OUR MISSION
Our mission as a church is to stand in the gap for our family, friends, and neighbors.
OUR 2020 10 year VISION
In the next 10 years we will become a people that stand in the gap for our family, friends and community, and by doing this God will be glorified and people will be drawn to praise Him.
We know we are truly standing in the gap when we see 100’s of our friends and family give their lives to the Lord Jesus. We will do this by inviting them to come and see, and by going into our world praying, caring and sharing with people the Lord puts in our path of influence.
We will be standing in the gap when we join with others to do life together in small groups for the purpose of support and growth as we read the Bible together, pray together, and share together.
We will be standing in the gap as we join together each week to worship the living God. In so doing, we will experience life change. Our families will be strengthened, and the gospel will be proclaimed. As we enter into worship, the Lord will join us, and He will meet our felt and unfelt needs through His transformational power.
We will be standing in the gap as we join our lives and resources to meet the needs of our community by serving them in both big and small ways. Our community is made up of hurting kids and people without hope who find themselves cast aside by the world. We will enter into their lives to provide the answer of the risen Jesus who wants to redeem and restore them.
We will be standing in the gap as we participate in multiple mission opportunities locally and globally. We know that the work is too great for one church to accomplish alone, so we will endeavor to grow our partnership with networks and organizations that are intent on expanding the kingdom across the nations.
We know we are standing in the gap as we see families strengthened because marriages are welded together by faith in Jesus. We will work to see dad’s present in their families, loving and raising their kids. We will embrace single people to enter into our family culture, they will become our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, even our moms and dads knowing they have gifts that will strengthen and bless the family.
We know we are standing in the gap as we are known in our community as a house of prayer. Our family, friends and neighbors will be seeking out our church to pray for the needs in their lives.
We will not stop doing this until Jesus calls us heavenward. In this work, God’s kingdom will expand, Satan’s dominion will shrink, thousands will be saved, and hundreds of leaders will be developed and called into the work ahead of us.
OUR VALUES
Unity
We stand together, not apart. We fight for each other, not against each other. Division may be easy, but we choose the harder way of love and unity in Christ.
Prayer
We depend on God in everything. Prayer is not our last resort but our first response. We breathe in His presence and act out of His strength.
Commmunity
We choose people over isolation. Life is better together, and we intentionally build authentic relationships where no one stands alone.
Grace
We give what we’ve been given. Because Christ has lavished grace on us, we freely extend it to others. Mercy, forgiveness, and kindness are our posture.
HOW WE GOT STARTED
NorthBridge is an intentional church plant of South Gate Baptist Church on the southern edge of Greene County, Missouri. In the summer of 2005 South Gate commissioned 30 members and invested significant financial resources to start a new church on the northern edge of Greene County. The planting pastor team included Michael Graves - South Gate's Administrative Pastor; Tony Turner - South Gate's Students Pastor; John Dock - one of South Gate's key small group leaders.
After months of prayer and preparation our public launch service was held September 11, 2005 at Truman Elementary School with over 100 in attendance. For the first almost two years NorthBridge was a mobile church meeting weekly at Truman Elementary. In fall of 2006 we purchased the Glen Ridge Center, a 22,000+ square foot office/retail center on N Highway H (Glenstone). After renovating about half of the center for church use we moved into our new space in the summer of 2007. We have continued to expand into the center while leasing the rest of the center's space to other office and retail businesses.
In addition to South Gate we were greatly blessed by others who gave us financial support in the planting effort. Those partners included Missouri Baptist Convention, Greene County Baptist Association, First Baptist Church of Cassville, First Baptist Church of Lebanon, Orchard Crest Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church in Springfield. We will forever be grateful for the investment these friends made in us.