Who We Are Purpose "Accepting, healing, and equipping people in Jesus for Kingdom work"
Vision Helping people come to Jesus Helping people grow in Jesus Releasing people in their gifts to serve Jesus
Name PETRA is a New Testament, Greek word meaning "rock". It symbolizes the foundation of Jesus Christ upon which we are building.
"...upon this rock I will build my Church." (Matt. 16:18)
"...and that rock was Christ." (I Cor. 10:4)
Affiliation We belong to the Hopewell Network of Churches, which is an interdenominational network of churches with Anabaptist roots. The network functions as an apostolic governing body for local churches.
We Believe
The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative written Word of God.
In one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return to this earth in power and glory.
In the deity and person of the Holy Spirit and His empowering baptism for ministry. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are active in the church today. He desires to lead, teach, and fellowship with each believer.
In the Blessed Hope -- the rapture of the Church at Christ's coming.
In only one way of salvation through repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ. His blood cleanses us from all sin.
In the New Testament form of church government as a theocracy led by elders and the fivefold gifts of Ephesians 4:11.
In divine healing as part of our inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
In believers' water baptism through immersion for those who are old enough to understand their sinful nature, repentance, and the Lordship of Christ in their lives.
Our Emphasis - We emphasize the centrality of Jesus, ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the father heart of God. We believe worship is the highest calling of every believer. We want to live a lifestyle that reflects our worship and commitment to God.
Small Groups - We believe that small group fellowship is an effective way to develop meaningful friendships and to disciple and nurture people in their Christian walk. At Petra, pastoral care is primarily given through care groups. We encourage everyone to become part of a care group both to give and receive ministry.
Children & Youth - We believe children and youth are vitally important within God's Kingdom. We want to lead our children to Jesus, to bless them in his name, teach them his ways, and release them for Kingdom work. This is accomplished through caring and capable teachers and leaders, wholesome activities, and Christ-centered discipleship. One of our top priorities is to actively prepare the next generation.
Prayer Ministry - Prayer is the key to effective ministry, renewal, and revival. Our desire is to see God raise up many prayer intercessors and prayer groups.
Evangelism & Missions - We believe reaching the lost is the most important concern on God's heart. God is preparing the church for a worldwide harvest of souls. Evangelism begins in our own homes and communities and extends to the ends of the earth. Our goal is to provide training and opportunities for service in our communities, in our cities, and to the nations.
Team Ministry - Leadership at Petra consists of a team of pastors and elders that give direction to the vision and ministry of the church. We promote team ministry with recognition of gifts and callings. We believe God has given the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher to equip every Christian to minister to others. We are all ministers.
History
The Hopewell Network was birthed during the charismatic outpouring in the 1980s. Within a span of nine years ten churches had been planted. Soon the daughter churches began to plant churches and the network continued to grow. The Hopewell Network was initially affiliated with the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church, which gave its official release and blessing on April 28, 2001.
Over the years the group of young churches moved toward an apostolic or New Testament approach to church governance. While appreciating many of the values of Anabaptism, we became more interdenominational in our vision that eventually led to the formation of the Hopewell Network of Churches in 2001.
In addition to stateside churches, the network is also partnering with churches in Haiti, Colombia, and Mexico. Individual network churches are also sending missionaries and short-term mission teams throughout the world.
The Hopewell Network is led by a team of leaders and overseers who provide vision, support, and training to the pastors of the local churches.
We have asked several apostolic leaders from outside our network to serve as spiritual advisors to our network leaders for support and accountability.
Our network also relates to other similar apostolic networks and encourages local churches to be involved with regional events to reach the harvest.
We envision our network growing and reproducing other similar networks.
Hopewell Network of Churches
We are a fellowship of churches empowered by the Holy Spirit to advance Christ's Kingdom by preparing leaders for ministry and mission.
Vision
Our vision is to be an Apostolic Network wherein we raise up and prepare leaders who can build and multiply contemporary New Testament-oriented churches.
Purpose
The purpose of the Hopewell Network is to create caring communities of dynamic Spirit-led worship, teaching, and evangelism with Elder Team leadership and small group discipleship based around common network values.
Resource each other in ministry and missions out of the life flow God has entrusted to us.
Network with other streams in the world and region in which each church is located.
Evangelize through church planting and promote a vision for the harvest.
Raise up and train leaders.
Strive to stay on the prophetic edge of God's generational purposes.
Provide united vision and values through a Network Leadership Team.
Values
The basis of our unity is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God as defined in Scripture.
We will maintain our unity around a strong Christ-centered focus and common Kingdom values.
