Who we are
Since 1977, we have been rooted in God’s Word and prompted by His grace. Georgetown Christian Reformed Church is committed to making followers of Jesus Christ who
Love God - Love Others - Serve The World
Core Values
1. We value welcoming, embracing, and caring for everyone God connects to our faith community.
2. We value nurturing people of all ages toward full devotion to Christ.
3. We value experiencing God’s renewing presence through worship and fellowship.
4. We value bold, biblical, and authentic preaching.
5. We value serving with and for our neighbors, so they come to know and love Jesus.
6. We value ministering to one another within our faith community.
7. We value supporting our church and community through prayer.
What We Believe
-
Salvation by grace alone through faith alone means that eternal life is an unearned gift from God received solely by trusting in Jesus Christ and our human effort and good deeds play no role. Although we are sinners who deserve God’s judgment, God extends his unmerited favor to us as a gift. Our only role is to accept his gift by faith, trusting that Christ’s finished work on the cross is completely sufficient for our forgiveness and enteral life.
-
We teach and preach the words of Scripture, the Good News of Jesus, and the Truths of his Kingdom as the only way to joy and peace in this life and in the next.
-
It is all about God, God’s will, and God’s power. Everything that happens in our world is ultimately under God’s control. At the same time, God invites us into a relationship with him because he loves to work with and through our human will, faith, and action.
-
A covenant is an agreement between two (or more) parties who make promises to one another. God has promised to love us and provide for us; we, in turn, have promised to love him and keep his commandments. And while we have failed to keep our promise, God continues to keep his promise. He sent his only Son, Jesus, to show us what it means to follow him and to die to pay the penalty for our sin. God faithfully continues to embrace us as his children.
-
In his sovereignty, God and his Kingdom rule over all this world’s nations, cultures and worldviews. His reign is evident wherever his will is done. As followers of Jesus, we are called to claim every square inch of this world for God by seeking his will and glory in agriculture, art, business, education, family, friendships, justice, labor, media, politics, etc. Jesus came to bring God’s Kingdom from heaven – where it is firmly established – to earth. Although sin and brokenness are still evident, God is making everything new through Jesus Christ.
-
Georgetown Christian Reformed Church is affiliated with a thousand other congregations throughout the United States and Canada that adhere to the basic truths of the Protestant Reformation back in the sixteenth century. The Christian Reformed Church will soon be celebrating our one hundred seventieth birthday.
Together, we affirm the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed as expressions of our Christian faith. We also affirm the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort—as Biblically faithful expressions of our Christian and Reformed faith.
Together, we support three universities (Calvin, Dordt, and Redeemer) and one seminary (Calvin Theological Seminary). Together, as Resonate Global Ministries, we support over one hundred fifty missionaries in over forty countries and are committed to plant one thousand new churches in the next ten years. Together, our relief agency, World Renew, provides disaster relief and long-term development in over twenty countries providing millions of dollars in assistance and over one hundred thousand volunteer hours annually. Together, through ReFrame Ministries, we promote the Gospel through media in over fifty countries in the world’s ten major languages. Together, through Thrive Ministries, we publish Biblical studies and faith forming materials for all ages, address justice, racism, and diversity issues, promote safe and healthy churches, and support pastors and church leaders. Together we publish a church magazine (The Banner).
-
The Christian Reformed Church recognizes two sacraments. Sacraments are visible signs and confirmations (seals) of God’s covenant promises. Sacraments remind us of God’s blessings (that is, his grace) to those who love him and his Son, Jesus.
Baptism. We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit the children of believers in the community of believers because we believe God includes our children in the Covenant he made with us and all his promises extend to our children. We also baptize those who come to faith as adults. We typically do baptism by sprinkling, but we also (can) do adult baptisms by immersion.
The Lord’s Supper. Jesus, the day before he died, invited his followers to join him for a meal where he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and told us to remember him as we eat it. After the meal, he took a cup of wine, blessed it, and told us to remember him as we drank it. The bread and the wine, Jesus said, represent the breaking of his body and shedding of his blood for the forgiveness of our sins – something we should remember always. We celebrate this “supper” frequently throughout the year through intinction (dipping the bread into the juice) and/or by passing the plates of bread and grape juice (representing the wine). Those who have professed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord (including our children) and who are members in good-standing of a Bible-believing church are encouraged to participate at Christ’s table.
-
Everyone is welcome to worship with us.
Some people journey with us for a period before committing to membership.
But we believe membership is important. Membership shows a commitment to Jesus as the one who saves us from our sin and as the Lord of our life as well as a commitment to each other in our faith family.
At Georgetown, a member must affirm they are saved by grace alone through faith and commit to share that Good News with others. Each member consciously strives to grow and deepen their relationship with God, to regularly participate in worship and in a small study or service group, to use their gifts, talents and abilities to assist others - both in the church and in the community, and to support Georgetown church by giving of their time and finances. These are our five “G’s of membership.
If you’d like to become a member, you can join us by having your membership transferred from your current or former church, or by professing your faith to the elders. Professing your faith means answering a few basic questions about your faith and sharing the testimony of your relationship to Jesus Christ. Your profession is then shared with the congregation, and you are welcomed into membership. (If you have not been previously baptized, you would also be baptized at this time).