Who We Are
We exist at Living Water Church to transform individuals and our community through the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Every person connected to Living Water is on a mission to help accomplish that task. To do that, we believe we all need to grow as individuals. We do our best to encourage each believer to grow through 3 primary directives:
1. A Strong Personal Relationship with God - If any of us are going to grow, we must be actively cultivating a personal relationship with God. We can't grow in any relationship with another person on earth without spending time connecting with them. The same holds true in our relationship with God. It is imperative that every person spend time reading the Bible for themselves, praying, and worshiping on a regular basis. We encourage all people to invite God into every area of their lives.
2. Authentic Relationships with other Believers - God created us for relationship. We aren't meant to live this life alone. That means we need connection with Him and it means we need connection with other believers. If we're going to grow and accomplish the mission that God has given us, we must do it together. We encourage every person to have real relationships with other people in the church. This goes far beyond just greeting each other on Sunday morning. We want to live life with one another, pray with one another, eat with one another, share struggles and victories with one another, love one another...you get the point.
3. Service - God has not called us to sit back and let the world dictate the vision for our families, our communities, or our nation. We are called to be active in helping to change the culture and show love to our neighbors. We are not called to only take in God's love, but to pour it out on the world around us. We will strive to be the most giving church, not only in our finances, but in our time and our talent. We believe we've been blessed by God so that we can be a blessing to the world around us. We encourage every person who attends Living Water to find a place to serve inside the church and in the community. We know through experience that when we serve, God partners with us, and things really do change. Let's transform the world together!
As a Church (Community of Believers), we have 3 primary functions as we seek to help people grow in their faith.
We are:
A Hospital for the Sick
The church must always remain a place where hurting people can find healing. We all started there, but it is all too common for people who have walked in faith for a long time to become calloused to the problems that unsaved people face. Therefore, we are committed to being a place of compassion where anyone can come as they are to begin a relationship with God.
Matthew 9:10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
A School for the Called
We all start our Christian life as infants. We should be cared for and fed until we are able to feed ourselves. This is why we are committed to being a school for those who are new in Christ to grow from infancy to adulthood in their life with God. This class was created to be part of this process! This is the first phase of making disciples as Jesus called us to do in Matthew 28:18-20
Hebrews 5:11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
A Barracks for His Army
After covering the basics of the faith and helping new believers to grow into being able to sustain their relationship with God, we should continue on to equip them to accomplish the purpose that God has given them for their life.
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
What denomination is Living Water Church affiliated with?
Living Water Church is a member of the IPHC (International Pentecostal Holiness Church) and is part of the River of Life Conference. You can learn more about this fellowship of churches by visiting www.iphc.org or www.rolmiphc.com.
What are the advantages of affiliating with the IPHC?
Being a part of the IPHC allows us to identify with other Christians around the world who are known for their commitment to the Bible and power of the Holy Spirit. Through the IPHC, our church is able to participate in one of the fastest growing missionary organizations in the world and help support missionaries in countries around the world. Even though IPHC is a truly global organization, we are still connected to our local conference to help us with training, widening our fellowship, and to partner with us to plant more life giving churches in Western Pennsylvania.
