Welcome

…to deepen our relationship with the Lord through prayer, worship, and God’s word

Jesus Jesus said, John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The context of this statement is that of a branch remaining connected to the trunk. We know that a disconnected branch has no life flowing to it. Our reliance and dependence upon Christ is no different. We have “life” if we are connected, and “no life” if not.

We live out this dependence upon Him through an emphasis on prayer, worship and time in His word.

…to fulfill the great commission by making disciples

The Book of Hebrews outlines elementary teachings that every believer should know Heb 6:1-3…and that growing believers should be able to teach to others Heb 5:12-14. In an effort to focus on these and other foundational truths, we launched the ”School of Foundations for Ministry” in September 2011. On the school’s website you can download the course curriculum or  listen to previously recorded classes.

We envision a church where discipleship and mentoring of new believers is pervasive & common place; similar to Paul’s message to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:2. In this way we hope every believer is provided the opportunity for a solid doctrinal foundation that will support growth to maturity; and that teaching one another the things we have learned is viewed as a matter personal responsibility.

…to equip every member to serve in their calling, and to raise up new leaders

…to build caring relationships through the multiplication of small groups

The Lord has created us to be in relationship with one another, and time spent together has a positive impact on our lives. Small groups help meet this need by providing a time and place to learn about Jesus, build each other up, and have fun at the same time. Heb 10:24-25

Some groups meet for building friendships and encouragement, others provide an outlet for serving; still others are designed for learning and spiritual growth opportunities. We invite you to participate and find a place where you can belong. Scheduled meetings can be found on the calendar or in the bulletin.

We hope to see a growing network of small groups of various kinds emerge. Groups can be studies, prayer groups, fellowships, a group that starts a ministry together, or a group that has a common interest for example. They can be long term, or short term (as in a 6 week bible study on a particular topic).

…to strengthen marriages and families according to God’s truth

We honor marriage as a lifelong covenant and take seriously the importance of helping families understand the roles, relationships and responsibilities of husbands, wives and children as outlined in the Word of God.

The Bible gives clear direction regarding how husbands and wives relate to one another, about handling our finances, about communication that builds rather than destroys, and about the discipline and training of children. We hope that every family has the opportunity to learn these timeless truths and that some will sense a call from the Lord to serve as a mentor to young families who are just starting out or who are new in the Lord and potentially hearing these truths for the first time.

Also, while we understand that Mom and Dad are the best teachers for guiding their children, we support their efforts and supplement what should be taking place in the home with activities, classes and small groups designed to minister to children & youth. You can read more specifics on our children’s page.

…to reach our city with the good news of Jesus Christ

Acts 17:26-27 tells us that we all came from Adam and that now we live all over the world; and that in His providence, God has decided exactly WHEN we should live (today) and exactly WHERE we should live (in Alliance OH and surrounding communities), and He did this so that people would seek Him and find Him.

We believe we are living at this time…and in this city because there are people that he still wants to reach in our city, and we have a part in helping to lead others to Him. Listen to a message called  ”God’s Heart for the City”  for more details.

How do we reach our city? We are continually seeking God’s strategy for the part we are to play, and we recognize the task is bigger than one congregation can accomplish alone. We hope to open additional sites for worship within our city so that our efforts to reach others can be multiplied. We also seek relationship and collaboration with other like-minded churches who are interested in working together to reach our city for Christ while maintaining the integrity, viability and distinctiveness of individual congregations.

…to reach our world through involvement in world missions

For the past several years the Lord has led us to take an increased role in foreign missions. Various members from ACC have taken short term mission trips to Africa, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Ukraine. We will continue to seek His direction for our involvement in these endeavors.

Also, at ACC we give 10% of our income to help support ministries outside of our own. Here is a current list of missionaries, organizations and individuals we support on a regular basis.

As our income increases, so will our giving increase. To that end we will continue to seek relationship with other men and ministries that are spreading the gospel in other countries and will support those as the  Lord guides us.