Florissant church of Christ

Our Vision:
We believe the church is God’s vehicle for completing what Jesus started when He began His ministry to seek and save the lost. As a church, we endeavor to expand the Kingdom of God spiritually and numerically.

Celebration – We encourage the private and community worship of God, so that every participant will grow in their relationship with God.

Edification – Providing an environment that allows every individual to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Service – Bringing the compassion and service of the church into the community.

Outreach – Leading lost people into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Statement of Faith:
We believe that the Bible (66 books of the Old and New Testament) is the Word of God spoken through men (2 Peter 1:19 – 21; 2 Timothy 3:16), is relevant to us today and everyday (Hebrews 4:12, 13), and is the sole basis for our beliefs. These Scriptures contain the authority of God and they reflect the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors.
Further, we believe in One God, in the form of three persons (which we call the Trinity), the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit, all having the power and authority of the eternal God.

Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity of God. God’s plan from the beginning of time has been for Jesus Christ to be the Sacrificial Lamb whose sacrifice would forever wash away the sins of those who turn to Him and accept Him as their Savior. He will come again on a day no one knows, to bring all those faithful to Him and His Word to Heaven to live eternally. Apart from Jesus Christ, all people are lost because of sin (Isaiah 59:1). Jesus Christ, through His sinless life and fulfillment of prophecy, took our sins upon Himself when he endured the cross. His sacrifice once and for all washes away the sins of all those who willingly follow His will.

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity of God, draws people to Christ by convicting them of their sins. He also lives inside all believers (Acts 2:38). He is a comforter, and helps us live Christ-like lives. He gives us spiritual gifts to carry out his purpose in the church and in the world.

The Church is a group of Christ-followers who gather together as a community for encouragement, worship, service, prayer, spiritual and emotional healing, Bible teaching, and accountability. Our purpose for existence is to worship the One True God and to fulfill the Great Commission, to serve and reach lost people, to baptize them into Christ and to continue to teach them how to be completely devoted followers of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18 – 20)

How Is The Church Led?
The head of the Florissant Church of Christ is Jesus Christ. As a church, we seek to reflect His priorities in all we do and how we do it. No decision is ever made that would knowingly contradict any of Jesus’ teaching. In addition, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit (who lives in us), we desire to discern God’s direction for us as a church. Whenever we implement something new, it is with much prayer and with a desire to do God’s will. We always try to keep our eyes open to the next step God wants us to take.

Multifaceted Leadership
Besides Jesus Christ, the church is also led by four groups of people. Those people are the Shepherds, Deacons/Ministry Leaders, Administration Team and the Staff.

The Shepherds (Elders, Pastors) are members of the body who provide oversight for the church and general watch, care and compassion for the congregation’s spiritual and emotional health. They continually evaluate the teaching ministry of the church and review major ministry decisions and new plans. They use their wisdom, discernment and shepherding gifts to ensure the church remains on a true course biblically. Scripture indicates that the ultimate decision-making authority in the church rests with the shepherds.

Our Deacons/Ministry Leaders are members of the church empowered by the Shepherds to lead and manage the various ministries in the church. They all have a passion for their ministry, which they use to serve the church and community.

The Staff directs the day-to-day affairs of the sub-ministries of the church. They are paid so that they can devote the best hours of their day to building and working in ministries and serving the membership and community. The Administration Team, a sub-group of shepherds who direct the staff as a whole, and determines current and future staffing needs. The staff’s main job is to “run the machine,” leading their specific ministries in the church and supporting the work of the Deacons/Ministry Leaders. The Administration Team’s main function is to provide leadership to the staff and church, and perform administrative functions for the Shepherds.

Staff: Evangelist, Learning Center Director, Worship/Youth Minister, Children’s Minister, Lead Secretary, Summer Interns, part-time Secretarial staff.)

The way the four groups work together can best be stated as follows: the staff directs the ministries of the church with the overall leadership provided by the Administration team; these ministries are driven by Deacons/Ministry Leaders and supported by the finances allocated by the Shepherds; and all activities of the church are carried out under the care and oversight of the Shepherds with the ultimate goal of reaching as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and helping those people develop a deeper relationship with Him.
The Role of Shepherds

The New Testament is clear that the church is to be led by many (more than one) godly leaders under the oversight of Shepherds. The Shepherds are given ultimate responsibility and authority to see that the church remains on a true course biblically, that its members are being appropriately taken care of, that the body is being fed through accurate biblical teaching, and that the life of the church is being well managed with the assistance of other competent and godly leaders. They are to care about the spiritual and physical well-being of members, regularly praying for the sick. They are to guard the body against harmful influences, confronting those who are contradicting biblical truth or who are continuing in patterns of sinful behavior. In doing so, they are to keep closing potential entrances for Satan, so that the truth of Christ will remain credible to both the congregation and the community (I Peter. 5:1 – 4; Acts 20:28 – 31; Titus 1:9; James 5:14).

In response to the biblical pattern of leadership, members of the body are taught in Scripture to lovingly support their leaders and submit to their leadership (Heb. 13:17; I Thess. 5:12 – 13).