We love the Lord Jesus Who We Are
We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have personally received Him as our Savior. He is the most excellent and enjoyable Person. We love Him and endeavor to give Him the first place in all things. We rejoice to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, partake of the divine life, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be brought into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
“We hold the faith which is common to all believers.”
Titus 1:4; Jude 1:3
Our Faith
- The Bible is the complete divine revelation inspired word-by-word by God through the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16).
- God is uniquely one, yet triune — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (1 Timothy 2:5a; Matthew 28:19).
- The Son of God, who is God Himself, was incarnated to be a man by the name of Jesus Christ (John 1:1; John 1:14).
- Christ died on the cross for our sins, shedding His blood for our redemption (1 Peter 2:24;Ephesians 1:7a).
- Christ resurrected from among the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4).
- Christ ascended to the right hand of God to be Lord of all (Acts 1:9; Acts 2:33; Acts 2:36).
- Whenever a person repents to God and believes into the Lord Jesus Christ, he is forgiven of his sins, regenerated (born again) and becomes a living member of the Body of Christ, the church (Acts 20:21; John 3:3; Ephesians 1:22-23; Romans 12:5).
- Christ is coming again as the Bridegroom for the Bride, which is the church, who has made herself ready (1 Thessalonians 2:19, Ephesians 5:27, Revelation 19:7).
Our Name
The church in Dallas isn’t our name – it’s our description. As such, it’s an inclusive title, not an exclusive one. We gather together simply as believers of the Lord in this city. The first use of the word “church” in Acts refers to the believers in Jerusalem as simply “the whole church” (Acts 5:11), meaning the called out (congregation), or assembly (in Greek, “ekklesia”).
In Acts 8:1, they were referred to as “the church which was in Jerusalem.” This is the first church established in the Bible in Acts and it included all the believers living in Jerusalem. The record concerning the establishment of the church in its locality is consistent throughout the New Testament (Acts 13:1; 14:23).
“Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”
Acts 13:1
Our History
In the spring of 1971, a small group of Christians living in Dallas, who were reading the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, saw that according to the Lord’s desire as expressed through His Word, Christians should meet as the church in the city in which they reside. Based on this light, they contacted friends who were meeting as the church in Houston and visited them. After a period of fellowship, the Lord gave seven believers who were meeting in Houston the desire to move to Dallas to assist those in Dallas to meet as the church. The church in Dallas officially began meeting in June of 1971.
By the end of October, the number had increased to thirty-seven. Many of those meeting had moved from Houston but were originally from the Dallas area. To them, it was returning home to care for the Lord’s burden in His Word. In January of 1972, the church purchased a parcel of land on Gus Thomason Road in Dallas and met there for many years.
During the next several years, the church in Dallas enjoyed a significant increase through gospel preaching, the ministry of the Word, and the shepherding care given to one another in the Lord. A number were stirred up by the Lord to move to other cities in the region. Thus, the church in Dallas was able to help others to meet as they did – simply as believers or the church in the city in which they lived. The churches in Arlington, Denton, Fort Worth, Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Irving, Duncanville, and McKinney, as well as small meetings in other cities both in the United States and abroad were strengthened and encouraged as a result.
In 1999, the church secured another parcel of land near the intersection of IH 635 (LBJ Freeway) and Coit Road. This move from Gus Thomason Road gave all those meeting easier access to the meeting facility from wherever they lived. By caring for the demographic needs of the brothers and sisters in Christ, the church enjoyed the Lord’s blessing and increased both in fellowship and in numbers.
“In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church.”
Ephesians 3:10
OUR CHURCH LIFEHome Meetings
Opening our home to spend quality time with new believers has been a great experience as it refreshes all, this is what the first Christians did, this is what a normal Christian life looks like according to Acts 2:46.
—The Zarates