History, Beliefs and Mission
Our History: Our church was started by a group of people who saw a need for a church in the western section of town. On June 3, 1956 the first service was held at Alice Drive Elementary School. After purchasing the former Sumter Municipal Airport property the first service was held in the new sanctuary on May 25, 1958.
Beliefs: We believe in God, incarnate in Jesus Christ for our salvation and ever at work in human history through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Mission: Gather in community. Grow through discipleship. Go into the world.
Three-Fold Vision:
Gather:
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God’s people have always been a people who gather. Because our lives belong to Christ, we desire to gather in community as one body & express our love for Christ through worship. Aldersgate is not simply a place to attend but a people who live together in gospel community.
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We gather to pray, sing, and hear the preaching of God’s Word. We also gather to celebrate baptism and share in communion as we remember the grace offered through Christ. This is a time of joy & fellowship where we come together as family, each one a member of the other, to receive strength, healing & restoration through the fellowship of believers.
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-Acts 2:42-47 -Hebrews 3:12-14 -Hebrews 10:25 -1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Grow:
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As a people who gather in community, we are also a people who grow through discipleship. We exist to glorify God as disciples of Jesus Christ, & because our hearts are for all people, we long to be a church through which the knowledge of God’s glory would cover the earth as the waters do the sea. As disciples, we have been reconciled into relationship with God through new birth, having become ambassadors of reconciliation to a broken world. This means being a church who equips her people for works of ministry, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13).
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As Christians, we are set apart by God, becoming vessels through which, He expands His kingdom on earth. All Scripture is “God-breathed”, and it is God’s holy word that gives witness to Jesus Christ. Therefore, God’s word is foundational in equipping the Church for the works God prepared in advance. Discipleship means we deny ourselves and hold to the authority of God’s word. Discipleship means equipping to send, equipping to serve, & equipping to share the gospel of grace. Discipleship isn’t about perfection, it is living in such a way our lives point to the perfecting work of Jesus Christ.
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-Habakkuk 2:14 -Ephesians 4:12-13 -2 Corinthians 5:11-21 -2 Tim. 3:16-1
Go:
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The last command Christ gave to His church was to go and make disciples of all nations. Just as God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us. This means equipping disciples through a process that results in mission. Through a love for God and others, we long to be a church who sends and a people through which God multiplies His Kingdom. We are called to be witnesses of Christ and we believe that journey begins where God has placed us. From serving the people of our local community to missional outreach with the nations in mind, our call to discipleship means replication of the gospel, for the glory of God, to the ends of the earth.
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Matt. 28:18-20 -John 20:21 -Acts 1:8 -Genesis 12:1-3 -Matt 24:14 -Mark 6:15 -Matt. 25:4