Philosophy of Ministry

1 Corinthians 1:17,  "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of it's power".

1 Corinthians 2:2, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling. My message and my preaching were not of wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power.

Matthew 20:23, "You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many"

1 Timothy 2:8, "I want every one to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

These are only a fraction of the scripture's that have shaped the following philosophy of ministry. Please request clarification or scriptural support of and part of these words by sending an email to spokaneorc@hotmail.com

Philosophy of Ministry.


My approach to ministry for Christ is based on the belief that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, He died for our sins on a Roman cross as a sinless lamb, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day.  His resurrection is an empowering event for all who believe that Christ is God, embrace His identity and accept Him as Savior.  Jesus Christ came for sinners not for self proclaimed righteous persons.  His resurrection is an active event which continues to work  in the process of human renewal and healing so that body, mind and character are being transformed into the image of Christ.  Christ is alive in His believers.

Ministry to the jail is validated in Matthew 25:36,40.  "I was in prison and you came to visit me....whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine you did for me (Christ)".

The underlying purpose of ministry in the prison is to point persons toward Jesus Christ.  In order to do this the focus of  preaching is on Christ's identity, His activity in the present day, His accomplishment, the process of salvation,  internal characterological change, personal emotional and physical healing, principles of daily Christian living as revealed in God's Word,  the importance of ; daily Bible reading, prayer, seeking God in Christ, being fully convinced in ones self, taking responsibility, and  seeking God intensely until a definite change of  character is established and maintained. (etc.)

The services are designed to attract those who have never been to Church.  The ministry seeks those who are sinners, who are in need of Salvation in Christ,  for the purpose of convincing them that Jesus Christ is alive, available and able to make a positive difference in human life now and for eternity.  The services also recognize the need to comfort the faithful in a Worship environment.  Because individuals from every faith, cult, belief, denomination, sensibility, and preference attend the services, a wide variety of music is used during Worship,  traditional hymns, contemporary Christian songs, and songs with an approved message from the "secular" environment are included.  There is no exclusiveistic attitude with regard to human designations of Christian denomination. Each believer is instructed to seek God earnestly, move toward Him until the correct place in the Body of Christ revealed. The Body of Christ is defined as all person's who believe in the person of Jesus Christ as defined above. We will use all means available to attract the unsaved so that they may hear the living Word of  God and perhaps have bondage to sin broken by the manifestation of Christ power in their spirit.

Being fully convinced that all may come to Christ, that He is able to conquer any addiction or bondage and transform human life causes persistent perseverance in presenting the message of Salvation in Christ.  The Godless, rebellious, hostile, addicted, angry, wounded, poor, deceived, hopeless and offensive are ministered to without time constraint, fear, discouragement, or hopelessness.  It is realized that transformation of character is a process that may take any conceivable length of time, indeed a life time.  It is further acknowledged that in the process of transformation periods of rebellion and resistance may appear to suggest that no progress is being made with certain individuals. Since we are convinced that Christ is alive and working we will continue to work with such persons, under the protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit, in faith believing that change is occurring whether it is apparent to the human senses or not.  It is understood that from time to time individuals will request from us help, money, friendship, involvement, support, resources, etc. that are not healthy for us to give.  When this occurs we will do what is necessary to protect ourselves, family, and the ministry from harm by providing what we are able and entrusting such persons to the care and wisdom of God. We will always be ready to receive those who are sincerely seeking God in Christ, earnestly calling out to Him for salvation and desiring to humbly submit to His living Word.