GOSPEL

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

The word gospel is made of two words; Good + News. The word NEWS is an English language word which is constituted by bringing together the initials for four directions of our World: N (NORTH), E (EAST), W (WEST) and S (SOUTH). This gospel is necessary for the people living in all the directions of this world. The word good indicates that it is virtuous news and is related to the salvation of all mankind and is found only in the Bible. The entire Bible mainly describes in detail three things: Human creation; Human fall & Human redemption and the Gospel effects and describes these three things.

Gospel is not conversion from a religion but it is the entire NEWS for life (Acts 5:20), it is the source for Human life conversion (Acts 15:3). This Gospel is entirely based on Jesus Christ. After Human creation – human being fell in sin and soon after the fall God Himself gave it in the Garden of Eden.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[e] and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This statement from God has the secret to Gospel and is given to entire humanity, which is the cure for the serious disease “Sin” of all mankind:-

• Salvation: Is God’s work
• Salvation: will destroy the devil
• Salvation: will reach all human races
• Salvation: will come through a mediator
• Salvation: will be attached to the one who gets redemption in agony
• Salvation: will be experienced in entire history

This is why Jesus Christ himself said “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Therefore as per the Holy Scripture the Bible, Gospel can be described as follows:

That, all human beings are sinful and because of this sin they are separated from God, they are far away and have gone astray: but our Lord Jesus took the human body and came into this world, himself died on the cross to redeem us from this human sin, was buried, rose again and is now seated in Heaven. So whoever believes in this Jesus may gain salvation (eternal life); because Jesus is coming back again to judge all human beings.

Therefore the Gospel based on God’s Holy Scripture, the Bible is related to and is necessary for, redemption from sin, a new life, to re-establish the distortion in life with God and for the future hope in Jesus Christ because of Jesus Christ. This is why it is special and necessary for all. (Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9,10)

WHO WE ARE

Who Zion Is

We are an evangelical church, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles found in the Bible. We are a group of professing baptized believers in Jesus Christ. We have covenanted together to live our Christian lives in the context of the local church (in Zion Church, Lucknow). We exist to worship God, to encourage one another to live faithful Christian lives, to hold one another accountable in the Christian walk, and to be a witness in our families, neighbourhoods and workplaces. We are people from different sections of society, castes, languages, economic and cultural backgrounds, and yet we are one body in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leadership

ROLLY SINGH

He is the senior founding pastor of Zion and provides leadership to the group of elders. He has been in full time church ministry ever since he resigned from his government job with H.A.L. and started Zion Church in Barabanki in 1979. He is a pioneer church planting trainer in North India – having organized informal training of church planters since the 1980s. His own
personal study of the Bible is very deep – something which is evident from his preaching and the numerous study materials that he has prepared on various topics and books of the Bible.

HISTORY

The Story of Zion

Zion started in 1979, when Uncle Rolly and Aunty Salomi resigned from their jobs to move from Lucknow to Barabanki to plant a church. The Lord blessed their efforts and a small fellowship was established which grew over the years until it eventually had its own building in the 1990s. From this church fellowship many young men were trained for ministry and sent out as gospel workers. Several churches were planted in this region because of the ministry of Zion

The church in Lucknow began in September 2008 with Uncle Rolly as the main teaching Pastor. The desire was to continue the same vision to train men for church ministry and to see the Gospel grow. To begin with there were about 15 people attending the service. We have seen gradual growth numerically, and people are being strengthened in the knowledge of the Word.

Since 2008 we’ve had several young men come as resident students who are trained in Scripture informally but are also able to pursue their secular education. At any given time there are usually between 10-15 young men as resident students who are being prepared for gospel work in the context of the local church for the coming years. In 2013-2014 the church had its first batch of pastoral interns.

In our desire to move towards plurality of leadership, additional elders were officially installed in September 2014. The current elders of the church are Uncle Rolly, Brother.Shekhar, Brother.Joshi

STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe:

• That the 66 books of the Holy Bible is wholly and uniquely inspired Word of God and is the only infallible, sufficient and authoritative rule of faith and practice for followers of Christ.
• In one God who is eternally co-existent in three distinct persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his sinless life, vicarious death on the cross and atonement through his shed blood, his bodily resurrection, his ascension, his mediatorial intercession and his personal return in power and glory.
• That he is the only Saviour of mankind and only through him can the sinful man be saved and come to be in a relationship with the one true God.
• That salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ only. It is not by our works.
• That the salvation of the lost and sinful man is through regeneration by the work of the Holy Spirit.
• In the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who enables the believer to live a godly life according to the scripture.
• That the Holy Spirit imparts various spiritual gifts to various individuals in the church according to his wish for the common good and growth of the church.
• That baptism does not save us but it is the outward evidence of the inward work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.
• In the spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ who are part of The Universal Church, The Body of Christ.
• The resurrection of both the saved and the lost–they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection for eternal damnation.
• We believe in the return of Jesus Christ who will come in his glory to judge the living and the dead

CHURCH COVENANT

Having been brought by God’s grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we now, in dependence upon His Spirit, resolve to live by faith, and so establish this covenant with each other that:

• We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).
• We will be devoted to one another in brotherly love. With humility and gentleness we will patiently bear with each other, forgiving, encouraging and building one another up, exercising watchfulness over each other and admonishing one another when necessary (Luke 17:3, Col 3:13, 1 Thess 5:11, 1 Pet 1:22).
• We will not neglect to gather together, or to pray for ourselves and others (Col 4:2, Heb 10:25).
• We promise to bring up our children and youth in the training and instruction of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends (Eph 6:4, 1 Pet 3:1).
• We will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, helping to carry each other’s burdens (Rom 12:15).
• We will seek by God’s help to live carefully in this world, denying ungodliness and worldly passions. We will strive to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, as we wait for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12; 1 Pet 1:14).
• We will defend and maintain an evangelical ministry in this church by supporting and upholding: The preaching of the Word of God (2 Tim 4:2), the administration of the Gospel Sacraments-baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38, 1 Cor 11:26), and the exercise of Church discipline (Matt 18:17, 1 Cor 5:13).
• We will contribute cheerfully, generously and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations. (Matt 28:19; Luke 12:33; 2 Cor 9:7)
• We will, when we move from this place, as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
• May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)