Mission & Strategy
The mission of Newland Presbyterian Church is to lead all people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
In keeping with this mission our strategy is to cultivate environments where people are able to grow in:
1. love for God and neighbor (the Great Commandment)
2. the ability to make disciples (the Great Commission)
3. the “faith once handed down to the saints” (the Great Tradition).
What We Believe
- We believe that Jesus Christ is God with us, and that He has come, in love, to save sinners.
- We believe in one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We affirm the Bible, the Word of God written, as our principle rule of faith and practice.
As a part of the Presbyterian Church, we interpret Scripture through the lens of our Book of Confessions, eager to affirm the deep, main stream of what Christians in all times and places have believed.
One basic summary of the gospel that guides our belief can be found in the Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
What We Value
Acts 2:42-47 says that after the church received the gift of the Holy Spirit…
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Therefore, we remain committed to:
Evangelism
Helping people far from God come to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation (v. 47)
Biblical Instruction
Becoming a training ground for disciples who gather regularly to study God’s Word and to be reshaped into the likeness of Jesus (v.42)
Fellowship
Living together as a Christ-centered community of love, provision, sincerity, forgiveness, and joy (42, 44-46)
Worship
Gathering regularly to worship God, to pray, and to offer ourselves as God’s instruments for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. In worship, we will sing and pray and enter into baptism and listen to God’s Word and celebrate the Lord’s Supper (42-43. 46-47)
Service
Working for the reconciliation of the world, praying for peace, and extending compassion to those in need as we invite everyone into the sacrificial, life-giving love of our Lord (v.43)
Our Rhythms of Life
Days
Every day we live in the God-given rhythms of rest and work. Rest, of course, comes first. We abide in Christ. We pray. We read God’s Word. We listen for what God is saying to us. Only then are we ready to go to work. Only then are we ready to be God’s ambassadors in our families, places of work, and our community of Avery County. Only then are we able to herald the coming of Christ’s Kingdom. Abiding first. Then bearing fruit.
Seasons
Everyone is going through a particular season of life. The toddler is just beginning to discover God’s world. The single person is trying to understand their place in it. The parent is seeking to navigate work and family and friends according to God’s will. The empty nester and the retiree travel with Christ down roads of their own. Some seasons are full of joy. Others full of loss. All seasons are full of God. And all serve as invitations to know God better in the context of one’s life. The church is the place where we all get to learn from one another, receiving wisdom and encouragement from those who have gone before, and care and comfort from those who stand behind. The church is the place where we get to see Jesus operating in our midst and calling us forth into the world.
Weeks
Each week we gather on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, to worship God. Each week we gather in discipleship groups of 6-10 people in order to grow closer to God and to one another. Each Wednesday, we gather for Family Night Supper. Each of these gatherings is needed. In worship, we praise God, confess our sin, hear God’s Word, and receive Christ’s life at the Table. In discipleship, we respond to the grace we have received in worship, pursuing the high call of abundant life in Jesus Christ…which keeps showing up as we gather around the Table.
Months
The first Sunday of each month, we receive communion. Each month, the elders at NPC (the Session) gather to pray for the congregation and our witness in the community, as they seek to discern God’s will for our church. And each quarter, NPC gathers after dark, in the quiet of the Sanctuary, to keep vigil: singing, praying, listening, and offering ourselves, our families, our community, the Church, and the World to God.
Years
Our year begins with Advent, the four weeks right before Christmas. In other words, our year begins with the announcement that Jesus is coming, God-with-us! We then move to Christmas (Christ’s birth), and Lent (preparing for Easter), Holy Week (Christ’s final week leading to the Cross), and Easter morning (the Resurrection of Jesus!). We continue through a long period of “ordinary time,” before concluding with Christ the King Sunday (remembering Christ’s enthronement as Lord of Heaven and Earth). So, each year, we live out the life of Jesus, over and over again, until he returns.