Our Vision & Mission

Our Vision

To win people to faith in Jesus Christ.

Our Mission

To Love, To Grow, To Serve & To Go

To love God and to love others (Unity)
To grow those that are here (Maturity)
To serve as Jesus taught  (Compassion)
To go build & expand God’s kingdom (Empowerment)

A Brief Description About Our Church

CENTRAL STREET CHRISTIAN CHURCH – WHO WE ARE 

Central Street Christian Church is a non-denominational, independent, Bible-believing congregation of Christ followers. We recognize the need for a formal membership, and we encourage you to think about it. Here are some things about our church that would help you understand who we are. Central Street Christian Church was established on September 13th, 1858. We are an autonomous church with no denominational ties to any group. We do consider ourselves part of the Restoration Movement.

Brief Restoration Movement History 

A group of men back in the early 1800s were tired of the divisions and disagreements between denominational churches. They themselves came from different church denominations and backgrounds. These men were Thomas Campbell, Alexander Campbell, Barton W. Stone, and Walter Scott to name a few. They decided to restore the beliefs of the church back to the New Testament Church as Scriptures depicts it to be.

Since they started, the movement has spread with more than 6,000 independent congregations across the world and have affiliation to any church which bears the name of Christian Church, Church of Christ and to any organizations who consider themselves within the same movement.

In North America, we are affiliated with the North American Christian Convention. In our province & country, we are affiliated with Alberta Bible College, Maritime Christian College, Canoe Cove Christian Camp (which the family of Christian Churches and Church of Christ on the island own together), and any churches or organizations that considers themselves in Restoration Movement.

Keep in mind, we remain independent from these organizations as we are autonomous and are on our own. We can and do partner with them and other churches in other movements as well. For example, locally, we are part of the Summerside & Area Christian Council that puts events that helps people in need like Love Summerside Events, connecting with local food-banks, praying for the believers and church leaders in Summerside, and so much more.

Some of Restoration Movement Ideals

  1. We are not the only Christians, but Christians only.
  2. Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where it is silent, we are silent.
  3. No book but the Bible; no creed but Christ; no name but the divine.
  4. In doctrine, unity; in opinion, liberty; in all things, love. 

As part of the movement, Central Street Christian Church also seeks to allow liberty in areas where the Scriptures are silent but to stand firm where the Scriptures speak. Our church financially supports a variety of independent missionaries and para-church ministries locally, provincially, nationally, and globally. Along with that, our church is financially supported by our local group of Christ-followers and those that want to give to what we are doing. 

We follow the example that the New Testament has given us when it comes to church leadership. We recognize that Jesus is the head of the Church. As a local congregation, we are made up of Christ-followers here in Summerside. We have a group of elders that watches and oversees us to make sure we are on track Biblically and we have deacons who are like elders but in a servanthood role. This makes us non-denominational and independent as we have no other body of authority that are over us.

As we are a non-profit-organization, we must satisfy how these organizations are ran in respect to our country’s laws and regulations. Therefore, we have a group that we call our general board and along with that we have defined officers and their duties; they include our elders, deacons, secretary, treasurer, tellers, trustees, auditors, ministers and so on. Recently, we got incorporated to protect the church assets, property, leadership, and body. We do hold meetings to discuss how our church organizes itself at this level as well as to clarify further the functions of the above roles and duties.

CENTRAL STREET CHRISTIAN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

While there is no verse in the Bible that calls on believers to become members of a local church, we recognize the importance of committing oneself to ministry in a local congregation. Membership provides that and it becomes a way of formally expressing this commitment.

If you’ve committed yourself to Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, repented of your sins, confessed that Jesus is the Son of the living God, and united with Him in baptism (by immersion), then the Lord has added you to His Church. You belong to the Body of Christ. Inasmuch, you are part of the bigger gathering of Christ followers. We recognize that importance.

This membership we speak of is committing yourself to this local congregation here in Summerside, participating in, partaking in, fellowshipping in, contributing in, and being part of this local church. 

If you are already a baptized believer and you wish to unite with the local congregation of Christ followers here at Central Street Christian Church, simply step forward when the time comes, and we will welcome you into our fellowship and provide you a certificate that you are part of our membership in a couple of weeks.

If you would like to be baptized into Christ or would like more information about baptism, you may talk to our Minister, one of our Elders or come forward at the end of the service and we will make the necessary arrangements for you to be baptized.

If you would like to know more about becoming a member, you may talk to our Minister, one of our Elders or come forward at the end of the service and we will provide you with more information. If you are thinking about this, we are praying for you.

Once you have become a member of our church, we want to help you love God & love others, grow in your faith and discover those areas of ministry in which you are best suited to serve. We encourage you to take advantage of our Bible studies, worship, fellowship, and service opportunities that we have.

WHERE DOES MEMBERSHIP COME IN?

We do require membership and/or further education to hold any of these defined roles & duties. This satisfies any report we make as a non-profit-organization and incorporation. It also helps us understand that we are in this together as a team and as a church. The commitment to be a member is to be willing to join in the work and help the church grow.