Core Commitments

2 TImothy 4:2 | Luke 24:27

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

(2 Timothy 4:2)

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

(Luke 24:27)

By “expository” we mean that it is our goal to “expose” what is there already in Scripture. It’s God’s Word itself, not our own ideas, that is inspired and authoritative over our lives! The main theme of any given text of Scripture becomes the main theme of our sermons. So, we are careful to study any given text of Scripture in its context – both historically and in relation to its place in the larger biblical context — and then seek to apply it appropriately and enthusiastically to our lives today.

Hebrews 10:24-25 | 1 Timothy 4:13

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”
(1 Timothy 4:13)

At Galena Bible Church, we are committed to worshipping God in accordance with His Word and in a corporate fashion. Sunday mornings are the most important gathering of our church body. We see these times of coming under God’s Word together and having this fellowship of the Spirit together as absolutely essential for the life of any individual believer. As the body gathers together, our desire is to see each member of the body recognize, revel in, and respond rightly to the glory of God in Christ Jesus through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (taken from Bob Kauflin’s definition of worship).

Roman 12:4-5

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

(Romans 12:4-5)

GBC sees formal membership as something deep and meaningful and clearly rooted in God’s Word. The local church is a covenant community, committed to loving one another, and spurring one another on to loving, serving, and honoring God. The local church is a family in the best sense of the word. Members are those who have been recognized and received into membership as having been adopted into God’s family through saving faith in Christ. Each member, as part of this family, is committed to Christ, one another, and to sound doctrine.

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.’”

(Matthew 28:18-20)

We use simple definitions. Evangelism is simply teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade. The gospel is the message of Jesus, God’s Son, living, dying, and rising again to redeem a sinful and lost humanity. Discipleship is simply helping others to trust in, and follow Jesus. This starts with introducing people to the message about Jesus, which is evangelism. Missions is crossing cultural barriers to bring the gospel to others, particularly to others who have yet to have the opportunity to hear it. We speak of “engaged” evangelism and missions to emphasize these are things that we, as a church body, don’t just talk about as being good things to do, but actually strive to do them. And we group local evangelism and world missions together in this core commitment because we see them as one piece. What we do locally we want to see “exported” to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).