Everything we do at Maranatha Baptist Church has three distinct purposes in mind:
When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22 which is the GREATEST commandment found in scripture, his reply was stunning in its brevity and clarity: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."
LOVE.
This is why at Maranatha, our first and foremost ministry purpose is to LOVE GOD…to spend time with Him in conversational intimacy (prayer), go deeper in our understanding of Him by reading the Bible and experiencing the presence of Jesus as we worship.
Maranatha's weekend services are the primary environment where people can connect deeply with God...
to LOVE GOD, together.
The focus of the ministries listed under this ministry purpose is to create ways for people to LOVE GOD together through a variety of shared experiences.
Maranatha's second ministry purpose (following LOVE GOD) is to LOVE PEOPLE. Check out what Jesus said in Matthew 22 when asked which was the GREATEST commandment found in scripture:
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (v. 37-40).
Wow. EVERY law hangs on these two commandments -- which is why at Maranatha, Jesus' call on our lives to LOVE GOD is followed by His command that we LOVE PEOPLE...CBC's second ministry purpose.
The Maranatha ministries listed under our LOVE PEOPLE heading share a common focus: creating experiences and opportunities for people to express their love for Jesus by showing that love to others.
It's called the Great Commission of Jesus…and its implications are (and obviously have been) world-changing.
At the heart of Maranatha's third ministry purpose to SERVE THE WORLD are these Bible verses from Matthew 28. As we SERVE other people -- in our neighborhoods, across the country or around the globe -- we as the Maranatha family do so in Jesus' name.