We seek to worship the One, and Only God. Therefore, the Assembly is a time to humble ourselves before the Lord. We focus on God's love, His grace, and His mercy. To do this, the Apostles doctrines teach us to remove as much of the dependency on the physical and worldly elements as possible:
Praying: A time we unite together to petition the Lord for those that are sick, those who need spiritual strengthening, issues that are beyond our control. We offer our prayers with thanksgivings to God for His grace, His son who died for us, and for all the things He has given to us to steward for in each of our lives to be used for each other, one to another.
Singing: We unite together singing praises to God and, as such, encourage one another in His love and Word. Our singing is acapella. Dependency on mechanical instruments is unnecessary - we teach and encourage making melody in our hearts. "Unite" means that we do this together as one. No choir, no performances or the like are needed or used. Harmony, musical aptitude, rhythm, and pitch perfection are not our goals. Encouraging everyone to sing out and share in the glorifying of God together in one voice, this is what we strive towards. Those who visit us can choose to join in and sing or simply to listen, learn, be uplifted and encouraged to walk and be found in Jesus, the Christ.
Communion or The Lord's Supper: Few symbols are given to us by God. One of these symbols is communion. Each Sunday, we commemorate the Lord's Supper by taking this time to reflect on His love and the sacrifice of His only begotten son for our salvation. We follow the pattern and example taught to us by the Apostles, who were taught by Jesus, by eating unleavened bread and drinking fruit of the vine. The unleaven bread represents Jesus' broken body on the cross. The fruit of the vine represents His redeeming blood that was shed for each of us and the glory of the new Covenant and the promise that He is coming back to take us home with Him into heaven, eternity!
Study: We will enjoy a time of hearing a message from the Word of God. Each week, designated men of the congregation or a guest speaker will guide us during this time. Each lesson is based on a Bible passage and how it applies to our lives. This study is a time of encouragement and spiritual growth.
Giving: We have examples and understand that God has place us as stewards over what He has given us in this life. Each week, we present the opportunity to contribute towards the work of the Church as a congregation and to share in the care of the ministries and facilities God has given us. Those visiting are not be asked nor expected to give. Tithing is not taught nor followed. As such, this is a freewill offering that comes from the heart and not by commitment/conviction. A budget is presented each year identifying the various ministries and benevolence including a review of expenses (past year and projected year) in support of these. All ministries and work of the congregation are fulfilled using the Budget as a guideline. Christian members are given the opportunity to ask questions and inquire for any and all parts of the Budget. This is done to be sure we are all united in one mind towards the Gospel ministries and work that is being done.
MISSION
– To serve God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
– To love one another just as God and Jesus loved us first.
– To share the good news (the Gospel) that Jesus, the Christ, is the son of God, that He came to and lived on this earth as a human, in complete obedience, with a complete trust and dependency on God, the Father. To share the message of His suffering and how He was persecuted, crucified, and died on a cross for the sins of this world, how He was buried, and then was resurrected by God giving all of us hope and confidence that we too will be resurrected from death today and for eternity, all in Christ, all by and in the name of His Son, Jesus.
OUR BELIEFS
God
He is the creator (Genesis 1; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 11:3).
He is omnipotent (Heb 1:1-4). This word refers to the all-encompassing power of God (Nelson's Bible Dictionary).
He is omniscient (Psalms 139:1-6, 13-16; Isaiah 40:13-14, 53:1-12; Romans 8:18-39; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57). This word refers to God's superior knowledge and the true source of wisdom, His power to know all things.
He is omnipresent (Psalms 139:7-12; Matthew 6:1-18). This word refers to the unlimited nature of God and His ability to be everywhere at all times.
Christ
Jesus, the only Son of God, the Christ, the Savior of all mankind. Jesus was sent to earth and born of a virgin. Jesus lived on this earth as a human. He was obedient to God, the Father, by living and teaching, developing His disciples to spread the Word through all the world, giving His life on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for a new covent with God. He died and was buried but was raised from the dead by God (resurrected) on the third day, to give all men hope of a resurrection to God through and by Him. Jesus will return to deliver His Church to the Father. We are instructed to believe that He is Jesus, God’s only son. We are to follow in His footsteps by denying ourselves and loving each other as He loved us. By conviction in His Word, we must recognize our sins and confess them humbling ourselves in His presence. We are to live our lives by faith and in His name so that His spiritual healing and by repentance are exemplified in our lives. It is by this that He is glorified and not by any of our works, lest we should boast. In our lives, by word and example, we confess that Jesus is the Son of God and that His name is above all others. We are united together as one in the Church by being in Jesus, the Christ. To be in Christ is to be buried with Him, resurrected with Him to walk in newness of life, a whole new spiritual being - all done by and through Faith in His Word by baptism. (Acts 2:38; Rom 6:3,4,5).
