Mission and Beliefs

Mission

NLCF exists “to be a catalytic hub of people and churches that transform the world spiritually, relationally, and socially.” That’s what we are striving for and by the grace of God and the power of the gospel, we are making progress.

We are a multi-congregational church of approximately 500 people that reaches out to students at Virginia Tech, Radford, and a growing number of community members in the New River Valley.

We’ve planted two churches and supported others in the past 10 years. We love serving in a college town because we believe our role in the kingdom is to measure our success by our sending capacity and not our seating capacity.

Vision

Invest in spiritual growth…
Think beyond Sunday school: this is 24/7. Full on, brutally honest, bi-directional discipleship means reaching forward to learn from a mentor while reaching back to raise up a newbie. You don’t have to be a Christian to grow toward Christ.

Invite others to follow Jesus
It’s not about joining a herd or making a group famous, it’s about sharing illumination. We were invited to see if Jesus is the real deal, so we want to extend the same offer to others. Join us for a Sunday gathering, engage group, or for a chat over a mocha latte.

Inspire one another to change the world
The Bible is not a book of hypothetical fantasies, but a tangible story of the Kingdom of Heaven unfolding on earth. We want to help the hurting, hungry, and oppressed because Jesus is all about fixing what’s broken.

Beliefs

We value the ancient roots of our faith. Soon after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the church began to develop a clearly articulated expression of what Christians believe. Various creeds and confessions emerged. The church struggled as a community to achieve a communal expression of the faith. This ultimately (but not exclusively) culminated in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. We stand together with Christians everywhere across the centuries that have embraced these basic statements of faith. These creeds form the core expression of our faith. At NLCF, these creeds are foundational for how we understand and express the truth of God’s story today.

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come.

Amen.

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