Mountain View Church of Christ

General information

The church of Christ is "...according to the eternal purpose..." of God, "...which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11).

When the Savior made his arrival, He set out plans to bring about God's purpose from eternity. Jesus said to Peter, "...I will build My church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18).

The church doors opened 50 days after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Peter stood and preached the saving power of God, which is the gospel (Romans 1:16), on this day in 33 A.D. 3,000 souls were baptized this day and added to the church of Christ (Acts 2:40-47).

The church Jesus built on that day was not a house with sticks and stones. The church of Christ is a "...spiritual house..." (1 Peter 2:5). It is built up with "...living stones..." (1 Peter 2:5). The living stones are those who have heard the call of the gospel message (2 Thess. 2:14) and have come to Jesus, and now "...offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 2:4-5).

The church Jesus built on that day continues on even now as Jesus promised (Matthew 16:18). Future generations need only to "hold fast the pattern of sound words..." in order to be a member of Christ's church (2 Tim. 1:13). The "word of the kingdom," which is the gospel, is likened to a seed that may fall in various places (Mat. 13:19). As Genesis 1:11-12 teaches in creation, when a seed is planted it brings forth "according to its kind." Likewise, when the seed of the word of the kingdom is planted and watered, it brings forth Christ's church which began in the 1st Century.

The "churches of Christ" (Romans 16:16) are told to "note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine" (Romans 16:17), as since the first century. The church of Christ is thus commanded to be "anti-divisional," which means to oppose the concept of dividing Christ's church into "denominations," and picking the "church of your choice." Divisions will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). There is "...one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph. 4:4-5). This is more than possible if we will follow again the instructions of the apostles, "that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:5)

Likewise, churches of Christ are told to "abide in the doctrine of Christ, for those who "...do not abide in the doctrine of Christ do not have God..." (2 John 9). Thus, a commitment to obeying God's word and God's word only is striven to be upheld. God instructs His disciples to "love one another" (1 Th. 4:12), serve one another (Gal. 5:13), and even be submissive to one another (1 Pe. 5:5). God also instructs our worship to be in "spirit and truth" (Jhn. 4:24). Since our teaching follows Scripture only, we sing "a cappella" (without mechanical instruments), partake of the Lord's supper every first day of the week, take up a weekly collection, pray, and teach from the Scriptures only.

Your visit is welcome! You may come and listen, or even better participate! You will not be made to feel uncomfortable, or unwelcome. Our prayer is to fulfill together the words of the gospel "...to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:21).