Our Culture & Values
Culture includes the collective behaviors, beliefs, and practices of a particular group of people. Every organization or people group forms a culture. It is often more felt than explained. When we visit any church, we are assessing culture. We do this by asking two questions:
Do I fit here?
Do they fit with me?
In essence we are trying to answer - Can I see myself here? What is the culture?
Embark's culture is our most valuable asset. We are intentional about creating and maintaining it. We do this by emphasizing particular values. They are:
Do I fit here?
Do they fit with me?
In essence we are trying to answer - Can I see myself here? What is the culture?
Embark's culture is our most valuable asset. We are intentional about creating and maintaining it. We do this by emphasizing particular values. They are:
Authentic
We openly talk about our struggles. We believe it is ok for you to have questions about your faith, wrestle with those questions, and learn how to live out your faith authentically.
Intentionality
We are intentional in everything we do whether that is an operation of the church or our individual spiritual growth.
Spiritual Depth
Learning about Jesus, what He does, and how to be more like Him are at the heart of what we do. Since this is a never-ending growth process, we intentionally create opportunities to grow deeper in our faith.
Community
Being in a community is essential to who we are. Developing relationships is critical to our spiritual growth. We create many opportunities for people to connect with others.
Experience
Experiencing the Holy Spirit is crucial to spiritual growth. Because of this we intentionally create opportunities for you to experience Him.
Involvement
We believe a church is only effective in growing people spiritually when the people are committed and involved. As a result, we emphasize individual involvement vs spectating.
Our Beliefs
We believe the Bible says:
Trinity
One God who simultaneously lives and works in the three different persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God
The Father created, established, ordered, and continues to work in the world.
Sin & Creation
God created the world and deemed it good. Through man’s willful disobedience, sin corrupted and utterly defaced the image of God in us, infecting all of humanity and creation.
Jesus
God the Father showed unfathomable love for us by entering the world in Jesus Christ who, being equal with God, was both fully human and fully divine.
Holy Spirit
God broke into our sinful lives in the person of the Holy Spirit who is fully God, equal with the Father and Son.
Salvation
We are granted eternal life in Christ alone, by grace alone and through faith alone.
Scripture
Written by humans and inspired by the Holy Spirit, Scripture is true and never fails. It is the believers’ rule and authority for life, guiding us in faithful living when culture condones thoughts, practices, and ways of living that seek to degrade and destroy humanity.
Church
When followers of Christ receive faith, they are tied together to other believers through the Holy Spirit and constitute His body on earth. Through the collective interworking of individual gifts, the church furthers the mission and kingdom of God
One God who simultaneously lives and works in the three different persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God
The Father created, established, ordered, and continues to work in the world.
Sin & Creation
God created the world and deemed it good. Through man’s willful disobedience, sin corrupted and utterly defaced the image of God in us, infecting all of humanity and creation.
Jesus
God the Father showed unfathomable love for us by entering the world in Jesus Christ who, being equal with God, was both fully human and fully divine.
Holy Spirit
God broke into our sinful lives in the person of the Holy Spirit who is fully God, equal with the Father and Son.
Salvation
We are granted eternal life in Christ alone, by grace alone and through faith alone.
Scripture
Written by humans and inspired by the Holy Spirit, Scripture is true and never fails. It is the believers’ rule and authority for life, guiding us in faithful living when culture condones thoughts, practices, and ways of living that seek to degrade and destroy humanity.
Church
When followers of Christ receive faith, they are tied together to other believers through the Holy Spirit and constitute His body on earth. Through the collective interworking of individual gifts, the church furthers the mission and kingdom of God
Sacraments
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, both instituted by Jesus Christ, are celebrated in God’s church as outward signs of an inward, invisible grace.
Male Leadership
In keeping with the consistent pattern of male leadership among God’s people throughout the Scriptures, the roles of a church’s senior pastors and elders are to be fulfilled by men.
Christian Living
At salvation, the believer is justified with God, is adopted into God’s family, and the process of sanctification begins. Upon trusting Jesus as God and Savior, the believer’s life begins to change as God works in him and as he continues to submit to Him. The Christian life is marked by obedience to the Lord and a desire to live life the way the Bible says.
Gender
We believe the Bible says there are only two genders, male and female, as God biologically made them. God specifically designed the complementary roles of the man and the woman. Gender is part of God’s sovereign will for each person, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Marriage
We believe the Bible teaches that the marriage covenant is reserved only for one man with one woman.
Sexuality
We believe the Bible teaches the only legitimate and acceptable sexual relationship is the marital relationship between one man and one woman.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, both instituted by Jesus Christ, are celebrated in God’s church as outward signs of an inward, invisible grace.
Male Leadership
In keeping with the consistent pattern of male leadership among God’s people throughout the Scriptures, the roles of a church’s senior pastors and elders are to be fulfilled by men.
Christian Living
At salvation, the believer is justified with God, is adopted into God’s family, and the process of sanctification begins. Upon trusting Jesus as God and Savior, the believer’s life begins to change as God works in him and as he continues to submit to Him. The Christian life is marked by obedience to the Lord and a desire to live life the way the Bible says.
Gender
We believe the Bible says there are only two genders, male and female, as God biologically made them. God specifically designed the complementary roles of the man and the woman. Gender is part of God’s sovereign will for each person, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Marriage
We believe the Bible teaches that the marriage covenant is reserved only for one man with one woman.
Sexuality
We believe the Bible teaches the only legitimate and acceptable sexual relationship is the marital relationship between one man and one woman.