Our Mission
God has called our church to serve in Spartanburg among the Russian-speaking population.
We, Golgotha Slavic Baptist Church, are committed to helping the local people know God.
Trusting in God’s mercy and power, we must do everything in our power so that people can:
• hear God’s Word,
• feel the presence of God, see God’s love,
• find salvation in Jesus Christ and,
• become part of God’s family.
By supporting each other in fellowship and in service, we deepen our relationship with God and with each other so that our Christian faith can be seen both at home and at work.
We want every person who has come into contact with the Lord to live by the commandment of love and by the way of the Gospel.
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, Christ speaks of the Great Commandment:
«Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets»
Matthew 22:37-40
And in chapter 28, just before His ascension, Christ gives his disciples the Great Commission:
«And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen»
Matthew 28:18-20
We believe that a commitment to both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will produce a mature church that is spiritually strong.
We, as a church, recognize:
1. The Lordship of Jesus Christ in all areas of our lives. This means that my time, finances and energy belong to Him, and not to me or anyone else.
«Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”‘»
Matthew 4:10
2. By acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we grow disciples. We are constructed such that every person in our church carries out a feasible amount of work in the church and in society.
«Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…»
Matthew 28:19
3. Mission work – we want to reach people with the gospel. The Church is not a circle of people of the same interests. The Church justifies its existence only when it fulfills its fundamental task – bringing glory to God through the establishment and expansion of His kingdom on earth.
«But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me… to the end of the earth»
Acts 1:8
4. The practice of a holy life or an active faith. The Bible says
«But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves»
James 1:2
The Bible was not given to us to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.
5. Balanced Biblical teaching. We deeply study and preach the Word in order to measure our Christian life by it. We cannot accept the message of Christ without the Cross.
«For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God»
1 Corinthians 1:18
Therefore, we deliberately avoid the temptation of the “gospel of prosperity” and other newfangled modern teachings/trends aimed at attracting a large number of new adherents to their ranks.
6. Atmosphere of love – we accept people as they are and appreciate each individual. We believe in the ability of each person to change and do not force it.
«And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you»
Ephesians 4:32
Golgotha is the place where you can receive salvation, where God gave his only begotten Son so that a person could start everything anew. This is the place where you can be reborn. Since God has shown so much grace and so much mercy to us, we believe that we need to treat people the same way.
