Theology
Frontier Church stands in the tradition of historic Biblical Christianity. We believe that God authored the Bible through men without error, that God is eternal and triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that God's plan of redemption was achieved through Jesus Christ on the cross.
Frontier Church additionally celebrates these five core doctrines:
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We are a gosepl-centered church. We believe with enthusiasm that the gospel is the good news. And the good news is the message of what God has accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine, a perfectly restored relationship with the God of the universe on the basis of Jesus’ victories? It’s almost too good to be true! And so this news is what the world needs for its morning, afternoon, and evening news everyday. This is the message you will hear over and over again at our church, each time in a different color, shape, story, or passage of scripture. We are prone to wander, we are prone to leave the God we love, and the gospel is the message that our hearts and heads need as a daily reminder. As Martin Luther once wrote, “We need the gospel everyday because we forget the gospel everyday.”
This Gospel is not only the instruction manual for how people are saved. It is also the truth and power by which people are further sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to do with joy what is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Jesus. This means that the gospel is not one class that the Christian takes and graduates from, but is the building in which all the classes take place. The theological jargon we use to describe this is gospel-centrality.
The salvation offered in this gospel message is delivered by grace alone, received through faith alone, and found in Christ alone. There is no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man that is required in order to be saved.
(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1: 7-10; Colossians 1: 19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3: 11-13 Jude 3-4; Revelation 21-22)on text goes here
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Since the gospel is biblically defined as “good news of great joy”, then to be a gospel-centered church means that we inescapably must be a joy-pursuing church. The call of the gospel is not to suppress or ignore our quest for joy in the world, but to put to death our pursuit of worldy joy and embrace the pursuit of joy to the fullest in God alone. To not pursue joy together as a church would be to lie to the world about the good news of great joy. And so we believe with enthusiasm that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. As John Calvin once wrote, “If God contains the fullness of all good things in himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strive after the highest good and all the elements of happiness.”
As a church that emphasizes God’s joy, we know that everyone longs for happiness. And in our Sunday Gatherings, in our community groups, and in our living rooms, our hope is that you experience people who live for hearty, lasting, enduring joy in Jesus. The “joy of the Lord” is a deep satisfaction in who God is that transcends superficial, hollow, and worldly pleasures, and it is a satisfcation that is compatible with our pain, suffering and sadness.
We will never tell you to stop pursuing your joy. We believe that everyone who wants satisfaction should not give up seeking it, but should instead come enjoy the grace of God instead of petty things for their joy. Joy in Jesus will be the mark of our preaching, teaching, worship, and community groups.
(Psalm 85:6; Romans 15:10; Philippians 4:4; Deuteronomy 28:47; Psalm 51:8; Psalm 100:2; Acts 2:28; Matthew 13:44; Matthew 25:21; John 15:11; John 16:24; James 1:2; Galatians 5:22)
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We believe with enthusiasm that the church has a clear calling to look beyond its own immediate community to the neighborhood, the city, and the world as a whole. Mission is not an optional program or an extracurricular class in the church, but an essential element in the identity of the church. In order to elevate mission to its proper place in the church, it is helpful to think this way: the church does not have a mission, but that the mission has a church. Our calling is to make Jesus known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship into every dimension of our lives.
We hope to fulfill this mission through the planting of churches that plant churches and the training of their leaders.
We also believe we are responsible to neither retreat from our culture nor to conform to it. Instead, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, our calling is to engage the world boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ. The orientation of the church is to be radically outward, and the theological jargon we use to describe this is missional church. We are not just in the city, but we are for the city.
(Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25; 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19; 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)
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We believe with enthusiasm that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. His choice was unconditional: not on the basis of foreseen faith and according to his sovereign good pleasure and will. The good news is about God’s work and not ours, and this is what makes this news so good!
We believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God will draw the elect to faith in Jesus. He will graciously and effectually overcome their stubborn resistance to the gospel so that they will most assuredly and willingly believe. We also believe that Christians will imperfectly persevere in belief and remain in the security of their salvation by grace through faith. The theological jargon we use to describe this is Calvinism; forgive the label, but don’t miss the truth.
We believe that God’s sovereignty in this salvation does not diminish the responsibility of people. Neither does it marginalize the necessity and power of prayer and evangelism. Instead, it reinforces and establishes them as the ordained means by which God accomplishes his ordained ends. God’s sovereignty does not make works unnecessary; it makes them possible. God’s sovereignty is the gasoline for the fire of our responsibility.
(John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3-4; 8:1-17,31-39; 9:1-23; 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9)
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We believe with enthusiasm that both men and women are together created in the divine image. Therefore, they are equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Men and women are the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond. Though men and women are equal in value, they are wonderfully unique in their design. In the Bible, this beautiful difference in design leads to female empowerment and male leadership. The theological jargon we use to describe this is complementarianism.
Practically, this means that both husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality in the home. But God has given to the man primary responsibility to lead his wife and family with the leadership and sacrificial love characterized by Jesus. This principle of male headship should not be confused with, nor give any hint of, domineering control. Rather, it should be the contrary: the loving, tender and nurturing care of a godly man who is under the kind and gentle authority of Jesus Christ.
The Elders/Pastors of each local church have been granted authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to provide oversight and to teach/preach the Word of God in corporate assembly for the building up of the body. The office of Elder/Pastor is restricted to men, and the calling is to lead in such a way that women flourish as a result. Spiritual leadership is a call to radical sacrifice, and the Bible teaches that men are to be the first to die on the frontlines.
