Statement of Faith
We believe there is one God. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and attribute, fulfilling distinct but complementary roles in the great work of redemption.
We believe Jesus Christ was the sacrifice God planned from the foundation of the world for the sin of the human race. By shedding His blood and dying on the cross, Jesus made provision for the salvation of all people.
We believe, because of our total inability to save ourselves, salvation is by God's grace alone. It is received by faith with repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We believe Christians should assemble regularly for edification, worship, fellowship, and proclamation of the gospel. All believers should do the work of the ministry according to their spiritual gifts.
We believe every Christian should walk and abide in daily fellowship with the Holy Spirit and experience continual renewing of God's power to live a Spirit-filled life in attitudes, thoughts, speech, and conduct. In order to build up and equip both individual believers and the Church of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts that are to be earnestly desired and exercised in the spirit of love.
We believe the power of God to heal the sick and afflicted is provided for in Christ's death on the cross. God is willing to and does heal today.
We believe the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to carry the gospel message to the entire world - to every nation, ethnicity, culture, and language.
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the only guide and rule of our faith and practice.
Who We Are Becoming
We are so glad you are here. WDM Open Bible has beenloving God and people well in the WDM/Valley Junction area for over 80 years. While our methods and look have changed over the years, the same message of the Hope we can have in Jesus is still being shared!
Loving God and People Well
We are a community of Christ followers who take the great commandment serious! We truly believe that we can fulfill all that God has asked of us, if we can Love God and People Well. We aren't perfect and only strive to be more like Jesus everyday.
Who We Are Becoming
In the beginning of 2020, we embraced our purpose of being a church that is Loving God and People Well, while embracing our core values: Simple Empowered Christlike Community. We are in process (isn't everyone) of owning that purpose and really making it the core to who we are.
Core Values
Simple
We believe that the Church is supposed to be a simple organism. We as humans tend to overcomplicate things but the Good News of Jesus is not complicated. The messages of Jesus, living like Jesus, and sharing Jesus are supposed to be simple enough that a child can fully understand it. You will not find overly complex programs, complicated theology (we love deep discussion though), or big fancy things. We believe simple is best because God gets all of the glory. Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 2:4 (NLT) "And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit."
Empowered
We believe that without the Holy Spirit empowering our lives, we cannot live the way we have been called to live. Jesus' final words to His followers in Acts 1: 8 were "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We are called to be witnesses of and about the powerful things of God, to the whole world, starting with those closest to us and going to the farthest ends of the earth. We should see and witness the power of God in our own lives and then witness that same power to those around us. We believe, according to 1 John 4:12, that God's power is most evident in our lives when we are being obedient to Him by loving others as He has loved us.
Christlike
We believe that as Christians we need to do a better job at being like Christ. Jesus Himself asked us to imitate Him many times in scripture. Jesus was the perfect model of how we are to live our lives, yet often a Christian's life does not match up. In John 5, Jesus explains that He only does what He sees His Father doing. The same Spirit that lives inside of the Father, and that directed Jesus, lives inside of us. Through the Holy Spirit we can be empowered to be like Jesus. The Fruit of the Spirit flowing out of our lives is the evidence that we are being Christlike. Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
Community
We believe one of the greatest draws of Christianity should be our supernatural unity and love for each other. Psalms 133:1 says "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" We believe the early Church, in the book of Acts, set the stage for what community would look like. They were devoted not only to teachings and prayer but also to each other through fellowship and sharing meals. (This is why we have Table Groups). The world we live in is missing unity and missing people that are devoted to each other. We want to stand out in this area. We are committed to becoming a place where we lay down our lives for those around us, as Philippians 2 says, to think of others as greater than ourselves. We want this to be a safe place. A place where there is no gossip or complaining. Where people are free to question and doubt and grow together. Hebrews 10:24-25 "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."