Rustic Hills Community Church is a non-denominational church which fellowships with a worldwide group of non-denominational churches known as the Church of God (with headquarters in Anderson, IN).
We believe that God desires the Church to be as one people. Jesus prayed for this unity,
“I pray also for these who will believe through the disciples’ message
that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
~ John 17:20-21 NIV
We also believe that denominational labels, rules and distinctives serve only to divide and separate Christians rather than unite them.
We will be most effective in our witness to the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ if we concentrate on the things we have in common as believers, rather than things which may separate us.
Over and over the New Testament uses the phrase “church of God” to denote Christians.
“To the church of God in Corinth, to these sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all these everywhere who call the Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours.”
~ 1 Corinthians 1:2 NIV
Of course there are many different groups and organizations that use the phrase “Church of God” for this very reason. That is why we add the city of our world-wide headquarters, Anderson, Indiana.
We have chosen to be a part of the Church of God, rather than be associated with any particular denominational tradition or heritage because we choose to be a movement toward the unity of all believers as a witness to the world. The Church of God (Anderson) has a heritage of this kind of unity.
We also choose to associate with this voluntary group of non-denominational churches for the sake of accountability. We believe it is healthy for us to be in a relationship with other believers. It keeps us honest and on-track in our ministry. It keeps us from drifting into excesses or unbalanced doctrine. We are thankful for those brothers and sisters that make up the Church of God. Together we are able to provide ministry opportunities, missions and colleges that a single congregation could not sustain.
