LifeWay Church is a group of people, not an institution, organization, or a device run by events and programs. We are a group of ordinary people who have in common a life-changing relationship with an extraordinary person: Jesus Christ.

Having said that, let us share certain desires and spiritual principles that bring us together as a body. They inspire everything we do and we persist on them constantly through much prayer. These are the driving forces that provide our foundation helping us keeps our focus on the main aspects of ministry.

A Passion for God's Presence

We understand that apart from Christ we can do nothing and that unless we dwell in Him and He in us we will not be fruitful (John 15:5). Success at LifeWay is measured by yielding self to the Lordship of Christ. Dying to our pride and letting God govern our will and life. It’s about knowing God, His ways and obeying Him gladly. Anything we do for God must derive from and be a fruit of a close, daily, intimate relationship with Him. If God’s not in it, we don’t want it, if God’s not moving with us, we won’t move. He leads, we follow. He speaks, we obey. We cherish His presence in our lives, He is our God and we worship Him alone.

A Passion for Prayer

Prayer is not a supplemental activity or ministry in our church. It is our respiratory system as a body. We breathe through it and it keeps us alive. It is our only means of communication with the Father. Any great plan or idea is birthed through prayer. There’s no other way to be effective as a body. We can do things right, but its better to do the right things. Anything done without prayer is just an idea. Good or bad, it’s just an idea. But when God gives it through prayer, it becomes God’s will and then we can have the assurance that He will answer beyond and above we can ever think or ask. Prayer is fundamental to every ministry and activity we do.

A Passion for Worship

Worship is often solely associated with the singing section of a Sunday services. Does that mean that when the songs are done, the worship stops? Or when the service ends the worship dies? Do we practice in private what we do corporately during Sunday? If we only worship God in a specific setting, while being led by others on Sunday, what does that say about our personal relationship with the Lord? The essence of Biblical worship is a relationship. A true relationship does not limit expressions merely to certain times and preplanned places. It should be a means of connecting with God at any time, in any place. It should go beyond the frame of a religious celebration and become a continual expression of love and adoration (Hebrews 13:15). As Paul states it in Romans 12:1, worship is presenting oneself entirely to God.

At Lifeway we encourage people to understand that worship is an active response to God’s presence whereby we declare His worth. It is not something passive. It does not happen to us. We must have something to give. Just because we call a corporate gathering a “worship service” doesn’t make it so. The real issue in worship is a heart desire for God. The reason worship often fails to occur in the church pew is because it fails to occur in the daily routine of living. Our music worship team at Lifeway knows that God is much more concerned with our heart condition than the art forms we use to worship Him (Isaiah 1:10-20). The shepherd boy David, who was made king over all the land of Israel could have asked anything his heart desired, but this is what he asked:

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple."

(Psalm 27:4).

We hold dear this same passion for worshiping God at LifeWay.

A Desire for Biblical Truth

The cry of the Reformation was "Sola Scriptura", meaning "the Bible alone". The local church should operate according to the clear principles of Scripture, not according to human tradition, heritage, denominational practice or personal preference of church leaders or members. No program, procedure or church statement should be considered to have final authority. Everyone and everything should be continually subject to the scrutiny of the Word (Matthew 15:1-3). The Bible should be the foundation of all our Christian experience.

A Desire for Teaching the Word

We live in a time and age where people neglect the existence of absolute truth and a moral standard. Lives are being destroyed every day as a result of bad choices and poor judgment. People think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere and honest. Unfortunately, believing in something with all your heart does not make it true. Where there’s no vision and direction, the people perish. That’s why we need to teach the truth, the standard for living that will set people free in a practical, down to earth way. Christianity should be something you can practice on a day-to-day basis, something you can apply to every situation of life. We are to teach the Bible with diligence and challenge every individual to apply scriptural truth to daily living (James 1:22-25). This task demands a careful and time-consuming preparation of our pastor-teachers. Since the true worship and fellowship are founded upon solid Biblical truth, the church cannot grow as it should apart from a strong commitment to uphold God’s Word (Acts 6:4, II Timothy 3:16-17). We want to equip people with truth for living (Ephesians 4:12).

A Desire for Biblical Authority

The Board of Elders is the governing body at LifeWay. The Elders, not the church staff, are responsible for oversight and direction of the church (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Thes. 5:12). Although we support missions around the world through the Southern Baptist Convention, we are not regulated by the denomination in any way. We are autonomous in the exercise of local authority and ministry. The Elder Board is made up of a plurality of leaders (more than one), each having an equal voice and vote. All decisions for the church require unanimous agreement of the Board. The Elders are committed to prayer, fasting and study of the Word on a weekly basis and are aware of their need to be accountable to God and to each other. They are to be sensitive to individual needs and open to changing forms of ministry to meet the needs expressed by the body. They are called to lead and serve the church by example (1 Peter 5:1-3).