(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18; Acts 18:24-26; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
Values
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The gospel is “the power of God unto Salvation” and so every inch of our church life is gospel-centered. We preach gospel-centered sermons, we sing gospel-centered songs, we pray gospel-centered liturgies, and we launch gospel-centered communities.
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Our most important asset is not our money, resources, or programs. Our most important asset is our people. And so we use our time, money and resources to help launch communities of people. We are an aggressively people-first church.
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We do not exist for ourselves, but for the joy of Des Moines. As a church, we encourage our church to be missional in every sphere of influence, specifically on the block (where you live) and on the clock (where you work).
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We practice the way of Jesus together through 5 core spiritual practices: Scripture, Solitude, Sabbath, Self-Denial & the Seasons.
Goals
We want to devote the life of our church to goals that will outlast our own lifetimes. For what does it profit a person to gain the world but leave no legacy behind? God calls us to build something far more enduring than our our own legacy: the church. If the Lord wills, Frontier Church works to embody three goals:
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In the Bible, God both describes and demands his people to be marked by gospel-centered joy. Deuteronomy is a stunning example of God describing his people by their joy: “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD.” Philippians is a remarkable example of God demanding his people to experience joy in Him: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” It’s not the type of joy that is undirected and aimless. That’s naïve joy. Neither is it the type of joy that can be robbed by difficult circumstances. That’s circumstantial joy. And it’s definitely not the type of joy that is acquired through material satisfaction. That’s superficial joy. The type of joy we want Frontier Church to be marked by is a joy in who Jesus is and what he’s done for us. We’ll never be the biggest church in the city. We’ll never be the smartest church in the city. But we do pray for Frontier Church to be the most joyful church in the city!
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Three ordinary but profound words: through. the. church. Ephesians 3:10 teaches that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God (is) made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” The God of the universe could have made his wisdom known through whatever: writing in the clouds, explosions in the sky, or the lives of the rich and the famous. Instead, God chooses to make his manifold wisdom, the gospel of Jesus, known through one of the most common and ordinary instruments: the local church. Because we are committed to the gospel, we are committed to planting churches. And we put our mission where our mouth is. We are wholeheartedly devoted to tithing 10% of our church’s entire mission to planting new churches: 10% of our tithing, 10% of our people, and 10% of our time.
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Our conviction is not to plant our church, but to plant our grandchildren’s church. We desire for our vision to outlive our own lifetimes, to be a heritage church for future generations to inherit. 2 Timothy gives us a glimpse of a faith that’s time-tested: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” So we build to last, and we aim our efforts and vigor towards rock-solid theology, industrial-strength structures, and vintage practices that will pass through time, rather than imitating flimsy, fickle fads. We want our families, future kids, and lifelong friends to have a healthy church to gather and worship with fifty years from today. And if we want to plant our grandchildren’s church, we have to plant with our grandparent’s church practices. So Frontier Church is designed to be durable, like a good pair of working boots, sturdy.
Strategy
By design, we practice church minimalism: We minimize doing ministry for you, and we maximize equipping you to do the work of ministry. At a very practical level, this means that rather than creating one-hundred programs or one-thousand ministries, our hope is to empower our people to use their time, talents, and treasures to be on mission in the city. Our philosophy of ministry is to simply get you into community, whether that be a community group or a fighter group. This frees our church to remain light on its feet without being bogged down by thousands of small tasks. And our people aren't drowned by a sea of time commitments. That’s a good thing.
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When you visit on Sunday, our service includes preaching, singing, liturgy, and communion. We believe that all the nuts and bolts of Sunday Church should be Word-saturated and gospel-centered: in preaching, we hear the gospel proclaimed together; in liturgy, we pray the gospel together; in singing, we sing the gospel together; and in communion, we participate in the gospel together. These elements are crucial to being formed into the image of Jesus!
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Community Groups are small groups. Like the name suggests, these groups exist to give our church real, authentic, biblical community. When you visit a community group, you will meet in somebody’s home to enjoy a meal, discuss the Bible, pray together and be a family together. Community Groups are the meat and potatoes of Frontier Church, and you can find one here.
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Fighter Groups are the most intimate expression of our church, and they exist for discipleship. These are micro groups of 2-5 individuals of the same gender. Because of the uniquely intimate nature of these groups, there is no sign-up. Find somebody you love and trust in our church, and ask them if they have a fighter group.
Networks
Additionally, we partner with Acts 29 & BCI to help the gospel go farther.
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Acts 29 is a family of church-planting churches with a singular focus: church planting. The network exists to encourage, resource, facilitate, support and equip churches to plant churches. Acts 29 has a robust commitment to theological clarity, cultural engagement and missional innovation, and we believe that belonging to this network is very helpful for what we are trying to accomplish in Des Moines. Ultimately, we believe that by partnering with Acts 29, we will take better and more faithful next steps to accomplishing our goal to be a church planting church. We highly encourage you to visit the Acts 29 website here to learn more.
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We also partner with the Baptist Convention of Iowa to plant more churches. With over 100 churches and 15,000 worshipers, the Baptist Convention of Iowa exists for greater ministry in Iowa. The BCI has been irreplaceably important in launching our church plant by helping fund, support, and encourage us in our young life as a body of believers. We believe that this strategic partnership is central to our church, because of its passion for supporting and equipping church planters. Visit BCI’s website right here.