Walking into a church can be scary. We've all been there. We do hope, though, that you will feel warm and welcomed if you stop by to worship with us on a Sunday morning. Usually, visitors can expect to encounter the following things in one form or another:
PEOPLE
We are a people of varying interests, classes, races and politics that don't matter -- what brings us together is the need for Jesus Christ. You will see people in starched shirts as well as people with tattoos and jeans. You will see retirees chatting it up with young parents -- its how the Kingdom of God looks.
LITURGY
We sing old hymns and Spirit-welcoming songs. We like to pray old prayers, recite creeds and sometimes we do things that might not make a lot of sense if you haven't been to a liturgical church before. Don't worry, we don't mean to make visitors feel alienated -- we are just doing the work of worship together. You are welcome to just come, sit and observe if you are comfortable that way. Please feel free to ask questions. All baptized followers of Jesus are welcome to take communion with us.
LIFE-CHANGING COMMUNITY
“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10); “Bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). Based on Jesus’ example of community with His disciples, we believe that faith is best nurtured in relationships with other followers of Jesus. Therefore, we seek to develop relationships with one another wherein we may model the life of faith; give and receive forgiveness, encouragement and support; hold one another accountable; and bear each other’s burdens in the Lord.
KIDS
We are an intergenerational church. Crying babies are welcome to stay for the whole service, though we do invite them to the nursery if you'd like.
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OUR VISION
Immanuel seeks to glorify God by:
Blessing people with Gospel ministries that they may Believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior and join us in Building His Kingdom.
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WHY ANGLICAN?
Immanuel Anglican Church is affiliated with the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), and Anglican Society of Mission & Apostolic Works. We support the AMiA's mission to raise up, release and support three-stream Anglican leaders, planters and communities of faith to reach the lost for Jesus Christ in the United States. To learn more visit theamia.org
Today there are four essential elements of Anglicanism, as stated by the Lambeth Conference of Bishops in 1888:
1. Our faith is centered on God’s gracious and redemptive work in Jesus Christ and summarized in the creeds, particularly the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
2. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that it has unique authority in our lives. It holds all things necessary for salvation (2 Timothy 3:16), and is the rule and ultimate standard of faith. As Biblically-faithful Anglicans, our churches teach the whole Bible and how it applies to our daily lives. We believe that God’s love for the whole world, expressed in Jesus Christ, is Good News that we are called to share with everyone.
3. We believe that Christ ordained the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Anglicans also recognize and use five additional historical sacramental rites, namely: Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination (of bishops, priests and deacons), Reconciliation and Unction (anointing with oil for healing)
4. The church is under the governance of the historic Episcopate. Our historical roots go back a long way with bishops in historic succession to the very earliest days of Christianity. The role of bishops is to provide pastoral and spiritual oversight and to ensure faithfulness to the Scriptures in the church of God.
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Immanuel is located at 250 Indian Bayou Trail in Destin, Florida