About Us - Worship in Spirit and Truth - Leadership in a Local Church
Simply Christians Serving Together
In order to serve God under the authority of Christ, the Lord requires His people to be unified as a spiritual body (Acts 2:42-44). In New Testament times, churches of Christ were everywhere planted by the gospel. They were autonomous, undenominational, and independent of any man-made organization...
A church belonging to Christ is a group of faithful Christians - penitent believers who have been baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians 12:13). This makes them members of the one body - the church of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6). Since the church belongs to Christ, who now resides in heaven, we have no earthly headquarters. We are not members of any convention, sect, or hierarchy and have no organization larger than our local independent congregation.
It is our desire to be identified with followers of Jesus Christ - Christians who do all things according to the pattern set by the apostles under Jesus' authority (Hebrews 8:5). This is possible for any who will learn, believe, and abide by the plain teaching of the word of God (1 Peter 1:22-25).
We are not concerned with the building of architectural monuments or the social enterprises of our society. Our building is merely a tool designed to facilitate the authorized work and worship of the Lord. While, as individual Christians we seek each others' association, the church is not a social club or agency. Therefore, the Lord's treasury is not used to promote or fund social functions. Our aim is spiritual (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:15). Our focus is centered upon proclaiming the praises of God (1 Peter 2:9); using the Bible as our only guide.
Too often churches leave the design of God to add additional works to the church. The Northside church of Christ that meets in Alma strives to do God's work in God's way. Members of this local church are here to help each other through life's toughest challenges (Galatians 6:2). By working and worshipping together, we can help each other become what the Lord intended.
Worship in Spirit and Truth
When we assemble for worship, our activities are simple, spiritual, and orderly. Recognizing that Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18),we model our worship by the words of our Lord, who said, “true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
Today, the religious world is filled with people attempting to worship God in ways that are not authorized by His word. The popular belief is: "God loves us so much that He is not concerned with how we worship Him." But what did Jesus say about this?
While rebuking the scribes and Pharisees for not obeying the commandments of God, Jesus cried out, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they do worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9). Jesus tells us that it is indeed possible to be in such a condition that would cause our worship to be empty or worthless. We may be drawing near to Him with our mouth, but our hearts can still be far from Him.
How can this be? Jesus answered, [because] “you teach for doctrines the commandments of men.” The scribes and Pharisees knew what the scriptures taught, but instead were teaching and following human traditions. This truly is no different than the vast multitude of people who use man-made traditions today. Many will claim that they feel right with God. But is our worship to be governed by what seems right or what makes us feel good? The Lord has said that “there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Jesus says that “God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Jesus also prayed to the Father to sanctify us through His truth, for His word is truth. (John 17:17) God’s word is truth, and it is by that truth that we learn everything we need to know about the nature of Him, the fall of man, God’s plan of salvation, and the way in which He wants to be worshipped. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
In the New Testament we find a simple, spiritual order of things that pertain to worship. This is what you can expect when you visit our assemblies...
Singing Praises
Singing is a vital part of our worship. All members of our congregation will blend their voices together in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The purpose of our songs is to praise God and to teach and admonish one another (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Since the command to sing is specific and addressed to the individual, we do not add a mechanical instrument of music to our worship. For the same reason, we do not have choirs sing for us or any type of mood music to entertain us.
Offering Up Prayers
When we assemble together, men of the congregation will lead us in prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:8). Prayer is a vital source of strength in a Christian's life. We pray often in private and with one another. When we come together in an assembly, prayer is a very important part of our worship. It is a further opportunity to praise God and give Him thanks. In prayer, we humble ourselves before God and express any spiritual or physical needs and concerns. The Scriptures affirm that God hears the prayers of the faithful. (1John 5:14-15)
Cheerful Giving
The New Testament teaches that we should prepare to give something on the first day of the week, as God has prospered us (I Corinthians 16:1-2). There are many factors that determine the amount of our offerings, but above all it must be offered willingly with a cheerful heart (2Corinthians 9:6-7). We do not expect or request our visitors to give since our offering is a responsibility of the members of this local congregation. The collection will be used to maintain the work of the church under the authority of God.
The Lord's Supper
We partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of every week (Sunday). Jesus instituted this memorial as a vital way of remembering His death on the cross (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). As we partake of the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, our minds are centered on the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us. We strive to observe this memorial every Lord's day in a worthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
Preaching The Word of God
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We should be confident that the word of God is inspired and authoritative (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Therefore, if a man speaks, it should be from God’s word (1 Peter 4:11). When we come together to worship our heavenly Father, we take time to read from the Scriptures (Nehemiah 8:8). The class lessons we teach and the sermons we present should always be Bible-based. While speaking from the word of God, we strive to give the accurate meaning recognizing that it is the truth that sets us free from sin (John 8:31-32). We believe in an open investigation of what we teach and will always encourage you to examine what is being taught by searching the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).
An Invitation
The Holy Spirit has revealed man’s need to come together and worship God each week (Hebrews 10:25). If you live in the Alma area, why not worship God with us? There is nothing more important than being reconciled to God and having the true hope of heaven. We must understand His will so that we can properly submit to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. All will be judged by His word (John 12:48). Are you ready for that day? Do you have questions or concerns? We can help in your search for the truth. Would you be interested in meeting with us to study the Bible together? We invite you to assemble with us at any of our services. Rest assured you will be welcomed as an honored guest.
Leadership in a Local Church
The Scriptures describe how the local church should work and function. The church belonging to Christ has only one head – Jesus Christ, who has been given all authority and made head over all things to the church (Ephesians 1:22). We look to Jesus for all things and strive to do all things according to the pattern of sound words recorded by His prophets and apostles. (2 Timothy 1:13)
Elders - According to the New Testament pattern, a vital element of the divine plan for a local church is the oversight of qualified elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). As shepherds watch over a flock of sheep, so do elders share in the responsibility of guiding and feeding the church. These men look out for our souls making sure we receive the spiritual sustenance that is needed to grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. Our elders:
Olen Craig: 479-461-2441 - Grady Rice: 479-462-1731
Deacons - With a group of any size naturally comes a great deal of work, often done behind the scenes. The New Testament term deacon comes from a word that literally means “servant” or “support.” Just as the elders, deacons must meet the qualifications given in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 3:8-13). Our deacons are an important part of our work as a local church. These men currently serve as our deacons:
Rick Freeman - - Damon Newman - - Tony Rupp
Evangelists - An evangelist or preacher is a proclaimer of the good news of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). To do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5) is to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), to proclaim the “good news” of the kingdom of heaven (Acts 28:30-31), and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). The evangelists at Northside share in the work as they prepare and deliver sermons in our assemblies and regularly go out to proclaim the praises of God in public. Evangelists:
John Hagenbuch: 479-573-9620 - Grady Rice: 479-462-1731
Our elders and evangelists are available for private and public studies of God's word.
