Theological Vision for Ministry
Click HERE for complete statement
"We do not, however, see enough individual churches that embody the full, integrative gospel balance we have outlined here. And while, in God’s grace, there is an encouraging number of bright spots in the church, we see no broad movement yet of this gospel–centered ministry. We believe such a balance will produce churches with winsome and theologically substantial preaching, dynamic evangelism and apologetics, and church growth and church planting. They will emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the social structures of ordinary people, and cultural engagement with art, business, scholarship, and government. There will be calls for radical Christian community in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the poor and the marginalized. These priorities will all be combined and will mutually strengthen one another in each local church.
What could lead to a growing movement of gospel–centered churches? The ultimate answer is that God must, for his own glory, send revival in response to the fervent, extraordinary, prevailing prayer of his people. But we believe there are also penultimate steps to take. There is great hope if we can unite on the nature of truth, how best to read the Bible, on our relationship to culture, on the content of the gospel, and on the nature of gospel–centered ministry. We believe that such commitments will drive us afresh toward Scripture, toward the Christ of Scripture, toward the gospel of Christ, and we will begin to grow in our ability, by God’s grace, as churches, to “act in line with the truth of the gospel” (Gal 2:14). We are ashamed of our sins and failures, grateful beyond measure for forgiveness, and eager to see afresh the glory of God and embody conformity to his Son."
Council Members
Reddit AndrewsSenior Pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian ChurchElk Grove, CA
Mike AndrusSenior Pastor of First Evangelical Free Church of WichitaWichita, KS
Thabiti AnyabwileSenior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand CaymanGrand Cayman Islands
Alistair BeggSenior Pastor of Parkside Church Chagrin Falls, OH
Conrad “Buster” BrownSenior Pastor of East Cooper Baptist ChurchMount Pleasant, SC
Mike BullmoreSenior Pastor of CrossWay Community ChurchBristol, WI
Robert (Ric) CannadaChancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC
D.A. CarsonResearch Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity SchoolDeerfield, IL
Anthony J. CarterLead Pastor of East Point ChurchAtlanta, GA
Bryan ChapellPresident of Covenant Theological SeminarySt. Louis, MO
Steven ChinSenior Pastor of Boston Chinese ChurchBoston, MA
K. Edward CopelandSenior Pastor of New Zion Baptist Church Rockford, IL
Andy DavisSenior Pastor of First Baptist ChurchDurham, NC
Mark DeverSenior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist ChurchWashington, D.C.
Mark DriscollSenior Pastor of Mars Hill ChurchSeattle, WA
Ligon DuncanSenior Pastor of First Presbyterian ChurchJackson, MS
Joshua HarrisSenior Pastor of Covenant Life ChurchGaithersburg, MD
David HelmPastor of Holy Trinity ChurchChicago, IL
David HornerSenior Pastor of Providence Baptist ChurchRaleigh, NC
Kent HughesSenior Pastor Emeritus, College Church in Wheaton, IL
Gary InrigSenior Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Free ChurchRedlands, CA
Tim KellerSenior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian ChurchManhattan, NY
Paul KimSenior Pastor of Open Door Presbyterian ChurchHerndon, VA
Bill KynesSenior Pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free ChurchAnnandale, VA
Crawford LorittsSenior Pastor of Fellowship Bible ChurchRoswell, GA
Jeff LouieAssociate Professor at Western Seminary, Los Gatos, CASan Francisco, CA
Erwin LutzerSenior Pastor of The Moody ChurchChicago, IL
James MacDonaldSenior Pastor of Harvest Bible ChapelRolling Meadows, IL
John MahaffeySenior Pastor of West Highland Baptist ChurchHamilton, Ontario, Canada
C.J. MahaneyPresident of Sovereign Grace MinistriesGaithersburg, MD
Albert MohlerPresident of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
Tom NelsonSenior Pastor of Christ Community ChurchLeawood, Kansas
John NeufeldSenior Pastor of Willingdon ChurchBurnaby, BC, Canada
Ray Ortlund Jr.Pastor of Immanuel ChurchNashville, TN
Richard D. PhillipsSenior Minister of Second Presbyterian ChurchGreenville, SC
John PiperPastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist ChurchMinneapolis, MN
Eric RedmondSenior Pastor of Reformation Alive in Temple Hill, MD
Harry ReederSenior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian ChurchBirmingham, AL
George RobertsonSenior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church Augusta, Georgia
Phil RykenSenior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian ChurchPhiladelphia, PA
Juan SanchezSenior Pastor of High Pointe Baptist ChurchAustin, TX
Tim SavageSenior Pastor of Camelback Bible ChurchParadise Valley, AZ
David ShortRector of St. John's Shaughnessy Vancouver, BC Canada
Colin SmithSenior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free ChurchArlington Heights, IL
Scotty SmithSenior Pastor of Christ Community ChurchFranklin, TN
Stephen UmSenior Pastor of CityLife ChurchBoston, MA
Greg WaybrightSenior Pastor of Lake Avenue ChurchPasadena, CA
Sandy WillsonSenior Pastor of Second Presbyterian ChurchMemphis, TN
John YatesSenior Pastor of The Falls ChurchFalls Church, VA
Paul ZahlRector of All Saints ChurchChevy Chase, MD
Click HERE for complete statement
"We do not, however, see enough individual churches that embody the full, integrative gospel balance we have outlined here. And while, in God’s grace, there is an encouraging number of bright spots in the church, we see no broad movement yet of this gospel–centered ministry. We believe such a balance will produce churches with winsome and theologically substantial preaching, dynamic evangelism and apologetics, and church growth and church planting. They will emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the social structures of ordinary people, and cultural engagement with art, business, scholarship, and government. There will be calls for radical Christian community in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the poor and the marginalized. These priorities will all be combined and will mutually strengthen one another in each local church.
