Lex Christian Exists...
To be a healthy and vibrant expression of the Body of Christ, a growing church that reproduces itself in the form of church plants in other areas and communities; and through transformational missions work locally, regionally, and globally.
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OUR MISSION
Pursuing God... Embracing People... Transforming Society
Pastoral Staff
DAVE LERAAEN
SENIOR PASTOR
Relocating to Lexington from Nowata, Oklahoma, Dave is a second career pastor with over 15 years of pastoral experience and a passion for relating to believers and their community in a Biblically based and hope filled way.
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Dave and his wife, Annette have been married 35 years and have two grown daughters.
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Their most unusual place visited was the top of a mountain in Switzerland while trying to reach their resort--both had the same name. Gotta love GPS technology!!!
JAMES MORTON
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
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James grew up in the Lexington area and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Christian Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He is married to Robin, a 6th grade language arts teacher at Lexington Middle School. They have two sons: Benjamin and Luke.
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James has a passion for skateboarding in some pretty interesting spots... the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Hoover Dam, just to name a few!
What We Believe...
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Bible containing the Old and New Testaments is the inspired and infallible written Word of God. Its authority is ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the primary source of all theology, instruction, and correction. We form right belief (orthodoxy) and right practice (orthpraxis) from the Scriptures.
Isaiah 40:8; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12
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GOD
We believe that God is an uncreated, unrivaled, and eternal being who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. God is uniquely whole and undivided, while yet comprised of three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the witness of the Christian Church and the Bible. The allusion to the Trinity is consistent throughout Scripture, beginning with the act of Creation.
Genesis 1:1-2, 26-27; 11:1-8; Matthew 3:16-17; John 1:1-5, 14
GOD - THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He created human beings in His own image to be recipients of His love and to share His life with them. Because of humanity’s rebellion and self-willed separation from life with God, the Father desires that humanity would be reconciled back to Him through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:15, 45; 6:1-9; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Colossians 1:19-20
GOD - THE SON
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and “Son of Man,” is God. He is the Living Word who has been in eternal fellowship with the Father and the Spirit since before time began. He left heaven and became human through a miraculous conception of the Holy Spirit with a young virgin girl named Mary. He lived a sinless life, suffered, died on a cross, was buried, and rose again three days later to forgive our sins, make us whole, and bring us back into shared life with the Father.
John 1:1, 14; 14:6, 9; Colossians 1:15-18
GOD - THE SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God who was active in the Old Testament and was given in fullness to the Church at Pentecost. The Spirit enables God’s people to live holy lives, empowers them with boldness to share about the work of Jesus, and graciously gives gifts for ministry to encourage the Church.
John 16:5-15; Acts 1:7-8; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 12:1-31
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SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a free gift of God, based solely on the merits of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe salvation is given to any individual who makes a free-will act, in faith, to accept this gift. We believe this free-will act includes: listening to the Gospel message, believing that Jesus is who He claims to be, confessing this belief with one’s mouth, turning one’s back on sinful lifestyles and habits; and, that one is baptized as a follower of Jesus. Moreover, baptism by immersion becomes the first and defining act of one who has found salvation in Christ. Salvation gives a person right standing before God in this life, gives the promise of eternal life with God, gives an inheritance in the Kingdom of God, and produces an active lifestyle of loving obedience and faithful service to Jesus Christ.
Genesis 3:15; Matthew 26:28; Acts 2:37-38; Romans 5:1, 9; 10:9-10; Galatians 2:16; 3:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 2:12
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THE CHURCH
We believe the Church exists wherever Christ-followers gather together. The Holy Spirit energizes and empowers the Church and brings Christ-followers (from past, present, and future) into one common bond found in Jesus Christ. Initiation into the Church comes by way of baptism. Locally, the Church is that community in which believers exalt Jesus together, share their lives through encouragement and fellowship together, and live together in holiness. Universally, the Church across the globe consists of all local communities of believers that accept the absolutes and doctrines of the Scriptures passed down in the Christian Church throughout the ages.
Matthew 16:13-18; John 17:20-23; Acts 2:14-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 2:19-22
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SECOND COMING
We believe in the literal reappearing of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, and in the final judgment. This judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saved (to live in eternal life) and the lost (to live in eternal torment) depending on one’s relationship with and faith in Jesus.
Matthew 25:31-33; Mark 9:43-47; John 5:25-29; Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15