Our Purpose and Values

Ninth & O’s Purpose

The purpose for any local church fellowship is outlined in the New Testament.  Ninth & O Baptist Church recognizes the three following ideas as the purpose and mission of the church.

The Great Commandment

Mark 12:29-31:  “Jesus answered, ‘The most important [commandment] is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  There is no other commandment greater than these.’”

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20:  “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

The Example of the Early Church

Acts 2:42:  “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Ninth & O’s Core Values

At Ninth & O, we have identified the following four core values.

  1. Truth
    In a world of shifting allegiances and faulty foundations, we seek to stand firmly upon the truth revealed in the Bible (John 17:17, Matthew 7:24-27).  The Bible provides for us the only reliable guide for life, revealing to us the person and work of our Triune God (Jesus Himself being the very embodiment of truth–John 14:6), the way of salvation (2 Timothy 3:15), and our duty unto God (2 Timothy 3:16).  We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, completely true and without any mixture of error.  We are not searching for the words of God within the Bible; it is in its entirety the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21).  Because God has spoken, we are accountable to it.  Therefore, everything we believe and do as a church is informed and instructed by the Bible (Ephesians 2:20, James 1:22-25, John 14:15).  Everything we teach is rooted in the Bible (2 Timothy 4:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:13).
  1. Worship
    The primary purpose of man’s existence is to worship (Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Revelation 4:11).  True Christian worship is directed to the Father through the merit of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 4:23).  As a congregation, we engage in worship through singing, meditating on the truths of Scripture as presented through readings and the sermon, participating in spirit with the offered prayers, giving financially during the offering, listening expectantly for ministry opportunities, and serving one another through fellowship and the right practice of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14).  Our worship should be marked by a passionate love of God and resolve to glorify Him in all we do (Matthew 22:34-40, Colossians 3:16-17).
  1. Community
    The transformational love of Jesus provides the contours of biblical community (John 13:34).  The God whom we worship is Triune, existing eternally as a community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).  As those who are made in His image, human flourishing requires us to live in communities of love and care (Genesis 1:27, Hebrews 10:25).  The authentic community fostered at Ninth & O is a radical call to intentional relational investment amid a culture of mere attendance and casual involvement.  As a church family, we seek together to experience more deeply the joys, sorrows, and all realities of life in gospel-centered community (Galatians 6:2).
  1. Missions
    Jesus came to Earth on a mission to redeem and restore humanity and the cosmos (Luke 19:10, Romans 8, Ephesians 1:21-23).  Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has perfectly accomplished this salvific work, and we believe and affirm that God has given His people, the Church, the mission of bearing witness to this salvation among all peoples of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20).  Continuing Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation, Christians are called to serve as agents of reconciliation and justice (Luke 10:25-37, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20), even while not being conformed to the pattern of the world (John 17:14-16, Acts 1:8).  Rooted in the truth, we worshipfully work together to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ among all peoples.

Ninth & O’s Logo

The NAOBC logo incorporates our four core values:

  • The cross represents Truth
  • The upward arrow represents Worship
  • The right arrow represents Community
  • The left arrow represents Missions