Peninsula Household of Faith Community Church

OUR PURPOSE

Peninsula Household of Faith is a local community church that exists to glorify God by helping the people of God LOVE HIM wholeheartedly and LOVE OTHERS with the love of Jesus Christ (John 13:34). 

OUR GOALS

We seek to accomplish this by helping people to live by faith under the rule of Christ, to experience and benefit practically from his limitless love, and to become wholly satisfied by his transforming presence (Ephesians 3:14-19).

We believe that true success in our purpose will result in spiritually stable individuals, strong families, and effective churches that are characterized by

• HEART-FELT WORSHIP

• HEART TRANSFORMING TEACHING

• HEART-LEVEL RELATIONSHIPS

• HEART-MOTIVATED COMPASSION IN

• HOUSEHOLD-BASED MINISTRY

OUR VALUES

The Bible – The Bible is essential to our lives, purpose and ministry.  As God’s recorded revelation, it shows us his truth regarding his character and plan, our own identity and purpose, and the world around us (1 Timothy 3:16). 

Therefore, we value the Bible and study it and rely on its truth to inform us regarding our life, purpose, goals, values and methods of ministry.

The Holy Spirit – Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would be necessary to understand His word and live faithfully to God. He is the Spirit of truth and applies that truth to our lives.  We need him for guidance when reading the Scriptures, for power to live in a way pleasing to God, and to effectively proclaim his truth in the world today (John 16:5-15).

Therefore, we value the Holy Spirit’s presence and seek to be filled by him constantly.

The Gospel – God has entrusted the message of the cross to the church.  It is the “good-news” (gospel) of God’s justice and love manifested together in the death and resurrection of Jesus that provides forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God.  Apart from faith in this wonderful act of God, no one can be delivered from the power and penalty of sin and death, and no one can know God (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26).

Therefore, we value the message of the cross and seek to apply its truths by faith to every area of life, and we seek to faithfully proclaim its liberating truth to the world around us.

Worship – True worship of God must be “in spirit and truth”.  This kind of worship is the only proper response to who God really is and for what he has done on our behalf.  It is a way of life that shows gratitude to God by aligning with his will and by expressing that gratitude in praise and adoration (Romans 12:1-2).

Therefore, we value worship and seek to extol God privately and publicly through heart-felt singing of theologically sound and rich songs and by giving our lives sacrificially to God and His work.

Prayer – God has mercifully communicated with us and has designed and allowed us to communicate with him through prayer.  Prayer is the most practical way we express our pursuit of and dependence on God (Ephesians 6:18-20).

Therefore, we value prayer and through it seek God for our own needs, for others, and for God’s will to be accomplished.

Community – Though there are many times Christians find themselves standing alone in the world, the Christian life was never meant to be a solitary one.  Christians need one another for encouragement, mutual care, and support in the ministry of the gospel.  Through identification with Christ, each Christian becomes part of God’s household and receives unique gifts that are necessary for the growth of the local and universal church (Acts 2:42). 

Therefore, we value community life and the heart-level relational ministry that such a community requires. 

Exemplary Servant-Leadership – Jesus did not undermine the importance of leadership when he challenged his disciples about their ambitions, but he did redefine what it was.  He ascribed true greatness to servanthood and used himself as an example of how leaders lead.  The New Testament epistles teach the necessity of congregational oversight by qualified men who are skilled in handling the Scriptures and who genuinely care for others in humble service (Mark 10:41-45; 1 Peter 5:1-5).

Therefore, we value exemplary leadership and seek to govern the church in a way consistent with the Scriptures through the training and recognition of elders and deacons.  

Godly Manhood and Womanhood – In an age when gender roles have become extremely confused, we see the importance of restoring and upholding the Biblical concept of godly manhood and godly womanhood.  The Bible teaches equality of persons and distinction of roles between men and women (Galatians 3:28; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Peter 3:1-7). 

Therefore, we value the Biblical perspective of equality and diversity of men and women.  We desire men to rediscover their role as spiritual leaders in the home and church and to teach their children to value the same.  We also desire women to reassert the importance and uniqueness of their God-given femininity and to use their manifold gifts for the benefit of their children, the church and future generations.

The Return of Christ – The Bible teaches us to eagerly anticipate the return of Jesus to the earth and for his bride (the church).  This hope has a comforting, purifying, and joy producing effect on the church. 

Therefore, we value the hope of Jesus coming and seek to keep this hope alive by reminding one another regularly. 

OUR METHOD

Scripture describes the community of believers in Jesus as God’s household.  This metaphor indicates something essential in the way God designed his people to relate to him.  God is a loving Father, and his people are his beloved children.  Christians are, thus, relatives who interact with one another as family.  The close-knit relationships represented by the family are divinely designed to teach authority, responsibility, privilege and godly heritage.  The household is aptly suited for the major portion of our spiritual, moral and academic education, as well as for experiencing mutual care.  It is no coincidence that this term is used to describe the church.

It is not necessary to elaborate greatly on the fact that the family has been under attack in our day.  Modern values of independence, convenience and affluence have driven fathers and mothers away from home.  Education is delegated to others.  The family altar and family table are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  And as a result many age and identity-segregated groups have risen to provide the nurturing and companionship once accepted as belonging to the family.  Sadly, the church has not been successful in resisting this trend.  Many of its programs contribute to the same kind of crisis. 

In response to this, a reforming movement has developed out of which many churches are seeking to counter the ill effects of the typical segregated approach to ministry.  These churches are refocusing on family ministry and are seeking to equip parents for the spiritual development of their children.

Peninsula Household of Faith is one among many churches that is attempting to go a step further and structure its ministry method on the “household” model.  This means that family ministry at Peninsula Household of Faith is not just another or even a major part of what we do: It means that the “family-based” or “household-based” model informs and frames our approach to ministry.  It is the structure around which we seek to accomplish our purpose.  All Christians, whether young or old, men or women, single or married are part of Christ’s one church and are necessary for its growth and unity.  Church programs should seek to reinforce and not contradict that reality.  Practically speaking, this means that we at Peninsula Household of Faith seek primarily to establish and encourage activities (such as family devotions, hospitality, and congregation wide ministry and mission projects) that encourage daily, multi-generational, and  heart-level interaction.