Our mission as a church is to make disciples of Jesus who worship God passionately, connect with each other in caring community and impact the world by word and deed.
One of our core values as a church is Families - because healthy marriages and children are vital to God’s mission in the world. Of those we seek to make into worshipping, connecting, and impacting disciples, none are more important to us than the children God gives us and sends to us. But, we don't believe that the church is God's primary agent for reaching our children. That role belongs to parents, and it is the role of the church to assist moms and dads in passing the baton of faith to their children. That involves far more than just two hours on Sunday. How does a parent take on the responsibility of "primary faith trainer" in a child's life? First, the parent grows in his or her own understanding of the Bible and relationship with Christ. Second, parents learn how to effectively practice age-appropriate family devotions in their own home. Finally, parents learn to equip their children for the natural, spiritual milestones of life.
Our spiritual formation process begins in infancy and continues into adulthood, designed around five Legacy Milestones. We partner with parents to equip preschoolers, children, and students with the Biblical and practical understanding to experience the next phase of life. In this way, we build a legacy of faith into the next generation. We have created a simple path for families to walk on called LEGACY MILESTONES. This idea is not original to us but has been adopted to the distinctive mission and needs of North Park Church.
Key Principles
- Parents are the primary teachers and leaders of their children. The church’s chief mission with respect to the children is to instruct and equip the parents to fulfill their responsibilities. In addition, we intend to supplement parental training through church ministry while guarding against the danger of over programming for our children or competing with the family for their time and loyalty.
- As Presbyterians committed to Covenant theology, we do regard our children as members of the church by virtue of their birth or adoption. We see them as being part of us until they consciously opt to depart from us. We also recognize that children may have a renewed heart and true faith before they are able to articulate such. Therefore, while we want our children to frequently hear the gospel message and respond in faith, we will not suggest that a covenant child needs a conscious experience of “conversion” or must be able to identify a particular moment of enlightenment or commitment.