Purpose and Values

congregation

We at Snowy Range EFC understand we live in a consumer church culture. People often select a church solely on the basis of felt needs. Unfortunately, churches are tempted to portray themselves as something they are not.  This attempt at codifying our purpose and values only means we are a work in progress. We are striving to be the church that God, by his grace, wants us to be. Christian author Philip Yancey once said, “I cannot help thinking, though, that the best way to counter our image problem (as the church) is to follow the path of the early church: to avoid behavior that betrays the disunity and contentiousness, and to devote ourselves to care for the weak and underprivileged. And to be brutually honest about the church’s own failings.”

We strive to make disciples who make a difference for Jesus in Laramie and Wyoming and around the world. This mandate comes from the Lord Jesus himself in Matthew 28:18-20. While all disciples are Christians, not all Christians are disciples. Disciples are believers who are growing in their faith in Jesus. We intend to provide the mechanisms that allow people to experience a fuller and more effective life with God. Acts 14:21 states that Paul and his companion Barnabas “preached the good news in that city (Derbe) and won a large number of disciples.”  Making disciples is an intentional process which begins prior to men and women coming to faith in Christ.  Its goal is seeing Christians become mature and fruitful in their walk with God (Colossians 1:28, 29; John 15:16).

We value as a church these six distinctives:

  1. Fervent, dependent, corporate prayer  Acts 2:42,46; Acts 12:5
  2. Relevant corporate worship where we experience God’s presence Acts 4:31; Ps.149:1-5
  3. Creative teaching and preaching of God’s Word, the Bible  Deut.32:47; I.Tim.4:13
  4. Honest, forthright Biblical relationships  Eph.4:15; Rom.12:14-21
  5. Authentic, relational evangelism   Mark 1:14,15; Acts 2:47
  6. Practical, fruitful discipleship  Matt. 28:18-20; Eph.4:11-16

These values thrive in an environment of grace.

John Piper in his book, Let the Nations Be Glad: the Supremacy of God in Missions, writes:       

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.

May Snowy Range EFC live true to its purpose and values!