description • mission • beliefs

Description

Bellevue Christian Church is a congregation of children, youth, and adults of all ages that exists to introduce people to Jesus Christ, to teach and help them grow to be more like Him, to nurture and care for each other as Children of God, and to go out into our community and beyond. Through this mission, we believe God is calling us to be a significant influence in our community.

We are a member congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, the first denomination founded on American soil (in the early 1800s). The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) stresses freedom and diversity and encourages each Christian to determine through Bible Study and prayer what it is God wants for him or her. Creeds are never used as measures for membership or tests of "correct belief."

The Disciples symbol is a red chalice bearing the "x"-shaped Cross of St. Andrew. The chalice represents our emphasis on the Lord’s Supper, which is open to all Christians and is celebrated weekly as the central part of worship. The red color denotes vitality, spirit, and sacrifice. The St. Andrew’s Cross, the national cross of Scotland, represents the Scottish-Presbyterian roots of our Church.
Disciples congregations accept members on a simple profession of their belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, which is traditionally followed with baptism by immersion (although Christians who already have been baptized, by whatever method, are not expected to be re-baptized). With baptism, persons are received into the full fellowship of the Bellevue Christian congregation.

Mission

Bellevue Christian Church exists to invite people into a relationship with Jesus, to equip them to live as he teaches, to nurture and care for one another as children of God, and to go out into the world so that more may come to know God’s love through Jesus.
We stand behind these Values:
God deserves excellence in all things.
Every child of God is welcome.
Relationships with God are best enhanced through diverse forms of worship.
Everyone is meant to be in a personal relationship with God.
Disciples of Jesus are expected to invite and empower others to journey with them.
Disciples of Christ reflect the fruits of the Spirit:
Love • Joy • Peace • Patience • Kindness • Goodness • Faithfulness • Humility • Self-Control

Our Basic Beliefs

As a member congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bellevue Christian Church welcomes persons of all backgrounds to worship and work with us.
Some of our members have liberal views. Others have conservative views. But we all share the belief that we are united in our faith that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our Savior."
Two really important things to us are communion and baptism. We celebrate communion, or the Lord's Supper, each time we get together to praise God. The communion table is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ, whether they are church members or not. We believe that Christ heals the pain of human separation around the communion table.
People who become Christians in a Disciples congregation do a couple of things. First, they come forward to say "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God, and I proclaim him Lord and Savior." Then, usually at a later date, they are baptized - that is, they are lowered fully under water as an act of obedience to Christ. People who have been baptized by another form in another Christian tradition are welcome. They don't have to be immersed to join our church.

At Bellevue, we believe in service in Christ's name. Our lay leadership supports the professional staff in ministry to the congregation. And we also support a variety of local and regional ministries through the larger church.
It is important, no matter what your age or interests, that you find a place to fit in your church home. We offer a variety of studies, fellowships and opportunities to work with people of all ages and interests.
While Disciples honor no human-made creed, the preamble to a document called The Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) poetically and prayerfully expresses our shared affirmations in this way:

As members of the Christian Church,
We confess that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God,
and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ's name and by his grace
we accept our mission of witness
and service to all people.
We rejoice in God,
maker of heaven and earth,
and in the covenant of love
which binds us to God and to one another
Through baptism into Christ
we enter into newness of life
and are made one with the whole people of God.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit
we are joined together in discipleship
and in obedience to Christ.
At the Table of the Lord
we celebrate with thanksgiving
the saving acts and presence of Christ.
Within the universal church
we receive the gift of ministry
and the light of scripture.
In the bonds of Christian faith
we yield ourselves to God
that we may serve the One
whose kingdom has no end.
Blessing, glory, and honor
be to God forever. Amen.