Mission Statement: Led by the Holy Spirit in obedience to God, we strive to maintain our identity as a community of love by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, maintaining divine worship, nurturing the children of God, and promoting social justice in Jacksonville and across the world through the institutions of the First Christian Church.
Vision Statement: First Christian Church strives to: Proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through preaching by word and example; teaching; pursuing local mission projects; financially supporting the world-wide work of the First Christian Church; and reaching out to the community, especially the growing retired sector.
Maintain divine worship through regular Sunday morning services that follow the traditional Reformed order; Holy Communion each Sunday and baptisms, marriages, and funerals.
Nurture the children of God through friendship, Bible study, teaching the history and traditions of the Reformed faith, visiting and comforting the ill and bereaved, sharing the fellowship of the table and prayer, and pastoral counseling.
Promote social justice through teaching, direct action such as home repairs for the disabled and working with H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Pursue Enrichment), and supporting the social welfare and relief programs of the First Christian Church.
A Brief Statement of Faith: In life and death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, And the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church. In a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth, praying, Come, Lord Jesus!
With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.