WELCOME TO TEKOA
We are a Christian Church sharing the Good News of Jesus with our community. Whatever your background, age, or faith experience, you are welcome!
MISSION:
Connecting people to God to find and live out their purpose.
TEKOA: te-ko'-a
Our name, Tekoa (te-ko’-a), comes from the city Tekoa in Israel. Outside of that city, the Israelites faced an attack from their enemy, which is recorded in 2 Chronicles 20. God’s people put their faith in God at this critical moment . They turned to God before the battle instead of preparing their army to fight with their own strength. God promised them a victory without having to fight, and they went forward in worship as God had instructed them to do.
Simply put: Tekoa was a place where God’s people turned to him in their time of need and he provided for them.
VISION:
We worship God together on our knees, to stand before his presence in truth, so we can walk out our faith in victory. We are a people that fight together to see God’s kingdom come to our city. (2 Chronicles 20)
Our vision is to empower, equip, and encourage people to experience God’s love and find victory in their battles. Our families and kids are central to the vision as we work together to build the house of God. We do this by raising an army of warriors that fight on their knees before God to see our city find salvation, freedom, victory, and life in Jesus. To see the light of God transform our city, we worship with the expectation of encountering God’s presence and seeing the miracles of God. This is your invitation to join a powerful movement of people that are living out their purpose to passionately fight to bring the kingdom of God to our city in greater ways. 2 Chron 20 | John 14:12 | Eze 37 | Zech 8
VALUES:
1. We Seek God First
2. We are Storytellers
3. We are Disciple Makers
4. We Pursue the Lost
5. We Do Life Together
6. We are Driven by Hope
OUR BELIEFS:
We believe the Bible to be completely true and authoritative in all areas of faith, life, and the church. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the ultimate source of truth for Christians, giving testimonies of God’s character, stories of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry, as well as instruction and wisdom for daily life.
(2 Timothy 3:16 and Romans 16:25-26).
We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal.
(Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14, Luke 11:13, John 1:1-5)
We believe God the Father is a member of the trinity. He created the world, by his word, out of nothing. He created humanity for relationship with himself. God the Father sent Jesus, his son, to the world for the salvation of humanity, desiring all to come to that salvation and a restoration of relationship with himself. He also sends the Holy Spirit to those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus and becomes their father.
(Genesis 1; Matthew 6:5-15, 10:10-14; Luke 11:11-13; Romans 8:14-15; 1 John 1:3)
We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, a member of the Trinity. He is fully God and fully man. After voluntarily coming to earth, he was born of a virgin, ministered through teaching and miracles, and died on a cross. He is the only person ever to have lived a sinless life. He died on the cross for humanity’s sin, reconciling humanities broken relationship with God through his sacrifice. His resurrection from the grave on the third day, affirms his victory over sin and death. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory to establish his Kingdom. This will occur at a date unknown by all.
(John 1:1-18, John 14, 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Matthew 1:18-2:12, 24:30-36; Acts 1:9-11; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 1:1-13; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 1:1-2:2)
We believe the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and fully God. The Holy Spirit indwells the followers of Jesus at the point of salvation, regenerating them with a new nature, and facilitating the work of sanctification. He also equips them with spiritual gifts for serving others.
(John 14:15-26; Acts 2:1-33; Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 5:16-23; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
We believe God created humans, both male and female, in his perfect image. All humanity is alienated from God due to their sin and rebellion. As a result of their sin, humans are incapable of having a relationship with God based solely upon their effort; our only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (His death, burial, and resurrection). Salvation is a free gift from God and cannot be earned through our own efforts. One needs to confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead for salvation. We believe that all who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Lord and Savior will receive the forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life.
(Gen.1:26-31, 3:1-7; John 3:16-21, 6:35-40, 10:27-30; Romans 1:16, 3:10-26, 5:1-21, 10:9-10, Acts 16:31; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:1-2:2; 5:11-13; 1 Peter 1:3-12)
We believe sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and his Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. The transformation of the believer is a gradual process and evidence of this is seen through the fruit of the spirit.
(Romans 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16-26; Hebrews 2:11)
We believe the Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and edify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. We believe all the gifts listed in the bible are active today. The biblical lists of gifts are not exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations in those to whom they are given. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of the Bible.
(Acts 1:8; Hebrews 2:4, 12:3-21; Ephesians 4:16; 2 Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 1 Peter 4:10)
We believe humanity was created to exist forever, with “forever” being spent in one of two places: heaven or hell. Spending eternity in heaven means being in perfect union with God and is the eternal dwelling place for all who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Eternity in hell means being forever separated from God. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Matthew: 25:31-46; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:22-28; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 2:25, 5:11-13, Revelation 20:15, 21:1-8)
The church is the bride of Christ and is made up of everyone who has accepted the Gospel of Jesus. Each member of the church and body of believers has been given unique gifts in order to build up the church and to execute the great commision. We believe the local church should work together amongst congregations for the mission of sharing the good news of the Gospel. We believe in the equality of men and women in the leadership of the church.
(1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 4:15-16 ; Galatians 3:28)
Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new believer is commanded by God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
(Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Luke 3:21; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12, 36-38).
A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and wine (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.
(Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-28)
We believe that God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman. The idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history (Genesis 1-3). The fact that God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, is clearly conveyed in God’s inerrant Scriptures, including in Matthew 19:4-6 where Jesus upholds the traditional definition of marriage in Genesis.