To know Him

To know God is to love Him. And knowing and loving God is the door to an abundant and eternal life. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). God longs to be known. He communicates this longing in three primary ways: Jesus Christ, Scripture, and creation. So our local church is passionate about Jesus Christ, the Bible, and God’s beautiful and bountiful creation. We want to know God and anyone who does would find a like-minded community here at Shreveport First. 

To love one another

We believe life is lived best when it’s lived in authentic community. This was true of the early church. Why should it be any different today? Jesus said, “by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Growth happens naturally and powerfully in the context of authentic biblical community. We want to be the best versions of ourselves! We want to grow in love, knowledge, and service. And that takes a community. We long to experience what the apostolic church experienced at Pentecost: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers… Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:41-47). Like the early church, we want our church to grow both numerically and spiritually. 

To Share Him 

The world needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ! We believe this with all of our heart. For this reason, we are an evangelistic church. We are passionate about making Jesus Christ available, accessible, and attractive. Jesus came to make God available, accessible, and attractive. God became a human being! This central truth of the Christian faith is called the incarnation, a word which means to be “in flesh.” Jesus was God in the flesh—God available and accessible. He came so we could go. He said, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:20). We are believers in what has been called “incarnational ministry,” which just means getting out—in the flesh—into our communities and loving, serving, and teaching. The good news is just too good to keep to ourselves.