“A church where every member is on a path toward maturity in Christ and is equipped to follow Him wherever He leads.”
- Our Vision Statement
The Apostle Paul shared his desire for those in the Colossian church, “that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28) What a powerful goal for a local church! This is what Kirby Woods has adopted as the core principle behind our vision.
Do you want to be a part of a church that wants you to grow? Do you want to be more like Christ? Do you want to be mature in your faith, rather than an infant in your faith? Kirby Woods’ desire is to help you get there. When you are mature in Christ, you are equipped for anything Jesus calls you to do, and you live with your “yes” on the table. Everything we do at Kirby Woods is designed with your growth and maturity in mind. If you want to be challenged upward, encouraged to grow, and exposed to Biblical teaching… Kirby Woods is the place for you.
OUR VALUES
Our values act as expressions of things highly important to us, as well as things that we will continue to strive toward. These 7 values are both guiding lights and guard rails for us as we pursue The Lord together as a church.
1. SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY: The Scriptures are the very words of God, and therefore have authority over us. We will bring ourselves into agreement with Him, rather than seek to make Him agree with us. (2 Tim. 3:15-17)
2. KINGDOM IMPACT: Jesus Christ is King, and our labors in this world should contribute to the expanse of His Kingdom. Therefore we are committed to evangelism, discipleship, missions, and seeing Christ glorified in all the earth. (Col. 1:13, Matt. 28:18-20, Matt. 6:10)
3. MULTIGENERATIONAL FAMILY: We are a church family made up of multiple generations of believers who love The Lord, love one another, and willingly lay down our individual preferences for each other. Because we believe the church is a family, we desire that like-minded believers would join us and experience the joy of belonging to the household of God. Guests should feel warmly welcomed and that they are wanted in our fellowship. Families also contribute to the building of the next generation, therefore we invest in the spiritual health of our children and grandchildren, treating them as great blessings from God. We empower parents to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of The Lord, treating the home as our first mission field. (Psalm 127, Deut. 6:4-9, Eph. 6:1-4, Psalm 145:4, Deut. 32:7, Phil. 2:3-5, James 2:1, Eph. 2:18-19, Rom. 12:10, John 13:34-35)
4. THEOLOGICAL DEPTH: We challenge Christians to grow mature in their walk with Christ, believing that theological depth and biblical literacy will yield deeper worship, obedience to His commands, and abiding with Christ. (Col. 2:7, 2 Tim. 2:15, John 15:5, Psalm 1)
5. BOLD APPLICATION: We boldly apply the Word of God to the issues of the day and bring the truth to bear without fear of consequences. We are more concerned with how God views us than with how man views us. God’s Word is not meant to be read and studied in a vacuum, but rather practically applied in the real world. (Acts 4:13, 2 Pet. 1:3, 2 Cor. 10:3-5)
6. PRAYERFUL DEPENDENCE: We adopt a mindset of dependence upon The Lord, manifested in a culture of prayer. We believe that prayer is not only commanded by The Lord as a spiritual discipline, but it is our joy and privilege to enter the throne of grace. We do not assume that God will bless our efforts apart from a holy prayerful dependence upon Him. (Heb. 4:14-16, Mark 11:17, 1 Tim. 2:1-8, Matt. 6:9-13)
7. GENEROUS LIVING: Generosity is at the heart of our faith because God gave His only Son. We believe Christians are called to be creators rather than consumers, and as abundance flows from our productivity we will be a blessing to others. We believe that generosity reveals trust in The Lord, and always want to live with open hands that are quick to give. We are cheerful in giving away our time, our money, and our people in service to The Lord. (Ps. 67:1-2, Ps. 37:21, Acts 13:2-3, Eph. 1:7-8, 1 Tim. 6:18, 2 Cor. 9:11)
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR VISION & VALUES?
This five-part series was preached in the Spring of 2024 as Kirby Woods Baptist Church rallied around a new vision and set of values. If you missed out, or just want to remember what was said in these critical messages for our church, use this podcast player to replay them all. We recommend starting with “The Vision of Kirby Woods” first and then working through the seven values.