We will attempt to address relevant issues of our day without becoming issues oriented.
Anointed kingdom ministry flows through leaders and ministries empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We will faithfully teach the truth of being baptized in the Holy Spirit to each generation. We will embrace the fruit, gifts, and fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
We will by the grace of God walk in balance, attempting to avoid extremism and empty tradition.
God places the mantle of primary leadership on the senior pastor and raises up a team of elders to discern and lead with him in the local church.
We will guard against dictatorial styles that oppress, and also democratic styles that undermine prophetic leadership. see consensus decision-making
We see small groups as the primary means for pastoral care.
We will provide pastoral care, discipleship, and avenues of outreach through small groups.
We will seek to avoid the idea that the pastor is the only qualified caregiver. We will also seek to avoid ingrown churches and small groups with no vision for outreach.
We believe every Christian needs to be equipped for kingdom ministry.
We will encourage the priesthood of all believers wherein every Christian is considered a minister with spiritual gifts.
We will seek to avoid the concept that ministry is done best by professional leaders.
Prophetic worship flowing out of the present move of God propels the church into God's generational purpose and anointing.
We will promote worship that focuses on Jesus, the character of God, and reflects God's present move in our midst. We embrace hymns of faith as well as contemporary songs.
We will guard against a spirit of performance in our worship.
A common vision and commitment to a set of values enables us to build the kingdom effectively.
We will promote a guide for Bylaws and church government and a statement of faith that unites us in our mission and vision. We allow for variation and flexibility consistent with our basic vision and values.
We will seek to avoid complicated structures and conflicting vision.
Committed fellowship and support of pastors and churches is vital to the success and growth of the Network.
We will commit ourselves to network meetings. We will provide apostolic oversight for vision, personal growth, accountability, and protection.
We will seek to avoid developing isolated and independent leaders and churches.
Absolute faith and trust in the inspiration of Scripture is basic to the gospel of the kingdom and Spirit-filled ministry.
We will unite together around a faith-filled approach to the inspiration of the entire Scripture.
We will strive to avoid both a legalistic and a higher-criticism approach to Scripture.
God is calling us to prepare the next generation and unite with them in fulfilling His purpose in these last days.
We will promote ministry-based youth groups that equip young people to move in the power and vision of the Holy Spirit.
We will seek to avoid models of youth ministry that put their primary emphasis on entertainment.
God has called us to be evangelistic, both in our local communities and in foreign missions. We will affiliate with other networks and encourage our churches to participate in regional efforts to reach the harvest.
We will keep evangelism a priority in our churches and seek to work together with other groups to fulfill the great commission.
We will strive not to become ingrown and exclusive in our ministries.
Reproducing and training leaders is vital to the growth of God's kingdom.
We will provide leadership training opportunities within our fellowship of churches to raise up and place leaders in our network.
We will avoid calling leaders into ministry who are ill-equipped in Scripture and ministry skills.
The network will grow through church planting.
We will have a sponsoring church for each church plant. Church planters must be willing to work under the guidelines of the network.
We will avoid having churches become financially dependent on network finances.
The primary leadership of the network is the Hopewell Network Leadership Team that gives oversight to the senior pastors.
We will work as a team representing various ministry gifts. Each church will have a primary overseer who will work with the pastor and elders. Each of the team gifts is available to the churches through the coordination of the primary overseer.
We will avoid being only an administrative board but, rather, a visionary team with apostolic anointing to move the network forward into new dimensions.
God has called us to a ministry of healing broken and hurting people within the body of Christ.
We will promote an atmosphere of acceptance, and embrace the gentle ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We will avoid the extreme of intolerance and the extreme of no standards. We will avoid hyper-spirituality and sensationalism but embrace humility and genuineness.
