Our New Lead Pastor

We are excited to introduce you to our new Lead Pastor. Brian & Jackie O'Neill have accepted the appointment to pastor @ Friends Community Church.  They have arrived from Eugene, Oregon, and have many years and a variety of ministry experience in Oregon, California and Hawaii.  Their heart is simply centered in a relational theology where "Loving God and Loving Others" isn't just a cute slogan...but a life style!  They are humbled to have the opportunity to carry on the work of John and Darlene Windsor the founding pastors of our church, and hope to continue building on the foundation they have established.  We are excited to continue the journey of Friends and invite you to come check us out and join us in this new season as we continue to grow into the people Jesus desires us to be.

God’s grace compels us to grow together in sharing the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

• GATHERING - Belonging and bringing others to God and His community.
  (Acts 2:46-47)
• GROWING - Building a loving, growing relationship with God and with others.
  (Eph. 4:12-13)
• GIVING - Serving with our unique gifts and abilities.
  (1 Pet. 4:10)
• GOING - Sharing God's transforming grace with others just as He shared it with us in His Son, Jesus Christ.
  (2 Cor. 5:17-19)

What We Value - Those internal values that color all we do.

1. Intimacy with God – we value a life of prayer, intercession and unbroken fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ.
2. Discipleship – we value each believer’s right to grow in the Word and relationship toward maturity in Christ.
3. Community – we value real and transparent relationships among believers.
4. Culturally appropriate worship – we value expressing our worship to God in ways that reflect our own cultural context.
5. Gift oriented ministry – we value mobilizing our community of believers within their God-given gifts, temperaments, and leadership styles to fulfill their ministry calling.
6. Friendship Evangelism – we value sharing our faith by developing genuine relationships with the unchurched.
7. Missions – we value Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples in all the world.
8. Excellence – we value striving for excellence in all aspects of life and ministry.

What We See - the vision of what God desires to do through us.

Vision is not about reality or what is. Vision is about our dreams and aspirations or what could be.

At Friends Community Church, we envision being a united body of believers actively fulfilling The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-19) by befriending those who do not know Christ. We will be a friend by loving and accepting people unconditionally, by facilitating growth in Christ by mending lives, by training them to fulfill their ministry, and by sending them on their God-given mission in life.

We envision believers maturing through the development of life-giving, contemporary worship services, relevant teaching, special events and holistic small groups.

We envision a Sunday celebration which is a culmination of our small groups where our people model biblical community: a safe place where we accept one another and are accepted, love and are loved, shepherd and are shepherded, encourage and are encouraged, forgive and are forgiven, and serve and are served.

We envision helping our people discover their divine designs, so that they are equipped to serve Christ effectively in some ministry either within or outside our community of believers. Our goal is that every member is a missionary (that is that they are equipped and released into their God-given mission in life).

We envision recruiting, training, and sending out many of our members as missionaries, church planters, and church workers all over the world. We also see a number of our people pursuing short-term missions service in various countries. We envision planting a church in the States or abroad every two years.

We envision a facility that will accommodate our growth and be accessible to all of Smith County. This facility will provide ample room for small groups, Bible study, prayer, and other meetings. While we do not believe “bigger is better,” numerical growth is a by-product of effective evangelism. Thus, we desire to grow as God prospers us and uses us to reach a waiting world.

This is our dream—our vision about what could be!