What could lead to a growing movement of gospel–centered churches? The ultimate answer is that God must, for his own glory, send revival in response to the fervent, extraordinary, prevailing prayer of his people. But we believe there are also penultimate steps to take. There is great hope if we can unite on the nature of truth, how best to read the Bible, on our relationship to culture, on the content of the gospel, and on the nature of gospel–centered ministry. We believe that such commitments will drive us afresh toward Scripture, toward the Christ of Scripture, toward the gospel of Christ, and we will begin to grow in our ability, by God’s grace, as churches, to “act in line with the truth of the gospel” (Gal 2:14). We are ashamed of our sins and failures, grateful beyond measure for forgiveness, and eager to see afresh the glory of God and embody conformity to his Son."
Council Members
Reddit AndrewsSenior Pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian ChurchElk Grove, CA
Mike AndrusSenior Pastor of First Evangelical Free Church of WichitaWichita, KS
Thabiti AnyabwileSenior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand CaymanGrand Cayman Islands
Alistair BeggSenior Pastor of Parkside Church Chagrin Falls, OH
Conrad “Buster” BrownSenior Pastor of East Cooper Baptist ChurchMount Pleasant, SC
Mike BullmoreSenior Pastor of CrossWay Community ChurchBristol, WI
Robert (Ric) CannadaChancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC
D.A. CarsonResearch Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity SchoolDeerfield, IL
Anthony J. CarterLead Pastor of East Point ChurchAtlanta, GA
Bryan ChapellPresident of Covenant Theological SeminarySt. Louis, MO
Steven ChinSenior Pastor of Boston Chinese ChurchBoston, MA
K. Edward CopelandSenior Pastor of New Zion Baptist Church Rockford, IL
Andy DavisSenior Pastor of First Baptist ChurchDurham, NC
Mark DeverSenior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist ChurchWashington, D.C.
Mark DriscollSenior Pastor of Mars Hill ChurchSeattle, WA
Ligon DuncanSenior Pastor of First Presbyterian ChurchJackson, MS
Joshua HarrisSenior Pastor of Covenant Life ChurchGaithersburg, MD
David HelmPastor of Holy Trinity ChurchChicago, IL
David HornerSenior Pastor of Providence Baptist ChurchRaleigh, NC
Kent HughesSenior Pastor Emeritus, College Church in Wheaton, IL
Gary InrigSenior Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Free ChurchRedlands, CA
Tim KellerSenior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian ChurchManhattan, NY
Paul KimSenior Pastor of Open Door Presbyterian ChurchHerndon, VA
Bill KynesSenior Pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free ChurchAnnandale, VA
Crawford LorittsSenior Pastor of Fellowship Bible ChurchRoswell, GA
Jeff LouieAssociate Professor at Western Seminary, Los Gatos, CASan Francisco, CA
Erwin LutzerSenior Pastor of The Moody ChurchChicago, IL
James MacDonaldSenior Pastor of Harvest Bible ChapelRolling Meadows, IL
John MahaffeySenior Pastor of West Highland Baptist ChurchHamilton, Ontario, Canada
C.J. MahaneyPresident of Sovereign Grace MinistriesGaithersburg, MD
Albert MohlerPresident of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
Tom NelsonSenior Pastor of Christ Community ChurchLeawood, Kansas
John NeufeldSenior Pastor of Willingdon ChurchBurnaby, BC, Canada
Ray Ortlund Jr.Pastor of Immanuel ChurchNashville, TN
Richard D. PhillipsSenior Minister of Second Presbyterian ChurchGreenville, SC
John PiperPastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist ChurchMinneapolis, MN
Eric RedmondSenior Pastor of Reformation Alive in Temple Hill, MD
Harry ReederSenior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian ChurchBirmingham, AL
George RobertsonSenior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church Augusta, Georgia
Phil RykenSenior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian ChurchPhiladelphia, PA
Juan SanchezSenior Pastor of High Pointe Baptist ChurchAustin, TX
Tim SavageSenior Pastor of Camelback Bible ChurchParadise Valley, AZ
David ShortRector of St. John's Shaughnessy Vancouver, BC Canada
Colin SmithSenior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free ChurchArlington Heights, IL
Scotty SmithSenior Pastor of Christ Community ChurchFranklin, TN
Stephen UmSenior Pastor of CityLife ChurchBoston, MA
Greg WaybrightSenior Pastor of Lake Avenue ChurchPasadena, CA
Sandy WillsonSenior Pastor of Second Presbyterian ChurchMemphis, TN
John YatesSenior Pastor of The Falls ChurchFalls Church, VA
Paul ZahlRector of All Saints ChurchChevy Chase, MD
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