OUR 2020 10 year VISION

In the next 10 years we will become a people that stand in the gap for our family, friends and community, and by doing this God will be glorified and people will be drawn to praise Him.

We know we are truly standing in the gap when we see 100’s of our friends and family give their lives to the Lord Jesus. We will do this by inviting them to come and see, and by going into our world praying, caring and sharing with people the Lord puts in our path of influence.

We will be standing in the gap when we join with others to do life together in small groups for the purpose of support and growth as we read the Bible together, pray together, and share together.

We will be standing in the gap as we join together each week to worship the living God. In so doing, we will experience life change. Our families will be strengthened, and the gospel will be proclaimed. As we enter into worship, the Lord will join us, and He will meet our felt and unfelt needs through His transformational power.

We will be standing in the gap as we join our lives and resources to meet the needs of our community by serving them in both big and small ways. Our community is made up of hurting kids and people without hope who find themselves cast aside by the world. We will enter into their lives to provide the answer of the risen Jesus who wants to redeem and restore them.

We will be standing in the gap as we participate in multiple mission opportunities locally and globally. We know that the work is too great for one church to accomplish alone, so we will endeavor to grow our partnership with networks and organizations that are intent on expanding the kingdom across the nations.

We know we are standing in the gap as we see families strengthened because marriages are welded together by faith in Jesus. We will work to see dad’s present in their families, loving and raising their kids. We will embrace single people to enter into our family culture, they will become our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, even our moms and dads knowing they have gifts that will strengthen and bless the family.

We know we are standing in the gap as we are known in our community as a house of prayer. Our family, friends and neighbors will be seeking out our church to pray for the needs in their lives.  

We will not stop doing this until Jesus calls us heavenward. In this work, God’s kingdom will expand, Satan’s dominion will shrink, thousands will be saved, and hundreds of leaders will be developed and called into the work ahead of us.

OUR VALUES

Because we are a collection of diverse individuals, we each have different personal values and preferences in the way we serve God and live life.  Yet certain common values unify our efforts and define us as a church. Those core values are summarized by the following statements:

Prayer - Because life is ultimately spiritual in nature, constant communication with God is essential to knowing Him, understanding His ways, recognizing His activity and participating in what He is doing.

Evangelism - Jesus' mission and His church's mission is to bring all people into intimate relationship with God through faith in Christ.

Teaching - Anointed Biblical teaching is the catalyst for transformation in individuals and in the church.

Relevance - We must function like missionaries in a foreign culture, continually adjusting our methods, language, styles, and strategies to relate effectively with those we're called to reach.

Relationships - God's design is for His people to grow, serve and share life in meaningful friendships with other believers.

Worship - Our first and greatest command is to express and demonstrate love to God, both personally and corporately with other believers.

Serving - Serving others in big and small ways demonstrates obedience to God, reveals His love in practical ways and leads to relationships and spiritual conversations about God and personal faith.

Individual Uniqueness - God uniquely designed each person with abilities, spiritual gifts, passions, style and other elements, and He expects us to live and serve according to that personal wiring.

The Kingdom Of God - Life is not about us.  It's about advancing the Kingdom of God on earth.  Partnering with others in serving, teaching, evangelizing and church planting is considered normal and expected.

Fun - Knowing Christ and serving in His name provides real joy, purpose and fulfillment in this life.

Children - We are passionate about reaching and teaching the next generation to know God's love and serve Him by serving others.

Leadership - Developing existing and emerging leaders is essential to the health and effectiveness of the church.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

NorthBridge is an intentional church plant of South Gate Baptist Church on the southern edge of Greene County, Missouri.  In the summer of 2005 South Gate commissioned 30 members and invested significant financial resources to start a new church on the northern edge of Greene County.  The planting pastor team included Michael Graves - South Gate's Administrative Pastor; Tony Turner - South Gate's Students Pastor; John Dock - one of South Gate's key small group leaders.

After months of prayer and preparation our public launch service was held September 11, 2005 at Truman Elementary School with over 100 in attendance.  For the first almost two years NorthBridge was a mobile church meeting weekly at Truman Elementary.  In fall of 2006 we purchased the Glen Ridge Center, a 22,000+ square foot office/retail center on N Highway H (Glenstone).  After renovating about half of the center for church use we moved into our new space in the summer of 2007.  We have continued to expand into the center while leasing the rest of the center's space to other office and retail businesses.

In addition to South Gate we were greatly blessed by others who gave us financial support in the planting effort.  Those partners included Missouri Baptist Convention, Greene County Baptist Association, First Baptist Church of Cassville, First Baptist Church of Lebanon, Orchard Crest Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church in Springfield.  We will forever be grateful for the investment these friends made in us.

OUR MISSION

Lead spiritual seekers to become growing followers of Jesus Christ.  It is crystal clear to us that the calling of God for NorthBridge is to bring lost, hurting and disconnected people into a mature relationship with Him.  This mission is the guiding theme and ultimate goal of everything we do.