Relevant Expository Teaching

We care very much about being biblically sound.  Our sermons could be considered "relevant expository preaching", which means we generally focus on one book of the Bible at a time, we tend to teach "verse by verse", and let those passages speak for themselves. It is our desire to give practical application that is excavated from the Word, not making the Bible say what we want to make it say. From this basis, we try to bridge the gap between the ancient world and the 21st century by giving historical context and making the connection to our world today.  When you walk away from an Ekklesia service, we want your life to be transformed by the living Word of God and for you to have helpful principles from it to guide your life. We are also committed to having home groups, extra classes, and seminars to train and educate everyone so that they feel equipped to share their faith confidently, hold Bible studies, refute modern-day skepticism, and walk in spiritual truth. We don't want our church to have only a select few who know the important answers to life's questions.  We want everyone to know what they believe and why they believe it.

Authentic, Accepting Community

Ekklesia exists as a community.  We are not functioning as a church if we are not a community of believers.  In the New Testament, the apostle Paul explains this concept of the community of believers by comparing it to a body (I Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 4:3-16).  Just like a physical body, we cannot exist independently from one another.  If we are to live like a working body, we need to work together and care for each other to be healthy.  As Paul continues in I Corinthians, after using the body comparison, he shows in what way we are to interact...with love.  Without true biblical love, community doesn't work.  Also, we accept people into our community regardless of what they've done, what they look like, social status, or any other factor.  You also don't have to "clean up your act" before we accept you either, because God accepts all of us...warts and all.  This is part of being authentic.  We want people to be themselves when they are at Ekklesia - you don't have to be someone you're not just because you're "in church."  We all have areas we're working on, this is part of being human and living in this world.  So come, relax, be yourself, and enjoy being part of a group who will accept you for who you are.  We can all grow together.

Passionate Modern Worship

Worship is our expression to God in response to who He is, what He has done for us and in response to what He has asked us to do.  We can worship God in many ways, but there are some things which the Bible teaches are vital: preaching, reading Scripture, prayer, singing, giving, baptism, and communion.  At Ekklesia, we want to worship and practice in a way that is relevant and meaningful to those in our services, rather than doing ritual for the sake of ritual.  We believe that since God has not given us a set "style" of worship in the New Testament, we should be committed to doing what is most meaningful to those in our congregation.  While keeping a reverent and holy atmosphere, we use the most modern means of expressing our worship to God. We incorporate styles such as indie rock and ambient sound to glorify God.  We use music from artists like David Crowder and Cool Hand Luke, as well as modern versions of hymns. The interesting thing is that when we worship in a way that is meaningful to us personally, we are able to worship freely with our hearts.  We use the word passionate because God asks us to not simply practice "religion" but to have a living, active relationship with Him.  If we truly understand who our awesome God is, we will want nothing less than to offer our worship to Him with heartfelt passion.

Relational Evangelism

God stepped out of heaven and came to earth in order to rescue us (John 3:15-17).  He went through pain and suffering for our sake so that we could be with Him. This is what God did for us and He asks us to also reach out in love to those who do not know Him personally (John 17:18). We want to encourage believers to share their faith with the people that God brings into their lives.  The people who are most interested in what we have to say are people that know us and people who have a relationship with us.  The message of the Gospel is for everyone and we want to strive to share God's message in a loving, appropriate, and sensitive way.

Fervant Prayer

At Ekklesia we take prayer very seriously.  Prayer is the main vehicle in which we communicate with God, it is so important that Paul even said that we are to pray continually (1Thess. 5:17).  From the moment our church services start, we have someone doing intercessory prayer throughought the service.  We also have small prayer groups after each service, and prayer services where we spend the entire time praying. 

Living Godly Lifestyles In the World

In John 17:13-19, Jesus prays for the church that we would be godly and protected while living in the midst of this dark world.  We believe it is necessary to engage the culture and be a part of it.  We also believe it is necessary to remain pure and godly while we do this because otherwise we are not actually being the light that the world needs.  We want to live in the world and to engage it while still living for the Lord and according to His standards.