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us who are in Jesus. We believe He is the manifested power of God and the Word here on earth. He is the bind that ties us together in the love of God and comforts us in time of need, guidance, and wisdom. In Christ, we are being built up together to be the dwelling place of God - the Church. (Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:14-21)
Worship
Worship is under the New Covenant (Testament) and it is to be done in as Jesus taught His disciples -- in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23,24). The Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection should be celebrated in observing the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s Day (First day of the week) (Acts 20:7). Giving support our community outreach work, the preaching and teaching of the Gospel and, benevolence of our members and those that come to us - members have the opportunity to give every first day of the week (I Cor. 16:1,2) or when convenient. We praise God and Jesus Christ through singing and praying. In our desire to worship in spirit and truth - we strive to limit any dependency on things of this world including instrumental accompaniment. Our singing is to praise God and encourage/teach one another (Eph. 5:19; Colossians 3:16; I Cor. 14:15).
The Bible: Final Authority
The Bible contains the inspired Word of God. It provides the final authority and direction concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind. It consists of the following:
The Holy Scriptures (commonly known as the Old Testament) consists of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the writings, and the prophets. These are what are referred to in the "new Testament" as the Scriptures. It includes God's inspired account of His love, steadfastness, and promises for His people, prophecies of the Messiah, the Church, and all else that matters and leads us to Christ (Rom. 15:4; Gal. 3:24).
The second half of the Bible (commonly known as the New Testament) consists of the Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, and the writings (letters from the Apostles). The Gospel accounts are written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These give an account of the life and times Jesus' life, suffering, sacrifice, burial, resurrection, and days he walked on this earth after the resurrection. The Gospel shows us Jesus' trust in the Father and gives us His teachings of the disciples that would soon become the Spirit empowered Apostles. The Gospels also give us cross-references of the prophecies and their fulfillment.
The Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke and continuing from his Gospel account, gives an account of the early Church, the Apostles receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit as promised to be empowered, the Pentecost, an account of the early Church of Hebrew Christians, an account of the early Church of Gentiles Christians being adopted as God's children including examples of believers responding to the Gospel message and what and how they did this so that we had examples to follow.
The writings are letters, including Revelation, from by Paul, Peter, John, James. They are written to the Church and they continue to give us the teachings and doctrines of the Apostles as taught them by Jesus. They provide day-to-day Christian life teachings and directives that represent the blueprint for living and serving in faith, hope, and love.
The Shepherds
God-fearing and Bible based/driven/guided men shepherd the flock at the Maplewood Church of Christ in all matters relating to teachings, doctrine, faith, practice, policy, and discipline. Our Shepherds (also known as elders, overseers, pastors) are fully responsible for the final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application. Shepherding also includes overseeing and leadership of the spiritual growth and development of each individual and the Church as a whole.
Deacons and Program Directors
Deacons and program directors execute many tasks, work, and responsibilities. These include, but are not limited to, care/maintenance for our facilities, various ministries and works of the congregation, insuring outreach and missionary work is sustained and accountable, and much more as deemed necessary on a temporary and permanent basis. Work is executed based on an annual budget that is developed by the shepherds and reviewed in whole with the congregation so all are knowledgeable and involved.
We teach and believe on the principals of the Biblical description of the New Testament church as determined from the Spirit-inspired Word of God for what the Church was like in the beginning as taught and lead by the Apostles. Free from all human creeds and structures, we choose to worship as our Lord we are directed by His Word.
THE SETTING
Since the beginning of this congregation (Maplewood Church of Christ), church buildings have been constructed to provide a safe and convenient place for the assembling of the Church. View Our History to see how this campus grew. Our facilities permit us to be together and meet as the Assembly (the Church). Our facilities consists of an auditorium building, an educational building, and a breezeway connecting the two, and ample parking facilities. For a map of our campus click here.
You will enter the auditorium building (north structure, newer/taller building) and continue into the “auditorium” were we meet to worship together. You will find the auditorium is filled with rows of pews. There is no reserved or assigned seating so sit where you feel comfortable (COVID safety protocols require us to sit a minimum of 12'-0" apart as much as possible).
If you feel it necessary or desired, you may change your seat to improve hearing or seeing better.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU
Respect of God, the worship services, yourself, and each other.
THE CONGREGATION
We’re a diverse group. We are of varying ages, ethnic backgrounds, education, and experiences. We acknowledge all persons are at different stages of their spiritual and Bible knowledge, faith, and growth.
We don’t know everything. We may not do everything exactly right. But, we know that we are all on our way to heaven together. We are not brought together by any illusion of our perfection or righteousness. We are brought together by a common understanding and recognition that we are all sinners, all are in need of His daily cleansing by the blood of Jesus, and that we are to love one another just as God and Jesus loved us.