The Honeysuckle Road Congregation is an assembly of Christians who have joined hearts
and hands to work and worship together in the
Dothan area. We have accepted the call of Christ to discipleship (2 Thess.
2:13-14), and have turned from our previous lives of self-service to new lives of service
to Christ our King. For each of us, this new life began when we believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (Jn.
8:24), repented of our selfish and sinful ways (Acts
3:19),
confessed Christ as our Lord (
Rom. 10:9-10), and were baptized
in water for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts
2:38). As a result, we were cleansed
from the guilt of our sins, and we continue to be cleansed by Christ’s blood as we continue to follow Him (1 Jn. 1:6-9).
As a congregation of the Lord’s people, we strive to “encourage one another to love and good works...”
(Heb. 10:24-25). Our fellowship in this church is not contingent upon complete agreement on the Bible’s teaching, but
rather on our willingness to submit to the Bible’s teaching as we come to understand it. In this growth process, we
recognize that there will be differences in interpretation and understanding, because of human weakness and different levels
of spiritual maturity. However, we are committed to an ongoing effort to attain a complete unity of understanding and practice.
Therefore, to respect the consciences of all, we as a group only engage in activities which we can agree are consistent with
the Bible’s teaching. This does not limit our individual freedom to serve God in other ways, but serves as a means for
the unity of this assembly (Rom. 14:1-8; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:1-6).
We do not claim to be perfect, nor do we pretend to have all the answers; but we do believe that God’s word has
the answers. It is our aim to glorify God by exalting Christ in our lives and by teaching others as we humbly try to serve
Him.
Since Christ “is head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22-23),
He rules over every aspect of our lives. Because He is our only Head, Lord, and King, we seek to exalt Him by wearing only
His name, preaching only His word, following only His teaching, doing only that which He authorizes, and making Him the center
of our affection and adoration.
Since Jesus said the “seed is the word of the kingdom” (Lk. 8:11)
and since one of God’s immutable laws is that seed always reproduces after its own kind (Gen. 1:11-12), we are convinced
that simple, pure New Testament Christianity can be restored and practiced in our own day and age. If we plant the same “seed”
that was planted by Jesus and the apostles, following the New Testament alone, we can reproduce the same simple, pure New
Testament Christianity we read about in scripture.
Since the Bible is God’s inspired word (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and it provides
all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), we accept the Bible as our only standard and try to follow it
as our guide in all religious matters.
Since God condemns any alteration of His word (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Jn. 9-11), it is our sincere aim to teach what the Bible
teaches, and not to go beyond that with doctrines of our own (1 Cor. 4:6). Our stated purpose is to magnify God by edifying
and equipping ourselves for discipleship and evangelism through worship and Bible study. We are convinced that we can be free
from the problems of sin, self, ignorance, and error only when we live under the authority of Jesus’ word, which is
comprised of the New Testament scriptures (Col. 3:16).
Since Jesus condemned division (1 Cor. 1:10-13) and every church in New
Testament times was independent and autonomous [self-governing], we are not a part of any man-made denomination. We have no
denominational name, creed, headquarters, or organization. We are completely independent from every other church, but we desire
a unity of faith with all those everywhere who “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 Jn. 1:7).
Since Jesus’ mission while on earth was to “seek and save the lost” (Lk. 19:10),
that is our primary mission as a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ. We are convinced that the church’s purpose
is to help people get to heaven rather than to provide for their social and recreational needs. We believe in the power of
the gospel to draw men to Christ (Rom. 1:16-17), and we refuse to appeal to lost
souls with anything other than God’s word.
Jesus said that God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23-24).
Our goal is to model our worship after the New Testament pattern. In our worship assemblies, we pray to God (Acts 12:5), sing
praise (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), listen to sermons from God’s word (Acts 20:7),
remember Christ’s death by eating the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 11:24-26), and contribute a portion of our material prosperity to support the Lord’s work (1 Cor.
16:1-2). In all things we try to maintain the proper reverence and decorum appropriate to honoring God.
If your goals are the same as ours, we hope you will become more than just a guest.
