Vision

A New Church
With Deep Roots

Resurrection Church is new, but our aim is not novelty. Just like our sending church, Desert Springs, we want to plant a church with deep roots—roots in Scripture, nourished by the wisdom of the historic church, bearing the fruit of faithful preaching, beautiful worship, meaningful discipleship, and a deep love for Christ, one another, and the world.

We want to see the gospel take root in the neighborhoods and families of West Albuquerque through the ordinary means Christ has given to his church: the Word preached, prayers offered, songs sung, ordinances received, saints equipped, burdens borne, tables opened, and neighbors loved.

Why Plant Churches?

The New Testament pattern is not merely the conversion of isolated individuals, but the gathering of believers into local churches. Churches preach the Word, administer the ordinances, shepherd souls, train disciples, care for members, and send the gospel to the nations.

That means Church planting is one of the central ways the Great Commission advances.

Why West Albuquerque?

Albuquerque has grown substantially west of the Rio Grande, and many of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in our region are now on the west side and in nearby Rio Rancho.

Our church-planting efforts have not kept pace with that growth.

Desert Springs already has members living, working, raising families, building friendships, and sharing the gospel in these communities. We want to establish another healthy local church closer to these neighborhoods—a church that will faithfully preach the Bible, make disciples, love its neighbors, and proclaim Christ for generations to come.

Our prayer is that Resurrection Church would become one more faithful outpost of gospel ministry in West Albuquerque.

Why Resurrection?

n Philippians 3:10, Paul describes his great ambition: “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection.”

That captures what we want Resurrection Church to be about.

We want to know Christ—not merely to know things about him, but to know him deeply and personally through his Word. We want to make him known so that people who are dead in sin might hear the gospel and be raised to new life. And we want to live together in the new life that belongs to everyone who has been united to the risen Christ.

That is why our mission is:

To know Christ, make him known, and live in the power of his resurrection.

Our Life Together

Our mission is to know Christ, make him known, and live in the power of his resurrection.

These Seven Core Values describe the kind of church we hope to become as we pursue that mission together.

  • We want to be rooted above all in God’s Word. Scripture will shape our doctrine, worship, discipleship, and life together, and our ordinary preaching will consist of expositional preaching through books of the Bible.

    We also want to be rooted in the historic Christian faith. Resurrection Church will use one shared Statement of Faith for members and elders, based on the historic Abstract of Principles and standing in continuity with the great Protestant and Baptist confessional tradition.

  • The Sunday gathering will be the heartbeat of our life together.

    We will gather to hear the Word preached, sing the Word, pray according to the Word, and see the Word displayed in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We intend to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and to make thoughtful use of historic Christian practices such as calls to worship, corporate Scripture readings, confession, creeds, prayer, and benediction.

    We want our worship to be reverent, joyful, participatory, and beautiful.

  • We want Resurrection Church to have an intentional culture of discipleship in which ordinary Christians help other ordinary Christians follow Jesus.

    Discipleship happens through preaching and teaching, but also through Scripture read together, prayer, friendship, hospitality, confession, encouragement, correction, and shared life. We want every member growing toward maturity and learning to help others grow as well.

    This will also shape our ministry to children and youth. Parents bear primary responsibility for discipling their children, and the church will work to equip and support them while surrounding younger believers with mature Christians who know them, pray for them, welcome them into their lives, and point them toward Christ.

  • Church membership means taking responsibility for one another.

    We want members to be known, shepherded, prayed for, encouraged, corrected, and cared for through the ordinary relationships of church life. Our elders will give themselves to shepherding the church, while deacons and members carry substantial responsibility for meeting needs and organizing ministry.

    Resurrection Church intends to recognize qualified men and women as deacons, while reserving the office of elder or pastor for qualified men.

  • Because God has welcomed us in Christ, we want to become a church marked by warmth, generosity, hospitality, and genuine friendship.

    That welcome should begin on Sunday and extend into our homes and lives. We want to notice the newcomer, the lonely person, the new Christian, and the unbeliever—and gladly make room for them.

    Our Community Groups will reflect this priority by being open, outward-facing communities where Christians share life together in ways that make it natural to welcome neighbors, friends, and visitors.

  • We gather each week so that we can be sent back into the world as Christ’s witnesses.

    We want every member increasingly equipped to explain the gospel naturally and clearly, pray for unbelievers by name, practice hospitality, and look for opportunities to make Christ known.

    Our hope is not merely that Resurrection Church would grow through Christians transferring from other churches. We long to see conversions, baptisms, disciples made, leaders raised up, missionaries sent, and—Lord willing—more healthy churches planted.

    Because of this commitment to accessibility in evangelism and discipleship, Resurrection Church plans to use the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) as its primary translation in public preaching and teaching.

  • We depend on God to do what only he can do.

    No amount of planning, skill, money, or strategy can produce spiritual life. Salvation, sanctification, wisdom, unity, and lasting fruit come from the Lord.

    So we want prayer to permeate the life of Resurrection Church—in gathered worship, Community Groups, families, friendships, and private devotion—as we ask God to build his church and spread the gospel.