Information about The
Blacksburg Church of Christ
Our mission and purpose can be summed up this way:
For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake (II Corinthians 4:5).
As we go about our mission, we are glad to present the story of Jesus as Good News on the campus and in the community. We seek to honor and glorify Christ through word and deed as we encourage every member of the Blacksburg church to be working, involved, and growing spiritually in Christ. We do this through sharing our resources, providing dynamic, effective ministries that meet real needs, supporting Christian brothers and sisters in mission fields, and caring for others on campus and in the community. Above all, we try to show the same love to one another as Jesus showed to us.
Gifts, Talents, and Ministries
The church or community of believers, is composed of individuals who have different gifts, abilities, functions, and talents as given by God (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4). This is for the purpose of doing the work of Christ in many ways, building up the whole church, and supporting/encouraging one another. There are many ministries, so to speak, and ways of serving the Lord. Some of these include leadership, teaching, preaching, evangelism, encouraging, exhorting, helping, serving, giving, sharing, showing kindness, and being administrators of whatever needs to be done. Love (self giving, proactive, dynamic, agape) is the "glue" that binds all the parts of the "body" together and keeps them working in harmony to do the will of Christ - to be Christ in the world. The Holy Spirit is God's mark of ownership given to Christians. The Blacksburg church is blessed with an abundance of God given talents and abilities and the fruit of the Spirit is evident in the lives of many. Every member of the body has these gifts and talents in some respect, to be used for the good of all and to glorify Christ. Every member is a minister or servant in some way.
Some Basic Principles
1. God - there is only one God, eternal supreme spirit, creator of the universe, and giver of life. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - three personalities in one, with each having specific functions to accomplish the overall will of God
(Ephesians 4: 6).
2. Jesus - was the incarnation of God in the flesh. He showed us how to live a life pleasing to God, and sacrificed Himself for all of mankind by dying on the cross to take away all sins. He conquered death and was resurrected after three days and lives today at the right hand of God the Father and in the lives of individual Christians. Jesus is the only living savior of mankind and the only way to God. Jesus is truth and life - the ultimate reality (John 14:6).
3. Holy Spirit - the Spirit worked with God in creation and has continued to do the work of God throughout the ages. The indwelling Spirit is promised to every Christian (Acts 2:38). The Spirit always brings order out of chaos and never has the opposite effect. The Spirit produces good "fruit" in the lives of growing Christians (Galatians 5: 22 - 26).
4. Bible - the 66 books of the Old Covenant (Old Testament) and New Covenant (New Testament) Scriptures make up the Bible and are complete and inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the will of God. The Bible is the revealed word of God as Jesus Christ is the living word of God. We must study the Bible as individuals and as a corporate body to learn how to live like Jesus, to learn from the past, and to learn what God desires for us (II Timothy 3: 16 - 17).
5. Sin - sin is the breaking of God's law, that is, what is defined by God as right and wrong, and is considered rebellion against God (I John 3:4 - 10). Only Jesus has lived the perfect life before God. When we willingly sin, this separates us from a holy and perfect God, which results in spiritual death, or eternal separation from God (Romans 6: 23). The works of the sinful nature are obvious (Galatians 5: 19 - 21). Every person is guilty of sin and is without hope if sin prevails. But God has provided a way back to Him because of His great love.
6. Salvation - the sacrifice of Jesus to take away or pay the price of sin for all mankind is God's gift of love (John 3:16 - 20) to bring mankind back to him. There is salvation or reconciliation to God in no one else or by any other means except in Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 5:19, Acts 4:12). Accepting this gift of love, that is, having faith or trust that Jesus lives and will take away our sins, is the first step in coming back to God. Becoming a Christian or follower of Christ is accepting God's gift of eternal life. We can never repay the cost of sin, but Jesus has done that for us because of God's grace.
7. Christians - individuals become Christians the same way today as they did in the first century in response to what Jesus and His apostles taught. Being "born again" requires faith or trust in, a commitment to, and a confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Lord. There must be a repentance or turning away of the past life of sin (Acts 17:30), followed by baptism or immersion in water as an identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in response to His command (John 3: 3 - 8, Romans 6: 1 - 7). Every Christian is a minister or priest of God in some fashion - and all Christians are the people of God (I Peter 2: 9 - 10).
8. Church - the church (or community) of Christ is the family or kingdom of God on earth and will never fade away (Colossians 1: 13 - 14). Spiritually, the church is eternal and will be transformed by Christ living within to be what God wants. The Lord adds each individual to the church after baptism, which is equated to birth in the spiritual family of God (Acts 2: 47). Local congregations of the church work as the "body of Christ" on earth, serving God and mankind in various ways as Jesus taught us to do.
9. Love - practicing, producing, and showing the "agape" or self-giving love of Christ is the ultimate goal of the Christian community or church (I Timothy 1: 5) in all forms of ministry (service). Love is the distinguishing mark of the church above all else (John 13: 34 - 35, Ephesians 4: 15 - 16).
10. Worship - as Christians, we meet every first day of the week (Sunday) to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in observing the Lord's Supper, to encourage one another to greater acts of service, to sing praises to God, to pray together over needs and concerns, to offer our monetary contributions, and to teach and learn from God's word and each other (Hebrews 10: 19 - 25).
11. Prayer - we recognize prayer to God, as a key link along with Bible study and fellowship with other Christians, to maintain our relationship with Him and to emphasize our dependence on Him as our Father. Praise, confession, supplication, submission, and petition are expressed in our corporate and individual prayers on a continual basis. Prayer is not limited to a certain place or certain time (I Thessalonians 5: 16 - 18).
12. Eternal Life - as Christians, we share the hope of eternal life which has been promised to all who have been born into God's family. Our hope is not based on this life alone but on the promises of God for a life after this physical existence, based on our faith in Jesus to bring us back (reconcile us) to God. Because of the sure promise of God, we live life with joy, peace, and hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5: 1 - 5; Romans 15: 13).
Who are these people?
Approximately 150 people call the Blacksburg congregation of Christians their church family and assemble together on the first day of the week, and also on Wednesday evenings and others special occasions. We meet in a facility one mile from the center of the campus of Virginia Tech at the corner of Palmer Drive and Eakin Street. We have an active campus ministry as well as several outreach activities to the community. Our membership consists of approximately fifty families plus university students. These families drive from several different cities, towns and communities to assemble for worship, Bible classes, and other types of fellowship.
Our elders,appointed deacons, preachers, and numerous teachers provide the leadership for the congregation. A good percentage of the congregation is involved in one or more ministries. Ministries include: benevolence, building and grounds, campus, children's worship, family,community, education, fellowship, finances, information technology/web site,missions, worship, youth and special programs. There is abroad mix of ages among the congregation from elderly to children of all ages,and includes teens, college students, young adults, and young families as well. A few members have been a part of this congregation since its beginning in 1962.
Not only has this community of faith been involved in Campus Ministry for three decades, but mission work has been a prime objective for a similar period. Funds have been sent to support evangelistic efforts in Dominican Republic, and Honduras .Mission trips to El Salvador, Dominican Republic,and Honduras take place during the year by medical students, youth groups, families, and individual members.
Members of the congregation have worked with community organizations, and participated in volunteer work at hospitals and nursing homes. Visits, devotionals, entertainment, and refreshments have been provided to people in these institutions. Boxes of clothing and other gifts have been prepared for those who do not have families or who do not receive visitors. Special contributions and allocations from the budget have been used to help needy families and individuals and support community programs such as the Women's Resource Center, Roanoke Rescue Mission,and Community Food Pantry.
We invite you to visit and find out more about us. We believe that you will find that we are friendly, hardworking followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.