Welcome to
CONTENTS 4 Mission & Vision 6 WEEKLY GATHERINGS 7 missional communities 8 LOCAL & GLOBAL MISSIONS 10 ministries 14 Our story 15 GET PLUGGED IN
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A NOTE FROM GREG
Welcome! We’re so glad that you’ve decided to check out Bay Area Community Church. We’re a family of believers in Jesus who are excited about the journey we’re all on with Him. Whether you’re uncertain about the person of Christ, unsure about your own commitment to Him or already a passionate follower of Jesus, we invite you to be part of our family. As a church, we are striving to become the kind of people that reflect Jesus. We value authentic relationships, relevant Biblical teaching, passionate worship and compassionate concern for our neighbors and the world at large. We believe that Jesus truly is God's Son through whom we can experience forgiveness of our sins and be restored to a right relationship with God, who loves us deeply and has a unique purpose for each one of us. We believe that Jesus is Lord, and we are focused on telling others about Him as we grow in our relationships with Him. We hope this Visitor’s Guide helps paint a picture of who we are as a church, what we believe, and how we live out our faith in Jesus. From here to the nations,
Greg St. Cyr Lead Pastor
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OUR MISSION
making passionate, maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations 4
AND JESUS CAME AND SAID TO THEM, “ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME. GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. AND BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE END OF THE AGE.” MATTHEW 28:18-20
OUR VISION
Every One A Missionary HOW WE LIVE There are five things we desire for every follower of Jesus who calls Bay Area home to do:
Connect in Community JESUS SAID TO THEM AGAIN, “PEACE BE WITH YOU. AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, EVEN SO I AM SENDING YOU.” JOHN 20:21
Serve Like Jesus Go on a mission trip Share the Gospel worship together 5
WEEKLY GATHERINGS When we gather corporately at Bay Area, we focus on six main New Testament commands:
Preaching God’s Word 2 Timothy 4:2 Prayer 1 Timothy 2:1 Singing and music Colossians 3:16 Reading Scripture 1 Timothy 4:13 Financial giving 2 Corinthians 8-9 Baptism and Communion Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Our gatherings take place in two distinct yet unified worship environments: passionate but reverent worship defines the Auditorium, while our Chapel offers a softer, more contemplative atmosphere. Each week, we examine Scripture to become equipped as a church family to receive God’s truth and respond by making Him known from here to the nations. It’s our prayer that all who sit under the authority of God’s Word would be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, taking one step closer to Jesus.
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MISSIONAL COMMUNITies God didn’t design us to live in isolation or walk in our faith alone. He created us to grow in Him through living in relationship with others who are also focused on Jesus. WE BELIEVE THAT SPIRITUAL GROWTH HAPPENS BEST IN COMMUNITY. Our primary avenue for adult discipleship is found in Missional Communities. These groups span every age and stage of life, and manifest as communities of people doing life together as extended family who do three things:
love God back (UP) love each other (IN) love their neighbors (OUT) Through these three focuses of UP, IN and OUT, we believe that every person who connects in an MC is able to mature in their faith and become more like Jesus. At Bay Area, we believe that every one is a missionary, and involvement in an MC provides great opportunities to live our lives on mission together in community.
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LOCAL & GLOBAL MISSIONS
From HERE... As a missional church, Bay Area is committed to blessing our neighbors in Annapolis and surrounding communities. We’re privileged to partner with and support nearly 20 local organizations and missionaries. Every year, we provide numerous opportunities for our church family to share God’s love through engaging in community outreach, including donating to Christmas gift and school supply drives. We’re also committed to seeing gospel-centered churches planted throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond through our church planting organization, the SENT Network. Launched in 2012, SENT has equipped 12 pastors to plant churches in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia as of 2017, with several more planters in the pipeline.
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SENT network church plants Downtown Hope The Well Community Church Allelon Community Church Renovate Life Church Arise RVA REDEMPTION CITY BALTIMORE Redemption City Church
Four Corners Ethiopian Evangelical Church Veritas City Church Redeemer City Church Kings Church Portico Downtown Portico Arlington
...TO THE NATIONS
OUR GLOBAL MISSIONS PARTNERS APPALACHIA BELIZE El Salvador Poland Ghana
South Sudan Uganda India Southeast Asia russia
It’s our mission to make passionate, maturing followers of Jesus not just here in Annapolis, but across the nations. As members of a global family of believers, we do this in two primary ways: by supporting numerous missionaries and ministries around the world, and by becoming missionaries ourselves by going on, praying for and financially supporting short term mission teams. Each year, many members of our church family become ambassadors of Jesus in Poland, El Salvador, India, Uganda, Southeast Asia, Ghana, Belize and South Sudan. We are also blessed to lock arms with missionaries living in those same countries by supporting their ministries financially and in prayer. God is on the move around the world, and we are grateful to partner with these missionaries in fulfilling our vision of seeing the nations reached.