Anabaptist Values
A church built on Jesus Christ (I Cor. 3:11, Matt. 16:16-18)
Believers' baptism (Mark 16:16, Matt. 28:19)
Authority of the Scriptures (II Tim. 3:16, II Peter 1:21)
The primacy of the New Testament (Matt. 5, Heb. 1:1-3)
A strong commitment to evangelism (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8)
Discipleship in daily living (Matt. 16:24-25, Matt. 7:24)
Discipline with compassion (Matt. 18:15-18, I Cor. 5:1-5)
Living simply (Matt. 6:19-21, I Tim. 6:6-7)
The church independent of the state (Acts 4:18-19, Rom. 13:6-7)
Living a lifestyle of love (Rom. 12:14-21, Matt. 5:38-42)
Statement of Faith
We believe in one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Deut. 6:4, Heb. 11:6, Matt. 28:19
We believe in Jesus Christ as God who became flesh, born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, was resurrected from the dead, and ascended, sitting at the right hand of the Father as the exalted Lord and head of the church. Jn. 1:14, Heb. 1:1-6, Phil. 2:5-8, Rom. 1:4, Col. 1:15-19, Eph. 1:22-23
We believe in the deity and person of the Holy Spirit, His indwelling presence, regenerating work, empowering baptism, spiritual gifts, and equipping ministry in the church today. Ezk. 36:26; Joel 2:28-29, Acts 1:4-5, 2:1-18, Jn. 16:7-10, Jn. 14:26, 16:13
We believe that all Scripture is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God and is fully reliable and trustworthy. 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Gal. 1:11-12, Prov. 30:5, Jn. 10:35, Heb. 4:12
We believe that God has created human beings in His divine image with a special dignity accorded to them out of all the works of creation. They were made for relationship with God. Gen. 1:26-27, 31, Ps. 8:5-6, Gen. 3:8-9
We believe, beginning with Adam and Eve's sinful rebellion, we have all received a sinful nature and been given over to the enslaving powers of evil and eternal death and separation from God. Gen. 2 & 3, Rom. 1:21-32, Rom. 5-7, Ps. 14:2-3, Rom. 3:12, 23, Eph. 2:1
We believe that, only through Jesus Christ, God offers salvation from sin and a new way of life. We receive God's salvation and are born again by the Spirit of God when we repent and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is by faith through God's grace that we are saved. Jn. 3:16, Acts 4:12, 1 Jn. 4:14, 2 Cor. 5:19, Matt. 26:28, Eph. 2:5-9, Rom. 3:20-31, Rom. 5, Heb. 2:14-14, Col. 2:13-15
We believe that the church is the assembly of those who have accepted God's offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the new community of disciples sent into the world to proclaim the reign of God. Eph. 4, Acts 2, Acts 11, 1 Cor. 12:12-13, Gal. 3:26-29
We believe that the mission of the church is to take the gospel of the kingdom to all the nations, making disciples of them, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all things as commanded by Jesus Christ. The mission of the church includes ministry to the poor and helpless. Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:18-20, Mk. 1:15, 2 Cor. 5:14, Eph. 2:17-20
We believe that the baptism of believers with water is a pledge of their covenant with God. It identifies them with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is a sign of their cleansing and freedom from sin, and their commitment to walk in the way of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 6:1-6, Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:22-24, 36-41, Acts 8:26-39, Gal. 3:26-29, Col. 2:10-15
We believe that through the Lord's Supper the church renews its covenant with God and with each other, and participates in the life and death of Jesus Christ until He comes. 1 Cor. 11:23-32, 1 Cor. 10:16-17, Lk. 22:15-30, Jer. 31: 31-34
We practice discipline in the church to liberate erring brothers and sisters from sin, and to restore them to a right relationship with God and to fellowship in the church. Matt. 18:15-22, Jn. 20:23, Gal. 6:1-2, Deut. 19:15, Eph. 4:15, 1 Cor. 5:3-5, 2 Cor. 2:5-1
We believe that Jesus Christ calls us to discipleship, to take up our cross and follow him. Phil. 3:10, Rom. 12:1-2, Matt. 5-7, Mic. 6:8, 1 Peter 2:21, 2 Tim. 2:11-12
We believe it is God's will for Christians to refrain from violence in human relationships. Led by the Holy Spirit, we will follow Christ in the way of peace. Isa. 2:2-4, 11:1-9, Hos. 2:18, Matt. 5: 8-12, 38-48, 6:14-15, 26:52, 1 Peter 2:21-24, 1 Cor. 6:1-16, Rom. 12:14-21
We place our hope in the reign of God and its fulfillment in the day when Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead: the unsaved into the everlasting punishment of hellfire and the saved into eternal bliss with Christ. We await God's final victory, the end of this present age of struggle, the resurrection of the dead, and a new heaven and a new earth. Judg. 8:23, Mk. 1:15, Phil. 2:8-11, Rev. 11:15, 15:3-4, 21 & 22, 1 Cor. 15:12:58, Jn. 5:28-29, Matt. 10:28, 23:33, Matt. 9:43-48, Lk. 16:23
First Service 8:30-10:00 AM Second Service 10:45 - 12:15 PM Sr. High Youth Bible Study 7:15 PM (every Wednesday - including summer) Jr. High Youth Meeting 7:00 PM (every Monday - including summer) Small Groups (see regional care for more info)
The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative written Word of God.
