About Us
Northside Presbyterian Church was formed in 1979 and we moved into our current building in 1981. We are a local congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. We believe there is One True God who exists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We believe the Bible is the Word of God (inspired and inerrant) and that one is saved through faith in Jesus Christ. We also believe that the local church is the ordinary place in which the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of salvation purchased for us by Christ at the cross, and all of this is according to the perfect will of of God the Father. For a fuller explanation of what we believe, please read here.
Our Purpose
To Know and Make Known
We want to know Jesus Christ personally and to make Him known so all can be changed by Him.
Philippians 3:10, "that I may know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection"
|
Our Identity
People of the Word At Northside Presbyterian Church we want to be people of the Word of God; we want to be shaped by it and to share it with others. The Bible is the infallible authority we have as Christians since it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God inspired the Bible, meaning that all of its human authors were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit in their writing (2 Peter 1:20-21). If you ask the question, “Is the Bible a book from God or man?” The answer is “Yes!” The 66 books of the Bible were written over hundreds of years by human authors, as reflected in the different styles and vocabulary, yet it was also written by the Holy Spirit who worked through each of the human authors to reveal God's truth without error. The Bible is God’s self-disclosure to mankind. We cannot say anything definitive about God apart from what He has made known. As such, Christians are people who embrace the Word of God; we take God at His Word and we love Him for all He has done for us. In fact, God’s greatest act of self-disclosure was when He sent His Son Jesus Christ (who was both fully God and man) to die on the cross for our sins. God demonstrated His great love for humanity by sending His Son to die as our substitute while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). Everyone who has faith in Jesus Christ, believing Jesus is who He claims to be and that He has accomplished all that Scripture says He did, will be saved from the penalty and power of sin (John 3:16, 36; 8:24; 16:4).
We aim to be people of the Word in four ways:
|
Our Practice
Worship Worship is the context in which change takes place; everyone worships something, and that means everyone is being shaped by something. We believe that Christian worship is a time for us to meet with God as His people so that we can be transformed. In fact, Hebrews 10:24-25 states, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." It is vital for Christians to be in the regular habit of meeting together for worship in order to grow in our faith. God reveals a part of Himself when we gather as a group that cannot be experienced on our own; corporate worship is the ordinary way Christians grow in their knowledge and experience of who God is. We are called into God’s presence to engage with Him; worship is not a spectator sport. God speaks first into our lives through the written Word (the Bible) and everyone is called respond to God. Some might need to respond in confession and repentance due to sin. Some come to praise God for His forgiveness and for His work in their lives. Some come seeking what is necessary to follow Him faithfully. Everyone is called to come and meet with the Almighty God and to respond to Him in faith.
Worship should also reflect the full spectrum of emotions; there is room for celebration and sadness since both are part of life in a fallen world. The person who has just suffered a significant loss is just as welcome to worship as the couple who has just welcomed a new baby. You do not need to have your life together to come to church (no one really does anyway). There is only one requirement to worship God: a willingness to engage with Him and to be changed by Him. Worship is our opportunity to be reminded of what is true and to be reoriented to God’s will. That is why our worship includes reading from God’s Word, prayer, congregational singing, and expository preaching (explaining what the Bible means in context). We believe our greatest need as Christians is to hear from God, and that is why His Word is the primary focus of our service. |