Thank you for visiting our website. Our goal is for this to be a tool that is interesting, informative and useful and that this will be a place that you will enjoy visiting over and over again for news and the latest information about what is happening at the The Greater Houston Church.

Our Vision Statement:

To be a Church of fully committed Disciples of Christ that put our hope in the living God expressed through love, discipleship, evangelism and by caring for the needs of others on a daily basis.

A vision statement is sometimes called a picture of your company or Church for the future, however for us it is much more.

Our vision statement is crafted to be our inspiration and framework along with the Word of God for all of our spiritual and strategic planning.

Lets make the key points practical:

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.." Hebrews 3:12-14 (NIV)

Hebrews 3 instructs us to remain in one another’s lives. That is, to be a committed disciple means you will have deep spiritual relationships with fellow members that will help you stay on the path of following Jesus. Every disciple of Jesus is expected to not only resist Satan’s temptation in their own life, but are called to encourage their brothers and sisters to do the same.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebews 10:25 (NIV)

This passage teaches that we must be committed to the body of Christ (His Church). To use the analogy of a family, whenever the family comes together for dinner, everyone in the home would naturally be expected to take their place at the table. In the same way whenever the body is called together whether for Sunday services or mid-week or another occasion, it is expected that every member of the TGHC make every effort to attend.

John 13:34-35 and John 15:13-17

"A new command I give you Love one another.  As I have loved you so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.  This is my command: Love each other. John 15:13-17 (NIV)

Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another in the same way that he shows his love to us. It is our Lord’s expectation for his followers that they could be identified by their deep and sacrificial love for one another. While we are not called to actually physically die for our brothers and sisters, we are expected to sacrificially live for each other. Lives of service to one another are to be the 'norm' not the exception among disciples of Jesus.

Discipleship – “Disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Jesus always spoke of his followers as "disciples" and so we use the same terminology today. What did Jesus expect of his disciples? Again, we will limit ourselves to two key passages: Luke 9:23-26 and Luke 14:25-33.

Then he said to them all: “ If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25-33 (NIV)

A definition of selfishness is: the act of placing one’s own needs or desires above the needs or desires of others. So, what is a life of self-denial? According to these passages, we must be willing to die to ourselves on a daily basis and make Jesus the Lord of every part of our lives.

Evangelism – Telling others about Jesus was something his first disciples could not stop themselves from doing (Act 5: 29). Even when ordered to stop speaking about Jesus, and threatened with beatings and imprisonment; his disciples replied that they could not stop spreading the good news. When Jesus healed the man who had been demon possessed (Mark 5:18-20) his command to him was to go tell everyone about how much God had done for him. Jesus has the same expectation for us today. In fact, he commanded his disciples to be evangelistic until the very end of time (Matt 28:18-20). We who have been healed from the corruption of sin’s deceitfulness should feel compelled from within to share what God has done for us.

"Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!" Acts 5:29 (NIV)

"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed." Mark 5:18-20 (NIV)

Caring for the needs of others – The gospel accounts of the life of Jesus are filled with the stories of how he reached out to touch, help and heal the lives of those around him. We believe that James 1:27 encapsulates how we are to imitate our Lord. Therefore we are committed through our various ministries and HOPE WORLDWIDE to do our very best to help those in our own fellowship as well as those in our surrounding communities.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 (NIV)

We as a Church by no means have arrived, but we are excited about the journey that we are on and invite you to joins us. Thank You for your Love, Prayers and continued support!

The Elders, Core Leadership Team, and Ministry Staff of The Greater Houston Church.