Every church needs to have a purpose statement that answers the question, “Why do we exist?” At Highland Assembly, we filter every idea, program, and budget request through our purpose statement. If what we plan doesn’t help us meet our purpose, then we don’t do it.
Our purpose at Highland Assembly is summarized into a single statement:
"To reach people in the Tri-County area with the life-giving message of Jesus, that they might become fully devoted followers of Christ."
Our goal is to create an environment where our members can bring their friends and neighbors. Where visitors feel welcome and are introduced to Jesus, are provided discipleship opportunities and ultimately walk in the blessing of God watching their own lives and families flourish.
Our statement of purpose is based on two teachings of Jesus:
Love God, Love Others...
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul and…mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
 
Go into all the world…
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe… Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:15-20)

Highland Assembly's Statement of Faith

HOLY BIBLE
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant.
(II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26)
TRINITY
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal.
(I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11)
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.
(John 1:1,14, 20:28; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 2:5)
VIRGIN BIRTH
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary's womb; therefore, He is the Son of God.
(Matthew 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35)
REDEMPTION
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
(Gen. 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21)
REGENERATION
For anyone to know God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
(John 6:44, 65).
SALVATION
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts.
(Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22)
REPENTANCE
Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation.
(Acts 2:21, 3:19; I John 1:9)
SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
(I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11)
JESUS' BLOOD
The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death.
(I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29).
JESUS CHRIST INDWELLS ALL BELIEVERS
Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead.
(John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelations 3:20)
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth.
(Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6)
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters.
(Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11,12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; II Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10)
THE CHURCH
The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' great commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23)
TWO SACRAMENTS

Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38)
The Lord's Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (representing the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross.(Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25)

HEALING OF THE SICK
Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus' work on the Cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit.
(Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; I Corinthians 12:9, 28; Romans 11:29)
GOD’S WILL FOR PROVISION
It is the Father's will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on Earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision in order to better serve others.
• Spiritual
(John 3:3-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10)
• Mental and Emotional
(II Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3)
• Physical
(Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24)
• Financial
(Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19)
RESURRECTION
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation. (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21)
HEAVEN
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4)
HELL
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented by the Devil and the Fallen Angels.
(Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8)
SECOND COMING
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures.
(Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)
JOIN HIGHLAND ASSEMBLY
Membership at Highland Assembly is not about adding your name to a roster; it's about connecting with the people and the vision of the church.
EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE
We invite you to come to Highland Assembly several times to see and experience the difference our church can make in your life. If Highland Assembly seems like the church for you, we encourage you to attend our Church 101 Membership Class.

About VBC
We at Village Bible Church are lovers of God, His Word, His people, and seekers of His will for our lives.

Village Bible Church has ministered in the Cherokee Village area for forty years.

Most churches would agree that the Great Commission, as it is commonly called, is what drives their ministry priorities.  However, churches take different approaches and have different priorities in carrying that out.  We strive hard to maintain an equal focus on local/regional (Judea), national (Samaria), and international (the uttermost parts), regardless of our self-perception of size or abilities.  Jesus said He would be with us always as we engage in the process of making disciples who make disciples who make disciples, etc.  We look to Him and lean on Him for guidance and support as we obey His command to go and make disciples.  We do this in the following ways:

Locally:  We believe it is our command from Jesus to reach our local community with the gospel.  We want people to come to Christ, not just come to a church service.  Of course, we want them to be drawn to Christ when they come to our services and events, so we do not hesitate to invite them, but we dare not assume that our responsibility ends with that!  We provide handy two-sided cards with church information on one side and a gospel tract on the other.  These are intended for our folks to give to people they know and those they meet.

We also reach out to our community through various outreach events and efforts to help connect us, as a church, to our community.

Some of these are more heavily focused on building relationships (game nights, fall family fun day, church in the park, etc.).

We have also done evangelistic meetings at the church in conjunction with things intended to attract those who may not be comfortable in a church setting.

We are active and visible as a church in community events (like roadside cleanup), as well as in supporting local public officials (like the police and fire departments) through appreciation events.

We have supported various local para-church ministries financially and in other ways (New Beginning Crisis Pregnancy Center, a local battered women’s shelter, Pilgrimage-Cedar Springs Camp youth ministries, NSCMA food distribution).

Nationally:  as part of the EFCA, Central District, we have been able to be involved, albeit on a lesser scale, in the collective efforts of other Free Churches in planting churches and reaching people in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and southeast South Dakota.  Our involvement here has been reduced in recent years due to financial constraints.  Still, for the first time in the history of the church, in July 2016 we sent a team to help International Community Church reach international students at Mizzou in Columbia, MO.  We are thus strengthening our efforts to be involved beyond the limits of our local area.

Internationally:  Since her beginning, this church has been very involved in international missions.  Many of the folks who have comprised this body of believers over the years have been missionaries to other parts of the world, and/or have had close family members who have done so.  From making and sending bandages to an EFCA mission hospital in Tondala, Africa, to supporting financially missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators, to staying in regular (monthly and now weekly) contact with missionaries and praying specifically for them, VBC has maintained a healthy focus on the uttermost parts of the world.

We hope you will take time to get to know all about our church and get answers to all your questions. We want you to know all about our ‘Purpose, Vision, and Values’. We invite you to give us a call, email us, or come and worship the Lord with us!
Service Times
Sundays 9:30 a.m. Before Sunday school (9:30 a.m.) we have coffee and donuts in the church basement.

Sundays 9:45 a.m. At 9:45 we start our Sunday school classes.  We have something for everyone.  We see this as a vital aspect of our church’s mission to teach the whole word of God (discipleship).

Sundays 10:45 a.m.  At 10:45 a.m. we begin the morning worship service.  If you come before Sunday school classes dismiss, grab a bulletin in the foyer, sign the guest book at the door (if it’s your first time), and have a seat anywhere in the sanctuary.  We suggest the front rows – you’ll get a better angle from there ????

1st Wednesday of the month  6:30 p.m. We meet in someone’s home for about an hour of prayer.  These are special times of prayer fellowship, and we make great efforts to pray during these times rather than just talk about prayer requests.

Weekly men’s Bible study and women’s Bible study  Throughout the year women meet in a home for Bible study and men typically meet in the church on different nights.  These studies on various topics usually last 2-4 months with a short break between studies.  They are facilitated by leaders who strive to teach the material and keep the discussion moving and on topic.  Often those who do not normally attend Village Bible Church (either from other churches or with no church home of their own) will participate in these studies.

Friday evening children’s ministry  On Friday nights (7:00-8:00) we invite families to bring children to the church for a time of Bible teaching, fun activities, crafts, and snacks.  Parents are encouraged to stay and participate with their kids, but have the freedom to sign children in, leave, and return to sign children out when it is over.