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Profile

WE ARE

Name: Naples Community Church
Address: 849 7th Ave S Suite 203, Naples, Florida, 34102, United States
Telephone: (239) 213-1325

OUR MISSION & VISION

Our vision and mission is to help connect people to faith

Naples Community Church is called to be a people of uncommon character, a fellowship of loved people striving to live God’s love in Christ.

Our mission—building on our identity, our core values, and our location—is to fashion a church that excels in its faithful proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, its love of children, its openness and acceptance of people, its depth of fellowship, and its service to the community.

Our Values

Intentionally Redemptive
Since Jesus Christ will not cast out those whom the Father has given him, we will live to affirm the mercy and forgiveness of God in Christ and the promise of newness of life.

Distinctively Local
Since ministry begins in one’s own household, we will live to serve those in our midst; in our church, in our community, and in our world wherever we are called out to minister.

Purposefully Independent
Since we are stewards of grace we assume full responsibility for our choices, positions, decisions, and actions, even while affirming our unity, accountability, and common mission with the whole church.

Thoroughly Accepting
Since God so loved the world so do we, and we therefore endeavor to be characterized by warmth in our relationships, humor in our disagreements, winsomeness in our welcomings, and openness in our biblical, doctrinal, and practical inquiries.

WE BELIEVE

We affirm the centrality of Christ as the Word of God Incarnate, the Bible as the
word of God written.

Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. In him we find our center, our beginning, and our end. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments bear unique witness to Christ, and we believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the word of God directs the church and the life of each Christian. This reliance on the Bible guides us in our pursuit of peace, purity and unity in our church. The Spirit of Christ is our sole inspiration for every act of love, compassion, mercy, and justice.

We affirm the necessity
of the new birth.

New birth in Christ means we commit ourselves to him and receive forgiveness for our sin, acceptance into his fellowship, and eternal life in his presence. It means being alive in Christ, giving this life the qualities of love and righteousness, joy and peace. New birth is only the beginning. Growing to maturity in Christ is a lifelong process for both individuals and communities of believers. God forms and transforms us—and it is through people transformed by Christ that God transforms the world.

We affirm a commitment to
the whole mission of the Church.

Mission includes evangelism, Christian formation, and ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice. We follow Christ’s two central calls. The Great Commission sends us out into all the world to make disciples. The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves.

We affirm the church as a
fellowship of believers.

All who confess personal faith in Jesus Christ are members of his church. All who show up, wherever they may be on the journey of faith are members of this congregation. We observe baptism and communion as sacraments commanded by Jesus. We practice both infant and believer baptism. We believe in the priesthood of all believers—that is, we all share in the ministry of the church. We also affirm that God calls some men and women into professional, full-time ministry. While the church has institutional elements, at its core it is a grace-filled fellowship of believers who participate in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It is a family of equals: as the New Testament teaches that within Christian community there is to be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, all are one in Christ Jesus.

We affirm a conscious dependence
on the Holy Spirit.

We affirm the Trinitarian understanding of one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit works both within individuals and among them. We believe it is the Holy Spirit who instills in our hearts a desire to turn to Christ, and who assures us that Christ dwells within us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables our obedience to Christ and conforms us to his image. And it is the Spirit in us who enables us to continue his mission in the world. The Holy Spirit through the ministries of word and sacrament gives spiritual gifts to us as individuals and binds us together as Christ’s body.

We affirm the reality of
freedom in Christ.

This freedom is a gift of God in Christ, and it manifests itself in a right relationship with God and others. It is not a private gift to be used selfishly but is given to serve the community and the world. This freedom means that we are set free from the power of those things that on their own tend to divide. United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice where the biblical and historical record seems to allow for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God. We seek to focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us.

A church, in the city and for the city.

The “Community” name is not a mere convenience but a declaration of our identity, mission and ministry. We focus our work, acting out our Christian faith as servants to the city, the county, the nation and the world.

WE STARTED

Naples Community Church

We started as an uncommon people

Naples Community Church started in a cauldron of divine challenge. It is a people that deeply desires life in the freedom of responsible discipleship—a people called to be a redemptive church exploring authentic fellowship while creating a safe haven for all who are humbled by the many ways real life unfolds. Therefore, Naples Community Church is a fellowship of loved people striving to live God’s love in Christ.

We started in a home, just to meet and support one another, enjoy the fellowship of Sunday afternoons and to gather in the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. This fellowship then moved to a Sunday morning in a community room at a local bank, then to Naples Community Hospital, then to Naples High. They asked the Rev. Dr. Kirt Anderson to serve as their founding pastor. He asked Dr. Samuel Southard, Professor Emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary to serve as a resident theologian, then Wendy DaPrato to serve as music director and church administrator. Rev. Dr. Daniel Lamey offered his talents as a worship leader and we enjoyed a succession of children’s ministry workers.

After a few years one of our trustees spotted our current location for lease, and we moved in on Easter of 2009. We purchased the entire facility in 2012 and continue to build a church of people challenged to embody the love of Christ to the world.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of deeply dedicated, talented and committed leaders. They bring exceptional gifts and deep personal commitments to Christ, and are committed to make Naples Community Church a truly great church. Naples Community Church is to be a people and a place where we experience a sense that somehow heaven itself is breaking in, that the love of Jesus Christ is embracing us, and that all this stuff about God is maybe worth thinking about and actually worth living for.

Naples Community Church

Profile

WE ARE

OUR MISSION & VISION