The Bible was written for us, but its story is not about us. The God of the universe is revealing the story of Himself and His nature, character, and His redemptive grace through His Word. Scripture affords us the opportunity to not only know about God, but to know Him.
When we say that God is big, what we really mean that God’s nature and character are beyond our ability to fathom. We recognize our current understanding of God is in no way exhaustive. Discovering the the truth of God is a journey that is being unfolded to us every single day.
At 5 Eleven, we pray, plan, and live believing God can do anything. With God, the impossible becomes reality and the insurmountable is overcome. The most formidable enemy, even The Enemy himself, runs and hides at the name of Jesus and the proclamation of his Gospel!
God has given His Gospel of hope to us! The Gospel is the key that sets us free from sin, which is the greatest miracle of all. God is big and we are resolved to make everything about Him and never about us.
Before Jesus came on the scene, the Jewish religious world was ruled by the Priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and group called the Essenes.
For the most part, these leaders followed the Mosaic law pretty well. Their application of their interpretation of the Law was good, their motivation for their obedience was not.
Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and Prophets. Not necessarily fulfilling in the sense of bringing things to pass only, but in the sense of giving us the perfect example of what it means to interpret and live out the Scripture correctly. In other words, Jesus shows us how to obey the revealed will of God with the right heart.
He taught that the Law and Prophets are less about following a bunch of rules and more about knowing and following Him! He taught that being a follower of God looks less like a liturgical religion full of regulations and more like living with compassion and generosity. Jesus, the Son of God, came on the scene and changed everything.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus summarized the heart of Christianity as this: love God, love others, hunger and thirst for righteousness, suffer well, be merciful, gracious, generous, hospitable, and forgiving.
Every book, every story of the Scripture is pointing us to value people the way God does and to live our lives in service to people they way Jesus did.
For us at 5 Eleven, if Jesus taught it or modeled it we’re in. If something contradicts what Jesus taught or modeled, we’re out. We do not have authority to override His message. Our role as His disciples is to say “Jesus, my teacher says,” not “I believe” or “I think” etc.
We live like Jesus and share His Gospel because we believe Jesus can change anyone, anywhere, at any time.
There is something very natural about convincing others to experience something we find valuable or enjoy. We all regularly seek to convince others to see the latest movie we saw or try a restaurant we liked. Everyone is an evangelistically inclined, we just may not realize it.
The Great Commission begins by Jesus reminding His followers that He holds the authority to state what is the accurate interpretation of Scripture. In other words, Jesus represents and is the absolute authority of God’s desire and will for mankind.
He exhorts His followers to go and duplicate what He did, how He did it, and with whom He did it. Go and make disciples; baptize them, and teach them to understand what it looks like to follow His example.
The Great Commission doesn’t call us to bring everyone to Jesus, it calls us to bring Jesus to everyone. This nuance makes all the difference.
The Gospel according to Matthew is the message that Jesus came to save and serve those whom others may not deem worth saving or serving.
Realize who Matthew was. He was a Jew who forsake his Jewish heritage to collect taxes for the Romans! He was an outcast, hated, persecuted, unwanted, unloved, and unwelcome.
Jesus changes his life and Matthew writes his Gospel, his announcement of a New King and a New Kingdom. A kingdom where there is no outcast. A kingdom where all are welcome to come!
The rest of Matthews Gospel is all about Jesus living this out. Jesus, the King who has come to redeem the unredeemable and undesirable. Jesus the friend of sinners.
At 5 Eleven Church, we are seeking to build a community where everyone, everywhere, everyday, shares Jesus and His Gospel with everyone, everywhere, everyday.
The Gospel is meant to be believed, lived and shared so that others will believe, live, and share. It is a matter of multiplication. Followers of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, make disciples who make disciples.
At 5 Eleven, we apply this concept to individuals, groups, and even churches. As we live and share Jesus and His Gospel, one disciple turns into 2, 3, 5, 9, 13, 20! One life group turns into 2, 3, 5, 9, 13, 20! One church turns into 2, 3, 5, 9, 13, 20!
We are committed to be a multiplying church that makes disciples, starts new groups, and new churches. This is our DNA.
Visit “Our Vision” page for more.
We ascribe to our convention’s statement of faith, the “Baptist Faith and Message 2000,” and believe it accurately describes our understanding of the basic truths of Scripture.