At Northside, We believe that the biblical purpose for church is for God’s people to experience and express the glory of God. To get Vertical – it is a distinctive that matters and it matters a lot. In many churches around the world people have hijacked the mission of the church and redefined it as merely an evangelistic and/or a social enterprise. That’s simply not enough. But when a church truly embraces and pursues God’s glory as the central passion everything else falls into place. God comes down! Evangelism and meeting the needs of society become a natural byproduct.
Vertical Church is for people who want to give themselves in pursuit of God’s manifest presence.
It is what we love to call–window rattling, earth-shattering, life-altering church!
We believe God will accomplish this in our church through 5 Vertical Values.
Proclaiming the authority of God’s Word without apology (2 Timothy 4:2).
We mean expositional and applicational preaching. The message of the sermon should be found in the biblical text and should challenge people specifically.
Lifting high the name of Jesus in worship (John 4:24).
We mean vertical worship. Every facet of the worship service lifts high the the glory and majesty of Jesus Christ.
Believing firmly in the power of prayer (Ephesians 6:18).
We mean a culture of dependence on God. We believe that fervent, faith-filled, persistent prayer is to be prioritized in every ministry environment of our churches.
Sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness. (Ephesians 6:19-20).
We mean both corporately and personally, we want to take risks to fulfill the Great Commission. This happens through personal sharing of faith and also by planting church-planting churches.
Enduring in love as the foundation of all relationships.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
Using these 5 Vertical Values, we pray God will produce, not a quantity of disciples, but a quality of discipleship. Quality disciples will put God on display through their Worship, Walk, Work, and Witness.
Worship means magnifying God with our lips and manifesting God in our lives. We are therefore convinced weekend services should draw people’s hearts vertical, right up to heaven itself. We are to give people tours of God’s greatness from start to finish. Lives are changed when they encounter God. (1 Chronicles 16, Psalm 29, Psalm 96)
Followers of Christ go through a continual process of sanctification, which simply means becoming more and more like Jesus. We do that best in community – environments that cultivate biblical thinking and God-honoring behavior through mutual ministry and accountability with one another. (Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24)
A disciple of Christ is a worker for Christ. They are to utilize their gifts and talents, not for themselves, but for the advancements of His kingdom both inside and outside the church. (1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Ephesians 2:8-10)
A disciple of Christ is someone who has been changed by the gospel of Christ. They will be giving others the same opportunity to be changed by witnessing about Christ with the Bible and their lives. (1 Peter 3:15, Romans 10:14-17, John 13:35)