Welcome
We look forward to celebrating Jesus our Savior and Lord this Sunday with you.
We're here to help you get connected with Christ in a community of grace and truth.
An inter-generational family church where you can flourish.
we are on mission with king jesus
Being with Him...Becoming like Him...Joining what He's doing.
<>< A gospel-centered church in Ottawa, Kansas, USA
<>< Focused on historical Christianity as our essentials
<>< Depth of theology in contemporary music
<>< Community-minded and engaged
<>< Prayerful & easily edified
God-Glorifying Preaching
Hear expositional teaching straight from the Scriptures as we seek to magnify Christ and be most satisfied in Him. We call it, "Big God Preaching!"
Christ-Centered Family
We’re not meant to live out our faith alone. Get plugged into one of our community groups and deepen your relationship with our Blessed Trinity.
Spirit-Empowered Formation
Be spiritually transformed in Christ through every stage of life you’re in, and join in our mission to reach the world with the gospel--starting right here at home.
Why OCC?
Since its founding in 1892, and previously being planted in Forest Park in 1865, OCC has been a community in Ottawa Kansas that desires to search the Scriptures and connect people to Jesus. We are continuing such a rich gospel legacy one life at a time--to the glory of God.
"I felt welcome as a visitor." --Scott B.
"I love this church" --Joe S.
"Best church family ever." --Cindy J.
"Bible believers and very friendly group of people" --Frank L.
"Excellent Church, Pastor and People!!! Love, Love this place!!" --AlwaysNursing1
"I love to worship God With great people" --Deezy D.
Our Local Distinctives
The Father is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Christ.
What makes OCC theologically distinct from other churches in town is the faith and practice of its people.
We live out these distinctives in the Way of Jesus across Church history:
Confession: we are turning from rebellion against God to trusting Him always more fully through repentance in our ordinances and ongoing lifestyles of penance in thankfulness.
Consensus: we are shaped by patterns of Church agreement over the centuries—historically informed—through Bible interpretation in creeds, confessions, etc.
Compatibility: we are embracing divine election and human responsibility, elevating God’s will in all things, and are convinced that our choices shape the future.
Continuance: we are open and eager for God’s supernatural working as members of one Body, pursuing spiritual vibrancy, taking part as unique and necessary parts of the whole.
Constance: we are driven by the two-fold love of God and neighbor in a way people know we belong to the Father in Christ, convinced of the perseverance of the saints—those holy ones who truly belong to God—will continue in the faith forever.
Complimentary: we are not arrogantly insecure but humbly confident in who God made us as individuals and as a congregation here in Ottawa—distinct and equally important in gender roles, in the workplace and home, among local churches, and across the globe.
Communal: we are a gathering of born-again and gospel-saturated believers from all backgrounds on mission to proclaim Jesus to every nation, tribe, peoples, and language for the fullness of their joy and completion of the Great Commission.
If you'd like to know more:
We recognize the Word of God as the only divine standard of faith and practice and is our final authority in all matters of life and conduct on which it speaks (Ps 119:105; Gal 1:6–16; 2 Tim 4:1–5).
We also humbly admit that where differences of biblical interpretation exist, we leave room for theological opinion. Where the Scriptures are clear, so we intend to be.
Some of our governing religious values include, but are not limited to life, salvation, and family:
We celebrate the sanctity of human life in the image of God—His unique design
of human gender in divine likeness—from conception and the spiritual
rebirth of all who place their faith in Christ and are regenerate of the Holy
Spirit. Consequently, we are a safe place for all to find healing in Jesus’
name.
We celebrate salvation as given by God’s saving grace through repentance of sins
and baptism in Jesus’ name for the gift of the Holy Spirit, everyone whom
the Lord our God calls to Himself.
We celebrate marriage as a divine union between one man and one woman as
described in Scripture in fulfillment of the creation mandate to be fruitful
and multiply on earth. We covenant together to glorify the God of Christian
Scriptures by enjoying Him now and forever.
We are growing in grace together.
Our Beliefs
Our Doctrinal Commitments
The foundation of this church is the Lord Jesus Christ. We adhere to ecumenical creeds and universal confessions only insofar as they are derived from the Christian Scriptures.
I. The Father
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all
things visible and invisible.
II. The Son
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father; through Him all things were made. For each of us and for our salvation He came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
III. The Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
IV. The Church
We believe in one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic (united) Church. We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. (381 AD)
V. The Trinity
We worship one God in Trinity and in Unity—His glorious works are one.
The Scriptures teach the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty. So, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God worshiped and glorified forever. (633 AD)
VI. The Christ
We worship one preeminent Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—perfect in divinity and humanity—uniting in Himself two distinct natures and wills, without confusion, division, or separation. He was like us in all respects, only without sin.
VII. The Scriptures
We adhere to the spoken and written Word of God (Genesis through Revelation) as the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience to God; to reveal Himself, and to declare His will in glory unto His Church.
VIII. The Salvation
We teach that every person is born in sin through their own disobedience (inherited from the sinful nature of the first humans) and are saved from eternal condemnation only by the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus applied by faith alone as a work of God alone.
IX. The King
Finally, we know that Jesus reigns as King in heaven both now and forever, and we will reign with him in glory forever if we have been buried with him in baptism and raised to newness of life in his resurrection to final judgment—the ultimate joy with eternal pleasures for every person made righteous in Christ and ultimate loss with eternal destruction for the lawless and wicked who choose to reject our Lord and King.
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Our Practices
Our Church Covenant
Having been led by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior; and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, most solemnly and joyfully enter covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church, in knowledge, holiness and comfort, to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, disciples and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry; the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to educate our children in the truths of God’s Word; to walk circumspectly before the world; and to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, exemplary in our deportment, and zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; and to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and being mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure that reconciliation without delay.
If we move away, we will unite with some other church as soon as possible, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant, and the principles of God's Word. (1853 AD)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb 13:20-21 ESV)
Our Sacramental Ordinances
We recognize Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as scriptural ordinances, also referred to by some as “sacraments.”
We believe baptism by immersion is an integral and vital step of obedience according to Scriptures (e.g., Acts 2:38) for all who repent and are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Baptism is an outward and temporal symbol of an inward and eternal reality (1 Pet 3:21). The real work of baptism Jesus promised is indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11; Rom 5). We recognize former baptisms for church membership so long as the individual can demonstrate it was in accord with the Scriptures. We encourage children to be baptized when they have evidenced the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23), particularly in sharing their faith with others.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is for eternal life in the way Jesus describes (e.g., John 6:22–58 and 13:1–20). Eating and drinking does not justify a person, but encourages a spiritual hunger to partake in and proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ until He returns (1 Cor 11:17–34). As baptism by immersion is for the professing believer, so the bread and the cup are for remembrance and the ongoing spiritual health of a follower of Jesus. Therefore, it seems unfitting for an un-baptized person to take of this corporate communion.
We do, also, recognize other historical ministries of the Church which are sacramental in nature:
1) Discipleship to Jesus (confirmation)
2) Appointing leaders (elders and deacons)
3) Marriage (union of one man and one woman)
4) Confession of sin (penance)
5) Anointing of the sick (unction)