarian, parochial, isolationist or exclusive. The expression, “the ecumenical movement,” refers to the move toward cooperation and unity among the various Christian bodies.

From the very beginning, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has proclaimed the unity of Christ’s Church and has sought to manifest that unity through cooperation with other religious groups and with inter-denominational agencies such as councils of churches, relief organizations and Bible societies. Disciples continue to be involved world-wide in the important effort to reclaim the unity of the Church. Our ecumenical spirit is often said to be one of the chief strengths of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

For Example:

• We have an ecumenical name. The name “Christian” is a nonsectarian title which belongs to all followers of Christ. We do not claim to be the only Christians, but we do desire to be Christian.
  
• We have an ecumenical baptism. The validity of believer’s baptism by immersion is universally recognized by all churches everywhere - Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. At the same time, we readily welcome into our fellowship those who have been baptized by some other method and who are satisfied with that baptism.
  
• We have an ecumenical table. We practice “open communion”, so that when we observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday morning we welcome every Christian present to join with us regardless of which branch of the faith to which one might belong. We consider the Lord’s Supper to belong to the Church, and not to any one denominaiton or group, and therefore we see ourselves as spreading a universal - and therefore ecumenical - gospel.
  
• We have an ecumenical membership. A check of our membership roll reveals that we come from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are a people who were once Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, Episcopalians, Church of Christ, United Church of Christ, Christian Scientists, Congregationalists, Mormons, and some come from no church background at all - now united on the simple basis of being “just Christians.” In fact, we find that our congregation is often the choice of married couples from different backgrounds; rather than either one joining the other’s church both join here as a common meeting ground.
  
• We have an ecumenical spirit. We do not entertain any illusions about our being the only true church! We acknowledge the presence of God’s Spirit in every denomination, and we believe that we can learn valuable lessons from our sisters and brothers in other churches. We believe that we ought not to do separately those things we can do together. We look forward to the day when the prayer of Jesus shall be answered, that all of His people “may be one…that the world may believe.” See John 17:20-21

We Are an Evangelical Church
In the fifth place, we are an evangelical church. The term “evangelical” comes from the root “evangel”, meaning “gospel” or “good news.” An evangelical church, therefore, is one which focuses on the proclamation of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ.

A church does many things. Like a school, it educates. Like a club, it has a social function. Like a service organization, it performs acts of mercy. Like an institution, it raises money and conducts business.

But there is one thing a church does which no other body on the face of the earth does—it proclaims that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to God.” (See Second Corinthians 5:19). Whatever a church does, this remains its one basic reason for existing - to make known to men, women and young people the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Accordingly, we believe:

• that all people are lost and in need of a savior, for “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (see Romans 3:23)
  
• that God loves all people and has provided a Savior for them in the person of Jesus Christ.
  
• that all people are able to accept Christ as Savior and Lord regardless of the nature of their sins or past life.
  
• that faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior benefits the believer both in this life and in the life to come.
  
• that the best and only real hope for the world is in Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Savior.
  
• and that through this faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we will be enabled by God to become the kind of persons God intends us to be, living a fruitful and rewarding life.
  

We Are a Family Church
And last, we are a family church. By this we mean that we know ourselves to be a part of the family of God. In these days of fractured relationships, when we often feel overwhelmed by the world around us, it is good to know that God has called us into a family of the Church, and that in this family we have many, many sisters and brothers. We as a congregation do our best to help foster this family spirit.

For example:

• We have small groups for many ages and interests, ranging from junior age through senior citizens.
  
• Our membership obviously includes many families, but it also includes many single persons (widowed, divorced and never married) and our program includes every one.
  
• We are conscious of the individual needs of our members, and we bend every effort to help when help is requested.
  

Interested?
If any or all of this interests you, and you would like more information about us, we invite you to share with us in our Sunday activities - at 10:15 AM for our Sunday Church School (which includes a group for every age group), and at 9:00 AM for worship. We also invite you to talk to our pastor, Rev. Bill Jacobs. You can call him at our church office ( 480-833-7312 480-833-7312 ) Monday through Wednesday and Friday.

Whenever you become convinced that this is the kind of church you are looking for, we invite you to become a member. You can do so by responding to the minister’s invitation at the close of each of our Sunday worship services, whether to make your first confession of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (with baptism to follow), to transfer your membership from a previous congregation, or to accept dual membership to go along with your present membership in a congregation where you worhip during other months of the year.

You will be very welcome among us!