Our Vision
Listen to audio of our vision given by Doug Cook
We are devoted to the unity of the body of believers in the City of Houston, Texas. There is only one true church in every city. We may meet in different buildings or homes, but we will work together, functioning as one body with each of us fulfilling our predestined roles. God has begun the work of restoring believers in each city, not only to our other brothers and sisters in the Lord, but back to our Hebrew roots as well (Romans 11). Genuine God ordained apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers will operate throughout our one citywide church working side by side "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" in these last days. This is the foundation the Church of Houston is built on.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses specific issues related to the churches in seven cities through the apostle John's writing. The apostle Paul wrote most of his epistles to churches in each city. Throughout the New Testament, when the phrase "The church of ..." is used, it almost always addresses a group that encompasses the whole city, not a gathering of a denomination of Christians within the city. The only time a group of believers is mentioned that is smaller than a city church is when Paul mentions the church in the home of Prisca and Aquila and the home church of Philemon. The bible has not changed, so why don't we still have city churches made up of house church groups without denominational fences?
The denominational church of Paul, or Apollos, or Chephas is never mentioned except to condemn the church of Corinth for trying to divide themselves into different partitions as followers of men. For this reason, we believe the walls created by different sects (denominations and non-denominational denominations) are going to fall among Gods true children in every city. These divisive partitions, created by man, were never meant to be part of the fellowship of believers in any country. Likewise, the "churches" built around one-man autocratic leaders will spiritually fall as well. There will be many of these sects and one-man shows that will not be able to submit to Gods direction, and we will see many of them still functioning in their religion after the city churches are well established. But those leaders that refuse to submit to Gods direction will become part of the apostate, end-times church that will be in the group with the prophesied great falling away of believers. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." As it was in Jesus time with the apostate scribes and Pharisees in their established pious practices, so will it be in these last days with the religious pastors in their apostate denominations.
Our Vision and fervent prayer is that the pride be broken, the veil lifted from the eyes of the blind religious leaders and the true remnant bride within the City Church of Houston become "fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love become one with each other. "
The Church of Houston is awakening and will be a beacon of light to this City and this country.
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