LIFEWAY COMMUNITY CHURCH of N.Bangor NY
518-319-0078

Lifeway Community Church is a small but ready to grow rural church with a real heart for church family and surrounding community.  

Lifeway Community Church is known for simplifying faith, for authentic church and individual growth in Christ, community outreach, helping ministries, sharing with North Country neighbors and for extending the church far past the walls of our building. We teach we must: "Be the Church, not just go to church!" We hope as our church family connects with God in a close, personal, and authentic way. We are more concerned with individual lives expressing real life faith application, everywhere, every day, rather than emphasizing "church building programs and events". Many support groups and other community help groups meet at Lifeway. We also have an efficient array of our own community help ministries.   

These helping connections can be through the collective ministries of Lifeway, or can manifest in each individual members own workplace, homes, social circles, and neighborhoods. We want to help people grow in relationship and understanding of Jesus, Bible teaching, and lifestyle, every day, faith in action. We also believe in sharing our faith, in an honest and committed way, and by helping each other do what Jesus teaches and desires in our lives everywhere, every day, for everyone's, immense benefit and for the Glory of God. 

We believe each one here is called in their own time, through their individual increase in understanding to become what God desires for them. We do not push anyone, but gently prompt and provide a way for increase in Biblical understanding and love of God.  Personal growth and opportunity is our goal, we are less about church programming, more about real life enhancement in Christ and Bible centered faith.

Unbelievers are loved, not pointed at as the enemy or a "project". Sin is not ignored, but addressed compassionately in teaching, with each person adapting, changing, growing at their own pace while being encouraged to stay on the "Disciples Pathway."  We are not called to condemn or correct those who do not believe, and within the church we are called only to remind, encourage, lift, compassionately correct, and sharpen each others faith. All done in loving care for each other.

Those attending LIFEWAY COMMUNITY CHURCH can continue to learn, worship, or simply seek the truth, for as long as they are comfortable doing so. Should they desire to step their faith walk with Jesus up a bit, LIFEWAY COMMUNITY will help. We will do all we can to help our members serve in ministry and apply lifestyle faith everyday.   Making their lives that much more rewarding, empowered for greater things, and filled with hope.


ABOUT GOD

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

ABOUT MAN

Men and women are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. He is the supreme object of God´s creation. Although mankind has tremendous potential for good, we have been marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin". Sin is simply missing the mark, God desires for our best existence. This "sin" attitude separates mankind from God.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2

ABOUT ETERNITY

Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. Hell is primarily about separation from God and all that is good. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. This is Heaven, His Kingdom, where life is all it was created to be before sin caused a fallen-ness and broken hurtful world.  Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; John 2:25; John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; 1 John 5:11-12; Matthew 25:31-46

ABOUT JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus chose to take on flesh of mankind, He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven´s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords.    Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13

ABOUT SALVATION

Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God´s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin´s penalty. Trusting in Jesus for salvation begins with the recognition of sin. We trust only the sinless one could pay the penalty for the sinful ones, and continue that trust by seeking God's Will, changing any sinful direction as we recognize, and living in a desire to be all God desires us to be. Eternal life bound for God's Glory, begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1 

ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY

Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives this security.  John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10,14; 1 Peter 1:3-5 

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of true salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.  2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:1 

We also believe the Bible teaches that, at the moment you believe in Jesus, you are baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This one time experience that comes at the moment of salvation is God's powerful way of declaring, "You're in my family and I'm not going to let you go." The baptism of the Spirit happens the moment you are saved, so you do not need a second experience. 

Yet Eph. 5:18 teaches us that we must be FILLED with the Spirit on a continual basis as believers... allowing Him, in a fresh and new way, to cleanse and control our lives. Many believers have a number of experiences throughout their lives of trusting the Spirit to fill them in a deeper way than they ever have before. For some, this can FEEL like a second experience of somehow getting "more" of God's Spirit. We believe, you receive all of God's Spirit the moment you are saved, and throughout your life will learn to trust more and more of yourself to Him opening ourselves to more guidance, comforting, power, and more. 

From the first days of the church, people have always been more impressed with the spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit that are more spectacular (healing, tongues, etc). God tells us in 1 Corinthians 12-14 that He is more impressed with the less noticeable gifts, and that He is most impressed with love. Those chapters are filled with warnings about using those more spectacular gifts in ways that draw attention to ourselves rather than to the Lord. Paul says that he would rather speak in a few words that people would understand than in thousands of words in tongues. That is why we don't speak in tongues in our worship services - we want to speak in ways that people understand.  At home or when alone a few of our church family members occasionally pray in tongues (an ecstatic or spiritual language) as this is what they learned in a past local church setting.  We do not condemn; however, it is not our way in public settings at Lifeway Church. 

God's Word reminds us: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 

ABOUT THE BIBLE

The Bible is God´s Word to all men. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error. There is only one ultimate authority at LIFEWAY Church and it is God’s Word. Leadership is always to be verified and accountable to Scripture. 
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5 

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