What Exactly is Church?

The church is God’s family, the collection of all His sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5). In this universal sense, church membership transcends space (to include all Christians at any place) and time (to include all Christians of any era).

The church was built by Jesus, not one brick at a time, but one person at a time: “As you come to Jesus, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house” (I Peter 2:4-5). We see that the church is not made up of the smartest, most useful or popular, richest, sweetest or best people - it’s made up of the chosen people.

We’re “chosen” by God when we hear the call of the good news about Jesus Christ and we sincerely answer that call with, “Yes, Lord!” “God called you through our preaching the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 2:14).

When these “adopted,” “chosen,” and “called” people are together in one place, they share a common identity and mission, work under a common leadership, and have a common love for one another. They work together for the good of the community in which they live, they preach about Jesus to one another and tell people all around the world the same message of peace and salvation, and they’re there to support one another and “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). When Christians are together as described above, they are called “the local church” or a “congregation.”

For 2,000 years - since Jesus - the church has been God’s people on earth. Until Jesus returns, we’ll be here - working for, praying to, teaching about, and praising God’s Christ.

What Church is Not...

We’d love to tell you that the church is the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, that we’ve never disappointed one another, and that we always get along perfectly - but that would be less than truthful. While God is working through us, he’s also working on us, as we daily learn to be less like ourselves and more like Jesus; less hypocritical and more sincere, less talk and more action, less selfishness and more love.

We’re no more or less perfect than anyone else, and so we know that everyone else - you included - will fit right in here with us.

About the Fredericksburg Church

Everyone is welcome here - regardless of ethnicity and race, economic status, past actions, or past reputation. We’re trying to be pleasing to God and live according to the Bible. We’d love to help you accomplish those things, too.

Our spiritual guides are a group of men, appointed from the congregation, to serve as Shepherds and Elders (Acts 20:17-35; I Timothy 1:1-7). These are men whose lives remind us very much of Jesus’ life and whose example we can follow to be more like Christ. They oversee the work and teaching at the Fredericksburg church. Working alongside them are Servants who have special work assignments on behalf of the church (I Timothy 3:8-13; Acts 6:1-7). Also working with us are full-time evangelists whose responsibilities include preaching and teaching about Jesus to those who are already Christians and to those who are not yet believers.

We’re all on the same team, all are part of the same spiritual family, and are all growing to become more like Jesus every day.

What Denomination Are We?

Around here we have a particular dedication to only practicing and preaching what we can find in the Bible - no more, no less. No denominational names or structures were taught by Jesus or his apostles; they were only added in the centuries since the Bible was completed. So, we’re “non- denominational.”

More than that, though, we’re “un-denominational.” Today’s denominations and sects are not found in the Bible. In fact, the night before his death Jesus prayed for unity among those who believe in him (John 17:20-21) - not that they would be divided by names, buildings, organizations, and belief systems. The question is not “What denomination is right?,” because the whole system of denominationalism is wrong. Because it’s against what Jesus prayed for, we stand against such Christian division, too. We don’t want to be part of a denomination or sect - we want to be just Christians, just like they were in the Bible.