Identity

Meadow Park is a nondenominational, intergenerational, diverse group of people with many backgrounds united in our desire to follow Jesus and love the world around us.

We are passionate about the Great Commandment to love God and love others, and compelled by the Great Commission to go and share the hope of Jesus with the world.

Faith is a life-long journey and our ministries are designed to help people take their next step.


Values

BELONG - Journey Together

Life is a journey not meant to be walked alone. God created us to be in relationship - to be known, unconditionally loved, and cared for. Belonging helps us find our place in God's story and in God's family. In community we discover our identity, meaning, and purpose.

At Meadow Park we experience belonging by sharing life together through:

  • Christ-centered small groups (Life Groups) that meet in homes, at the church or in the community sharing life and faith

  • Children's Ministry

  • Middle School, High School, and College Groups

  • Ministry Teams serving together

BELIEVE - Spiritually Alive

Jesus came to give us life to fullest!  Faith in Jesus opens our spiritual eyes to see and experience life like God designed. Through his love, grace and truth we are transformed - reborn from the inside out. God's Holy Spirit moves through us guiding, shaping, and refining us every step on the journey.

At Meadow Park we grow our faith through:

  • Sunday morning worship, prayer, and messages from God's Word

  • Conversation in smaller groups, and discussion in classes and Bible-studies

  • Believer Baptisms and Child and Family Dedications

  • Personal spiritual habits like daily Bible reading, prayer, worship, and journaling

BECOME - Compassion Unleashed

God is love. When his love overwhelms us we can't help but LIVE LOVE to the people, community and world around us. God has given each of us talents, passions, and skills to serve others and make a difference both now and for eternity. Putting our faith into action shapes who we are becoming in Christ.

At Meadow Park we love and serve our world in countless ways through:

  • Partnerships - We support and get hands-on with causes that address poverty, addiction, human-trafficking, orphans, hunger, refugees, and global missions.

  • Local Engagement - Whether it's intentional acts of kindness for our community on Live Love Days, teaching immigrants English, delivering meals to the homeless, tutoring kids at the elementary school, or hosting numerous recovery groups at our Bethel Campus we love making a difference right here in Columbus.

  • Missions Trips - Spending time in community development, building relationships, and cultural engagement is mutually life-impacting for both us and those we seek to serve whether in inner-city Pittsburgh or in a mountain village in Honduras.


Beliefs

God

All-loving Creator of the heavens and the earth, eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus

Jesus is eternal and fully Divine. He became fully human, born of the virgin Mary. He was crucified by man without guilt and sinless, and through His resurrection, freed all people from the power of sin and death. He will return again, ushering in the eternal Kingdom of God. All who respond to the work and teachings of Jesus by a personal belief that is represented in a changing life will live forever with Him.

 

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is eternal, continually drawing men and women to God. Being marked by the Holy Spirit as children of God, believers are encouraged, transformed to be like Christ, convicted of sin and empowered to serve others.

 

Salvation

A free gift from God, salvation is God’s desire for all humanity to be in right relationship with Him. In turning from a self-centered life and turning to God, accepting the work Christ accomplished, one receives new and eternal life.

 

The Bible

The Bible is the expressed Word of God and is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

 

Humanity

We were created in the image of God. But that image on each of us is marred and cracked. Sin is the conscious and unconscious way that we miss the mark in the ways we live, relate to God, and relate to one another. Jesus is the perfect image of God and the One who shows us how to truly be human. Jesus reveals God to humanity, gives us an example of how we should live, and His death and resurrection set us back into right relationship with God.

 

The Church

As we turn back to God, accept the work Christ accomplished, and begin to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, we become a part of God’s mission in this world in and through the Church. The Church is the community of God, learning to love and express love to this world. Everyone who turns back to God, accepts the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit becomes a vital part of the Church in the world today. Becoming a part of the Church, every follower of Jesus is called to a life of love through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given without regard to race or gender.

 

Ordinances

Christians engage in certain ordinances (religious practices) that remind us of the work and ministry of Jesus.

Baptism is the outward sign of the new life one has received by confessing and committing to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Baptism represents the death of our old lives and resurrection to a new life in Christ.

Communion is a visible and experienced reminder of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Two common elements of the table in the first century, bread and wine, were used to remind believers about the sacrifice of Jesus – His body broken and His blood poured out. Anyone who is a follower of Jesus is invited to participate.

Feet Washing demonstrates our humility and love towards one another as Jesus demonstrated when he washed his disciple’s feet. The Jesus said, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” Feet washing serves as a reminder to us that no one is greater than an other.


Affiliation

Meadow Park is a non-denominational church affiliated with a movement of churches called the Church of God (headquartered in Anderson, IN). Affiliation provides us accountability without control. Through affiliation we share theological foundations, ministry partnerships, and global missional projects, yet we independently determine our own leadership, structure, budget and vision.