MISSION STATEMENT
OUR CORE VALUES
Our Core Values define who we are and what matters the most at Community Family Church. We are passionate about our Core Values—they drive this ministry and guide absolutely everything we do to achieve our mission.
GOD’S WORD
The Bible, God’s Word, alone dictates what we believe and practice. God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit are the foundation for all that we are and do — preaching, teaching, worship, and service. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
EXCELLENCE
Excellence honors God and inspires people. Colossians 3:23-24 “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
GROWTH
God loves us just as we are but too much to leave us that way. Followers of Jesus grow by connecting with God, His Word, and the Holy Spirit; connecting with others; and connecting others with God. 2 Peter 3:18 “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”
FAMILY
God created us for relationship and community. He describes the church as a body, a fellowship, and a family. As we build strong relationships with each other, we give our time, love, spiritual gifts, abilities, and finances to advance the Kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:19-22 “…You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
MISSIONS
We are consumed with a heart of love for our community, the tri-state area, our nation, and the world. Our mission is to serve the spiritually lost, the hurting, and the poor. Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
WHAT WE BELIEVE
- We believe in the Bible as God’s only inspired, inerrant, and authoritative revelation of Himself to man in written form. And it declares His design and plan for mankind. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)
- We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; 1 John 5:7)
- We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1), His virgin birth (Matthew 1:18), His sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), His miracles (Acts 10:38), His vicarious death as the only sacrifice for the sin of the world (1 John 2:2), His bodily resurrection from the dead (Luke 24:39), His ascension to the right hand of God as our intercessor (Hebrews 4:14), and His future return in glory, first to rapture His church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) and second, to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth (Revelation 20:6).
- We believe in the new birth as the only means of receiving eternal life. The new birth involves a cleansing and deliverance from the penalty and power of sin. It is effectuated through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from sin. (John 3:3, 5, 7; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-20)
- We believe in the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an endowment of power for all believers, and the initial physical evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles. (Acts 2:4; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-6; Ephesians 5:18). This baptism results in a deeper expression of spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), a greater growth in Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18), a genuine manifestation of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), and a more effective prayer life (Romans 8:26-27).
- We believe in the process of spiritual development (sanctification) wrought in the believer’s life by the Holy Spirit. The growth involves daily dying to sin and living unto righteousness (Romans 6:1-23), finds expression in a holy life (Hebrews 12:24) and will be culminated at the return of Christ (1 John 3:2).
- We believe in divine healing for the total person–spirit, mind, and body–and that this healing is accomplished in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross and appropriated in the believer’s life through prayer. (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24; James 5:13-15
- We believe in and practice two ordinances: (1) water baptism by immersion after repenting of one’s sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4), and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 11:26).
- We believe the Church has a mission to evangelize all who are lost in sin. We believe “the Church” is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:22; Hebrews 12:23)
- We believe that Christ will return to the earth and rapture His church. At this future moment in time, all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and believers who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
- We believe in the resurrection from the dead, first, the righteous unto eternal life and second, the ungodly unto eternal damnation. (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:4-6; Revelation 20:11-15)
- We believe marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only within the confines of marriage. Because marriage is a covenant between one man, one woman, and God, the church has the responsibility, in its sole discretion, to evaluate the readiness of those seeking to enter into the marriage covenant. The church may decline to solemnize or host a marriage ceremony that is contrary to the church’s beliefs. (Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:1-10; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4)
- We believe that children are a blessing from the Lord. Thus all human life is sacred and worthy of protection from the moment of conception. (Psalm 127; Psalm 139:13-16; Proverbs 24:11-12; Jeremiah 1:4-5)
community family church history
Community Family Church was born in the fall of 1952 when Sister Pansy McKay, an evangelist, came to the home of Jim and Laura Stevens in Latonia Lakes, Kentucky. Weeping and crying, she told of a vision from God of a patch of half-runner beans that needed to be harvested in the Taylor Mill area and requested prayer meetings be held in the home of this couple. Laura began to cry. Although her mother was a Godly woman and she had a Pentecostal background, she knew she could not conduct the prayer meetings in her home. Nevertheless, Sister McKay did not give up. She began holding meetings at various other houses in the area.
By spring of 1953, the meetings were being held at the home of Dewey Sizemore, Pastor Bates’ grandfather. The glory of the Lord began to fill that humble home and revival broke loose! Mr. Sizemore purchased a tent which was set up on his property. The tent was packed every night throughout the summer of 1953. Malvin Ridener became the first leader of this small congregation. Under his ministry, many people were saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. Once cold weather began to move in, conditions became unfavorable to have services in the tent. Brother and Sister Gadd offered the use of a chicken house on their farm which was cleaned out and filled with pews. Brother Arnold Osborne became the new leader, and the work of the Lord continued. The chicken house soon proved to be too small, and the services were moved to the barn. Once again the leadership changed, and Brother Ellis Rowland became the first official person to lead the flock.
As membership increased, the barn was soon filled, and the decision was made to purchase some property at the intersection of Harris and Taylor Mill to build a new church. Once the basement was completed, the church moved in. Then, on December 2, 1954, the church was chartered with Kentucky’s Department of State under the name of “Community Pentecostal Church of God.” About this time, Brother Rowland returned to his home church in Newport, Kentucky, where he would remain for sixteen months. God sent Clarence Seeley, a mountain man from Laurel, Indiana, to replace him. Prior to his conversion, Bro. Seeley had been a wild, fighting, gambling man who could neither read nor write. Many miracles and revivals took place in that basement and the Lord continued to add to the church.
However, a year later, in August of 1958, brother Seeley left the church, and Ellis Rowland was re-elected as pastor. On September 9, 1959, the church moved from the basement to its new sanctuary upstairs. A short two years later, on September 9, 1961, Pastor Rowland died in the arms of his son, having suffered a heart attack while mowing the church yard. By a unanimous vote, Brother Charles Gulley was elected as the new pastor and served the church until 1970. Brother James Floyd served as pastor from 1970 until 1976. A nine-week revival broke out in 1973, which resulted in the purchasing of new property and the construction of CFC’s present facility. Brother Gulley returned to the church as pastor in 1976 and officiated in the dedication of the new church building in September, 1979. Pastor Tommy Bates was voted to be the new pastor in 1981. Changes and growth have continued under the direction of his anointed ministry to this day: Community has become totally debt-free; a Christian school was developed which teaches pre-school through grade twelve; an Educational Wing, a gymnasium, the Tara Center (another educational building), the Byrley Center, and the Family Life Center were all constructed; over a hundred additional acres were purchased; and the list continues. CFC’s services are broadcasted around the world through webstream and social media outlets.
To date, the church has 113 acres of prime property, about eighteen miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, and only fourteen miles from the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. Countless lives have been changed nationally and internationally through Pastor Bates’ TV program, “Bridging the Gap,” and the Bridge Builder Partnership network. From a night vision to extended ministries around the world, Community is God’s hand of ministry reaching out to a harvest of souls in these last days.
