IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, THE FIRST CHURCH LOVED JESUS, LOVED OTHERS, AND MADE DISCIPLES. IN DOING THESE THINGS, THEY TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
OUR VISION IS TO BE LIKE THEM.
VALUES
Every church has a culture—what they value, what they prioritize, who they are at their deepest level. Here at AC, we want to continuously follow God’s lead in shaping our culture. We’ve prayerfully identified 12 core values, 12 things we do on purpose, 12 actions we strive to live out by the power of the Holy Spirit, 12 Christlike ambitions to work towards daily.
Love is our foundational element. We love God because He first loved us, and a Christlike love for others flows from that love. We strive to express this love more like its Source today than we did yesterday, knowing that without love all our efforts are in vain.
LOVE GOD & OTHERS
We are more than a church of people who pray.
We are a Praying Church. We foster a culture of believers with strong relationships with Jesus who stand united in unceasing prayer.
PRAY ALWAYS
All that we do is predicated on the pursuit of the Presence of God. We pursue His Presence in our weekly corporate encounters and daily personal encounters with Him.
PURSUE THE PRESENCE
A posture of honor and humility towards God is shown through a life of integrity before and behind closed doors. Our desire is that the principles we preach would match the lives we lead.
WALK WITH INTEGRITY
Radical humility is our daily aim. The call to Christlike servanthood is answered by serving others in our daily personal faith walks and at our weekly corporate gatherings.
SERVE LIKE JESUS
Strong alone, unstoppable together.
Understanding God calls multicultural, multigenerational people from all walks of life with diverse giftings to be His Church, we desire not uniformity, but unity. We seek to be in perfect unity with the Holy Spirit, which brings us into unity with one another!
STAND IN UNITY
Because we’ve been shown much mercy, we show much mercy. Justice, mercy, and humility are cornerstones of our behavior towards others.
SHOW MERCY
We recognize eternity in every soul, every beloved Image Bearer, and will do anything short of sin to reach them with the Gospel.
REACH PEOPLE
God pours into open hands, not clenched fists. We give cheerfully and sacrificially of our time, talent, and treasure, wholeheartedly believing it is more blessed to give than receive.
LIVE OPEN-HANDED
We bring our best to God when we strive for the most efficient path to the most excellent result.
STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE
We show authentic friendliness, welcoming people with open arms and coexisting as the family of God through real relationships. Our relationships are marked by love and compassion, and maintained by an atmosphere of openness, honesty, and healthy communication.
BE FRIENDLY
We like to have fun and laugh together. Nothing is more fun than serving God with people you love!
HAVE FUN!
BELIEFS
JESUS IS LORD.
That’s the big one. Beyond that, here are some of the foundational truths we draw from Scripture that you’ll find taught at AC.
We believe there is one God who has revealed Himself as Father in Creation, through His Son in redemption, and as the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh—He is both fully God and fully man. Jesus lived a sinless and exemplary life, then died and rose again to reconcile us to God. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Ephesians 4:4-6; Colossians 2:9; I Timothy 3:16.)
GOD
We are a Bible-based church with our faith anchored in the written Word of God. We affirm that the Bible is the infallible Word of God written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, its authority ultimate, its texts unable to be added to, subtracted from, or superseded. Its Old and New Testaments contain all that is needed for doctrine, instruction, correction, reproof, and guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct. (Matthew 24:35; Matthew 5:17-19; II Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20; Psalm 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5)
THE BIBLE
We believe everyone has sinned. Sin is when a person does anything that is out of line with the perfect character and direction of God and His Word, and it separates us from Him and His purpose for our lives. We believe everyone needs salvation. Salvation is a free gift that comes by grace through faith based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You are saved from the eternal consequences of your sin and given eternal life. (Romans 3:23-25; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9)
SIN & SALVATION
The saving Gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. We respond to the gospel by repentance (death to sin), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (burial), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the supernatural ability (resurrection). (John 3:5; II Thessalonians 1:8; I Peter 4:17, I Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 2:4, 37-39; Acts 4:12; Romans 6:3-4.)
THE GOSPEL
We believe the true basis of Christian living is Christ’s agape love—sacrificially, humbly, authentically, wholeheartedly loving God, and loving others as yourself. Its source is God’s own love for us, and its full expression in us is possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Agape love is greater than any differences we possess, and without it we cannot call ourselves Christians. (Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:34-35; Acts 11:26; Romans 12:9-21; 1 John 4:19-21; 1 Corinthians 13)
CHRISTIAN LIVING
Every believer should seek daily personal encounters with God through prayer and the Bible. We communicate with God through prayer, a sacred conversation between Creator and creation. God communicates with us through Scripture and in prayer. (2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 6:5-15; Philippians 4:6; James 5:13-16; John 10:27; 1 Kings 19:11-13)
PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS
We believe in the Apostolic lifestyle as declared and demonstrated by Jesus, revealed to His disciples after His resurrection, and modeled by the Apostles and the first church in the Book of Acts. We believe in the Great Commission, the Gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of spirit, the fivefold ministry, communion, faithful giving, holy living, fasting, bearing one another’s burdens, the laying on of hands, expressive praise and worship, and more. (Matthew 16:24-26; Luke 24:45; Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-28, Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 Peter 2:9)
APOSTOLIC LIFE
We believe that the Church is the body of Christ, an extension of His life and ministry in the world today, commissioned to make disciples for the transformation of the world. We believe in the power and significance of the local church, and the necessity of believers to meet regularly for corporate encounters with God consisting of worship, preaching, teaching, prayer, and fellowship. We believe in the power and significance of the universal Church—past, present, and future—who belongs to Christ’s new covenant and Kingdom. (Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:7-28; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 10:24-25; Revelation 7:9-17)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again for His Church as He promised. We await His return eagerly and expectantly! In the end there will be the final resurrection and the final judgment. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment. The righteous will be welcomed into eternal fellowship with God in a world where all things will be made new.
(Matthew 24:36-44; 2 Corinthians 5:10; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11-15.)
THE FUTURE
OUR PASTORS
God called our lead pastors, Brendan and Elizabeth Hannington, to Zachary during the unprecedented year of 2020. Their heart is to reach our city and beyond with the transformative message of Jesus, and their vision is to raise up an Apostolic, Bible-based, Christ-centered, people-loving, multicultural, multigenerational church.
Brendan holds a B.A. in Theology from Northeast Christian College, while Lizzie holds a B.S. in Psychology from LSU. They are both ordained through the United Pentecostal Church International. The Hanningtons enjoy life together with their 3 wonderful children.