WE BELIEVE THAT GLORIFYING GOD IS THE MANDATE AND CALL OF EVERY BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN, AND CONSEQUENTLY IT IS THE MANDATE AND CALL OF EVERY BIBLICAL CHURCH.

Our vision draws attention to four things that we hope will be true about us. The first is that Restore will be a community, and not an individual. The church is always a group of people.

The second thing we believe is that every person was created to worship. To worship something means that we ascribe ultimate value to it; our choices and our decisions and our thoughts begin to revolve around whatever–or whomever–it is that we worship. Restore is a group of people who are, by their nature, worshipers.

The third we glorify God. The fundamental shift that has happens in the life of the Christian is that instead of ascribing ultimate value to things that are created, whether ourselves, another person, or some thing, our lives now revolve around God and how he has called us to live. It's an internal shift that we can't manufacture, and it's a life-long shift that continues to work itself out every day. As a community of people whose lives now revolve around who God is and who he has called us to be, we try to live in such a way that God receives honor. That's what it means to "glorify".

And the final thing that holds the rest together: the only reason we can do any of this, is because of Jesus Christ. Our own efforts aren't enough. The central defining moment of the entirety of what we know about God takes place when we come to know who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he has accomplished on our behalf. Jesus is the one who builds the church; Jesus is the one who unites the community, the one who gives our worship meaning and value, and allows us to even have a hope of honoring God.

In short, we are a church who is all about Jesus.

These are not just guiding values for the corporate body of Restore, but we believe they are guiding values for the life of every christian. they will be increasingly evident in the life of any church or christian person.

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WORD | Learning about Jesus

We believe that the Bible is the ultimate authority for the church because it is inspired by God to teach us about his plan for salvation. It is not enough to simply acknowledge the Bible as our authority while leaving it on the sidelines during our worship services and our lives. Rather, we believe that everything we do should be centered on Scripture, not for Scripture itself, but because in the pages of Scripture we learn more about our savior Jesus. 

(Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Isaiah 55:10-12; Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:23-25; John 17:17)

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WORSHIP | Responding to Jesus

We believe that the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship him in spirit and truth, and these are the type of worshipers we want to be. Becoming worshipers corporately and individually means that, as we are continually transformed into the likeness, we respond by reflecting Godʼs glory. As image bearers recreated as sons and daughters of God, the only appropriate response is grateful worship of who God is and what he has done for us in Jesus. We want the worship of God to characterize our services and our lifestyles. 

(Ephesians 1:11-14; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 33:1; Psalm 150)

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COMMUNITY | Becoming like Jesus

We believe that we were created to live in fellowship with one another. The Christian life must reflect this reality because it is only in honest community with other people that we help mold and shape one another into the image of God that we were created to be. We believe that it is in community with one another as the gathering body that the image of God, his creativity, and his ultimate glory are most clearly seen. 

(Genesis 2:18; Acts 2:42-45; 1 John 1:7)

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MISSION | Sent by Jesus

We believe that God is at work restoring shalom (peace) and that the church is the evidence of the kingdom of heaven breaking into the world. We believe that we are called to be ambassadors of that restoration, and that we must be living as missionaries in the world pursuing those who are lost and proclaiming the gospel message. We believe that we are to be cultivators of shalom wherever it is needed, and to be agents of peace in a world that is in chaos. To that end, we must know the needs of the community and be aware of their fears so that we can walk with them in love, trusting that the Holy Spirit will soften their hearts and call them to come to Jesus. 

(John 1:14; John 17:15-18; Acts 2:47, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

"And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

We believe that the message of Jesus is really, really good news. It's not just good for us, but it's also good for the people around us. Our mission is to do whatever we can to share that good news with as many people, and in as many ways, as possible. Sometimes that means telling them about Jesus. A lot of the time that means living out our Christian lives in the presence of our neighbors and friends.

We use two words to describe our mission. We want to be a church that has regional INFLUENCE and local IMPACT.

Regional INFLUENCE reminds us that every Christian is a missionary; we are ambassadors. Wherever we go, we are guided by the new way of living that is the kingdom of God. The message of Jesus is good news for our neighborhoods, our workplace, our schools, and wherever else we might find ourselves on a daily basis.

Local IMPACT reminds us that we are not just on individual missions, however; we, as a church, have a corporate mission. And that mission for Restore is to impact the town in which we gather. We want it to be really good news wherever we gather to know that Restore is a part of their community.

Right now we gather in Midland Park every Sunday at 11:00. Our hope is that one day we'll be able to plant churches like Restore in towns all across North Jersey and the Northeast.