WHAT WE BELIEVE

• The Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
• That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• That for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
• In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• In the resurrection of the dead; they that are saved to undeserved grace and they that refuse God to judgment.
• In the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

OUR CORE VALUES

• A Personal Relationship with Jesus as Savior, Lord, and God
• Commitment to the Truth of God's Revealed Word
• Worship as the Center of Church Life
• The Great Commission - Near and Far in Word and Deed
• A Biblical World View that Speaks to Our Culture
• Kingdom Vision - We are One Part of the Whole Body of Christ
• Growing Mature, Ministering Disciples
• A Diverse, Loving Community
• The Nurture of Children and Youth
• Servanthood & Stewardship Inside and Outside of Central
• Prayer

OUR PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY

• Leaders (staff and volunteer) are primarily equippers who give away ministry.
• All Christians should understand their "spiritual design" as the foundation for their call to ministry inside and outside of Central.
• Christian growth, pastoral care, and fruitful ministry happen best in the context of an authentic community.
• Every ministry is given life, accountability, and support based on Central's mission, values, philosophy and vision of ministry.
• Authority and responsibility are lodged as close to the actual ministry as possible.
• Self-organizing, "spiritual-design"-based, covenanted ministry teams are the norm at Central (both grass-roots and leadership initiated).
• We value thoughtful experimentation, success and failure as learning opportunities, and change for the sake of fulfilling our mission.

OUR CALL

Since 2011, the Session of Central Presbyterian Church has been prayerfully engaged in trying to discern what God’s distinct call is to us at this time in our congregation’s life. We have a deep sense of what the priorities now need to be. We do not have a program or plan for every step—in fact, we will discover those insights in conversations with the congregation over the next few months. But the basic sense is clear, and it is based solidly on what God is already doing among us.

Transforming the Next Generation

Without a doubt, God has put Central in a place of special opportunity to reach the next generation. Among denominational churches in Towson, we are uniquely placed to reach seekers, young adults and families. Our facilities, staff, Sunday worship, Children’s and Student Ministry, and current church community give us great gifts to offer back to God in reaching the next generation for Christ. Starting with our own neighborhoods we are called to challenge people to life transformation in a walk with Christ that embraces personal growth in faith, and an engagement in personal witness that includes a commitment to compassion and justice. We take our name seriously, as we are in a central location to extend the resources of a suburban church into intentional, focused ministry in a specific neighborhood in Baltimore City.

Pursuing Our Call

Leaders Developing Leaders

Central has been blessed with a number of mature, gifted believers. We desire for those believers to be involved in direct ministry to the next generation, including Grow Group leadership and one-on-one mentoring relationships.

Partnering with Parents in Discipling a New Generation

We believe that the primary responsibility for the discipleship of children falls upon parents. We desire to partner with parents, through training, and providing resources to help parents lead their children to Christ and to disciple them into maturity.

An Intentional Nurturing of Ethnic Diversity

We believe that the Kingdom of God is a multi-cultural kingdom, comprised of every tribe and tongue. At Central we have lived out that biblical vision for years in our commitment to world missions. Now that world mission is at our doorstep. We desire to be a place that is welcoming to those from ethnically diverse backgrounds and seek to celebrate that diversity in our community life.

Ministering to Young Adults

We desire to provide spiritual permanence for transient people. Our part of Baltimore is a strategic place for working with and serving a young adult population. We see this as an investment and extending the influence of Central throughout the world as these young adults move beyond Baltimore and throughout the world.

Planting a Church

We desire to extend our influence more intentionally within Baltimore City by planting an urban campus of Central Presbyterian Church. We believe that this is a logical extension of engagement with the city, nurturing our ethnic diversity and ministering to young adults.