A Desire for Relationship

Unfortunately, religion has perverted the picture of God’s character throughout history. Men’s attempt to please God through exterior performance and imposed regulations has obstructed the way towards reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. Laws without relationship produce frustration and greater rebellion. Relationships with no laws in the other hand intoxicate a person with freedom and will lead to great pain. The emphasis on performance though has kept many from experiencing freedom and new life in Christ. God wants to save and then sanctify the lost, but the church many times tries to sanctify even before Christ gets His hands on them. The road to grace gets filled with requirements and rules, keeping many out of the Kingdom of God. Jesus himself was very disappointed with those messengers whose strict emphasis on rules was not even birthed from a loving relationship with God:

"These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:8-9)

At LifeWay we don’t focus on the way people dress or the way they talk. We are faithful to point them to Christ, and pray that He’ll become the Lord of their lives. When this occurs, the Holy Spirit of God will produce in them the desire to honor God, not to gain His love, but because they have His love. As a church we’ll be diligent to facilitate the work of God’s Holy Spirit in every person’s life, as we submit ourselves to His Lordship and diligently serve Him. We are confident that He will complete the work He started in them (Philippians 1:6).

A Desire to Reach All People

We know God shows no partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17) and does not want any to perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). We will not contradict God and have no right to do so. We’ve been forgiven and spared from death. Be it far from our hearts to decide who should and should not receive God’s redemptive grace. LifeWay represents Christ and will show His love unconditionally to all.

A Desire to Build People, Not Buildings

The church is often described in the Scripture as a body or family (I Cor. 12:20, Romans 12:4, Ephesians 2:19) What keeps them together is not a building but a bond of love through Jesus Christ. He is the head and we are His body. The church is not a building, a piece of furniture or a nice foyer. The church is people. When a Sunday service ends, the church goes and the building stays, empty and idle. The church is active and alive! It’s not an organization, it’s an organism. In an organization maintenance becomes the focus but in an organism ministry is the focus. Our emphasis is on people and our priority is to invest in reaching and equipping those people to maturity in Christ. Buildings are good and help us do a good ministry but we need to understand they’re not God’s priority. He gave His life for people not commodities. When people understand this, we will be much more effective in ministering to the needs of those around us. Our relationships will not be nurtured by our facilities but by an honest care for one another.

A Desire Equip Christians for Life

We are committed to help each man succeed as a husband, father and employee. We want to see every woman flourish as a wife, mother, or in her career. We want our youth to be grounded in Christ and His Word, preparing them to face the challenges of this generation as we equip them to be a source of positive change in their schools, homes and community. We are devoted to see our children grow in love for the things of God and train them in the admonition of the Lord. We want them to have a tender heart towards the presence of Christ and His teachings.

As your life becomes spiritually grounded, we want to begin equipping you to serve. We will help you discover your unique design and the spiritual gifts God has given you. You will be given opportunities to invest in other people and to experience the excitement of being used by God to make a difference for all eternity.

A Desire to Function as a Cell Church

Significant relationships and growth occur best in the context of small groups. Without this connection, people can attend meetings but aren’t truly participating in church. The best discipleship is group discipleship. Jesus practiced it, spending much of His time with no fewer then three of the twelve disciples. We believe the small group is the best place for sustained life change to occur. In a small group, people study God's Word together and are in a small enough environment to discuss the issues and challenges of life. It's also where they pray, care for one another, reach their friends for Christ and are missed if they don't show up. Practically speaking, there will never be a way for the staff or elders to personally minister to everyone who attends our church on a weekly basis. That's why we place such a high premium on group life. It's how we’ll effectively minister at LifeWay Community Church.

A Desire For Genuine Transparent Relationships

Someone once said, "To dwell above with the saints we love, oh that will be glory, but to dwell below with the saints we know, well, that’s another story." When people are involved, conflicts are inevitable, Ignoring issues and conflicts compounds them; it does not resolve them. In the church, unity is not achieved in silence, but by dialogue, expression, and transparency. We are exhorted in the Scriptures to ‘lay aside falsehood and speak the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:25-32)

A Desire to be Light in a Dark and Hopeless World

Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” While the church is a place for developing close spiritual relationships, it is called to ‘reach out’ to reveal Jesus Christ to the community and the world in which it exists (Matt. 28:19-20). The local church should equip (Eph. 4:11-13) its members with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ (John 14:6), and exhort them to share it in word and deed. We are not only committed to proclaiming the love of God but to demonstrate it through visible works of love.