The Vision Behind the Name

Why the NET?
The "Net" represents being fishers of men. It means sharing the Gospel.
Matthew 4:18 – 19, Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

John 21:6 - And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

The "Net" represents immediate obedience.
Matthew 4:20 - Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
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Why COMMUNITY?
We are called to be an authentic Biblical Community.
Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Acts 2:44-47 - And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We are called to reach our Community.
Matthew 22:37-40 - And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

WE feel VERY strongly about the Gospel and our community!

Why plant a NEW CHURCH?

Of the 250,000 Protestant churches in America, 200,000 are either stagnant (with no growth) or declining. That is 80% of the churches in America, an alarming number to say the least. 4,000 churches close their doors every single year. There is less than half of the number of churches today than there were only 100 years ago. 3,500 people leave the church every single day. Since 1950, there are 1/3rd fewer churches in the U.S. (Research provided by Patheos).

The Church Planter is a called individual who seeks to reverse the above trend by bringing new hope and life to areas whom have seen a decline in their local churches.


At Net Community, we have developed a simple statement to recap what was said above:


NEW churches bring NEW hope, NEW hope brings NEW believers, NEW believers bring NEW relationships, NEW relationships bring NEW lives.....

Statement of Faith

• ​God

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2; II Corinthians 13:14; I Corinthians 8:6

• Jesus

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; I Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13

• Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.
II Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18

• The Bible

The Bible is God’s word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error.
II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20,21; II Timothy 1:13; Psalm 12:6, 119:105,106; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 15:4

• People

People are made in the spiritual image of God, meaning to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by disobedience toward God – what the Bible calls “sin." Sin separates people from God and causes many problems in life. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2

• Salvation

Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works, only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6; 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1; I John 4:10

• Eternal security

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and the power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
John 10:28,29; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10,14; I Peter 1:3-5

• Eternity

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; John 14:1-6; Romans 6:23; I Thessalonians 4:14-18; Revelation 20:15; Matthew 25:46; II Thessalonians 1:8-10; I John 5:13

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Our Values
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Our Vision

Our Values

Truth (Know God) – We search the Scriptures to be introduced to God and discover the Truth that sets us free. We desire to couple Truth with grace in hopes that we might also introduce non-believers or re-introduce de-churched believers to this same God. We want to extend truth to a culture and community desperately seeking answers, hope and meaning.

Community (Love Others) – New church communities begin as small groups, just as Jesus modeled with the twelve original Christ-followers (disciples). Small groups are intentional efforts to create an atmosphere conducive for believers and non-believers to grow in their understanding and application of God’s direction in their lives. Small groups help create Biblical community. We value genuine, real, and authentic relationships in what we call Community Groups.

Missional Living (Serve the Community) – We want to live the way of Jesus in front of the audience that God has given us. We love, serve and care for those whom God has “determined” us to be around. Our hope is they see Jesus in us, hear us speak of Him often and ultimately be drawn to a relationship with Him. We extend our lives missionally when we introduce or re-introduce our neighbors, co-workers, family and friends to the great and glorious Good News of Jesus Christ.

Multiplication – The single greatest method to spread the Gospel far and wide is to plant a church. We want to not only see Net Community Church succeed in impacting the Staunton area with the Good News, but also have a hand in helping other new churches do the same thing. Ultimately, we’d love to see many new churches spring out of the Net Community! We desire to be a church that plants churches…that plant churches!

Simplicity – There are so many good things that we can be doing as a church. However, good is the enemy of great. We have decided to focus on the few things that we feel God has called us to in order to reach maximum efficiency and impact in our community. We believe that being good at a lot of things doesn’t compare to being great at the things that are most important. For us, it boils down to meaningful worship experiences, authentic community group environments and great opportunities to serve our community.

Our Vision

Know God. Love Others. Serve the Community.

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