Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

How We Select Worship Songs

Few things in church life draw out personal preferences as much as music. Styles, tempos, and song choices can feel deeply personal—and that’s okay. But as worship leaders, our calling is bigger than individual preference…

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Church Constitutions

A church constitution explains how a church organizes. It provides the answers to basic questions about how a church operates. Questions like: Does the church have membership? What do the members do? How do they become members? Who’s responsible for church decisions? How do leaders become recognized as leaders? Who decides how the church will spend its money? What happens to the church’s assets if it permanently closes?

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Church Membership

If you are a believer today, then you are—by virtue of your belief in Christ—a member of the Universal Church. But as we continue to read through this letter, it becomes clear that Paul is giving instructions that cannot possibly be accomplished by individual believers on a global scale. In other words, the NT instructions for the church can only be meaningfully accomplished on a smaller scale—in local communities. These smaller groups or communities are called local churches.

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Does the Mission Church have women Elders (pastors)?

We believe that both men and women were created by God as image-bearers of Him. This means that we are all seen as equal in value in God’s eyes. Man is not greater than woman, nor woman greater than man.

But God designed men and women for gender-specific roles in the home and in the church…

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