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Children’s ministry
Our goal in Children’s Ministry is to partner with parents to be another spiritual influence in the lives of their children.
It’s our prayer that when every child leaves Children’s Ministry, they will know that God loves them, they can trust Him no matter what, and Jesus wants to be their friend forever.
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BIRTH - AGE 2
AGES 3-5
K - FIFTH GRADE
pictured: Summer Jam
We believe discipleship starts at birth. From newborns to fifth-graders, our Children’s Ministry teaches children to love God by helping them understand how they are a part of His bigger picture through interactive Biblical learning, worship, prayer and smallgroup relationships. Every weekend, the staff and hundreds of volunteers who facilitate Children’s Ministry strive to help each child deepen their understanding of their faith and help them live it out.
STUDENT MINISTRY We encourage every student to develop a personal relationship with God through Jesus, and strive to equip them to impact their spheres of influence. Building on the foundation of God’s love laid in Children’s Ministry, Bay Area’s Student Ministry is focused on helping sixth-graders through collegeage young adults do one thing:
pictured: Big Beach Weekend
Develop such passion for Jesus and compassion for others that they don’t graduate from their faith when they graduate from our ministry. From all-nighters to scavenger hunts, beach weeks to winter retreats, our students have fun all year long. Most importantly, they are able to grow deep in their faith through real-world teaching, passionate worship, relational activities, outreach opportunities and invested leaders.
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women’s ministry
In Women’s Ministry, women experience life-changing encounters with Jesus through spiritual growth, special events and serving others in need. The Well (Biblical studies facilitated through large-group teaching and smallgroup community), new believers’ Bible studies, retreats and workshops all provide opportunities for women of every age to mature in their spiritual journeys with one another. Whether you’re exploring who Jesus is or a growing disciple, it’s our prayer that every woman who participates in Women’s Ministry would be grounded in community and equipped to become more like Jesus.
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care network
It’s our hope that no one at Bay Area would ever go through a difficult experience alone.
Established to serve as a bridge to hope and healing, our Care Network exists to come alongside people experiencing the loss of a loved one, serious illness, divorce, discouragement, job loss, loneliness, parenting struggles, addiction, spiritual crisis and many other challenges. Through this free, confidential ministry, those in need of help are connected to care coaches, financial assistance, Christian counseling, Missional Communities and other resources.
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our STORY
Our story extends beyond our walls. In 1986, Grace Fellowship Church in Timonium had a vision to plant new churches. Fourteen followers of Jesus began to meet and pray in the Annapolis area, and Bay Area was founded in 1987. Twenty-five people began gathering at a school in Severna Park, worshipping and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. God added to our community, and we moved to larger spaces three times over the following seven years. By the turn of the century, nearly 500 people gathered at Bay Area each Sunday. In 2004, construction began on our permanent home at 884 Chesterfield Road in Annapolis. We broke ground again in 2014 to add a chapel and children’s wing as continued growth indicated we needed to make room for people. In 2009, we commissioned a team from within our church family to plant Downtown Hope in Historic Annapolis. Three years later, the SENT Network was launched to equip leaders to make disciples and plant churches throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. In 2016, we became a multisite church with the launch of our first multisite campus, Bay Area Easton. Today, Bay Area remains committed to making passionate, maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations. By God’s grace, we can be found doing so in Annapolis, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, in Missional Communities throughout the area, in several church plants around the region, and on five continents where we partner with global missionaries.
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GET PLUGGED IN
We’re so glad that you’ve decided to check us out! Want to learn more about Bay Area and how to get involved? Join us at First Step, a fun, one-hour gathering where you’ll learn about who we are, what we believe and what your next steps are to get plugged into serving and community at Bay Area. Learn more and register for our next event online at bayareacc.org/firststep.
Questions? email INFO@bayareacc.org 15
884 Chesterfield Road, Annapolis 21401 | 410-544-2222 | bayareacc.org facebook.com/bayareacc
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@baYAREACC
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