Our Vision
At The Dwelling Place Church (liturgical, evangelical, charismatic) we desire to be;
An oasis of God’s love, where all are welcomed to dwell and be transformed along with us.
A place to encounter God in His written Word and in the quickening of that word in prophetic ministry.
A place of discipleship where every believer is equipped toward spiritual maturity.
A community which values the traditional family and celebrates the wondrous gift of children.
A place where holiness is honored, hungered for and cultivated.
A church where the priesthood of all believers and each person’s spiritual gifts are honored.
A community characterized by great joy and deep worship and a life of prayer.
A place of freedom where deliverance from the forces of darkness and inner healing of emotional wounds is accomplished through the Name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit
Foundations
The Dwelling Place Greer (TDP) is a fellowship led by a pastor who is an ordained Anglican presbyter/priest in the Diocese of Biharamulo in the Anglican Province of Tanzania. Through the pastor TDP is connected to the historical, ancient branch of the Christian faith called Anglicanism – providing both accountability and protection within biblical orthodoxy.
TSM is an evangelical community, fully committed to the truth of the Word of God
TSM is a charismatic community, welcoming the anointing, moving, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Why Be Connected to Anglicanism?
The Christian Faith has ancient roots. The church community Jesus planted has been passed from generation to generation down to us. Anglicanism is a Christian tradition which honors and guards this ancient heritage that connects us to the early Church. Fully Protestant – fully biblical. In these days there are within Anglicanism both faithful, biblical branches as well as spiritually dead branches which have departed from biblical truth. We rejoice to be part of orthodox, biblical Anglicanism through our association with the Anglican Church of Tanzania and agreement with GAFCON.
Why Be Evangelical?
Western civilization is in decay, and we are surrounded by apathy, despair, and moral confusion. For such a time as this there is a foundation of truth upon which we may stand – Jesus Christ and the unchanging truth revealed in Holy Scripture. It is our passion to proclaim Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the only Savior and the Lord of All. Knowing Him is to have real life. Knowing Him births purpose, hope, and a moral compass. Holy Scripture provides a solid foundation upon which to build our lives and form our way of thinking.
Why be Charismatic?
The church ought to be characterized by the fruit of the Holy Spirit – overflowing love, great joy, deep peace, lives transformed to become truly good and holy. The church must be the place where the Kingdom of God breaks into our world in power and glory, as signs and wonders witness to the truth of the good news of salvation. For this the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church. He has throughout time generously equipped believers with spiritual gifts and anointing to expand the Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit is always fresh and always renewing the Church. Our desire is to be on the cutting edge of what the Holy Spirit is doing – leaving behind human traditions not originating from and quickened by the Spirit’s power – yet never going outside the bounds of biblical truth.
Our Beliefs
Nicene Creed and Basic Doctrinal Truths
We believe the foundational truths summarized in the Nicene Creed.
- God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is fully God and fully man. He is Savior and Lord.
- Christ became man and was born of the Virgin Mary.
- Christ suffered and died in atonement for our sins
- Christ was bodily resurrected and ascended to heaven
- The Church is One, holy, catholic and apostolic
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Christ
Authority of Scripture
- We believe that Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, is the Word of God. The human authors of the Bible were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and this same Holy Spirit ensured that all that Scripture was recorded without error.
- Pastor Bob , as Anglican presbyter/priest, holds to the 39 Articles of Religion as a biblically based summation of Christian doctrine. However, the members of The Dwelling Place are not bound to theologically agree with all of the 39 articles or be confirmed as Anglicans.
- We accept the doctrinal clarifications of the early ecumenical councils and value the wisdom of the Church Fathers.
The Community of Faith (The Church)
- We accept as fellow Christians all who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, regardless of Christian denomination
- We seek to live a common life of fellowship with one another and God, gathering often for prayer, encouragement, and celebrating the joys and struggles of life.
- Pastor Bob is part of the historical and biblically founded threefold ministry of bishop (overseer), presbyter (priest) and deacon. We also embrace the fivefold ministry offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (Eph 4:10).
Worship, Sacraments and Liturgy
- As protestant Christians we recognize the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist (Communion). We also value other Christian rites through which God imparts grace; marriage, ordination, confirmation, confession of sin, and anointing of the sick.
- We are a relatively non-liturgical church, although we are passionate regarding incorporation of the celebration of Communion into our primary worship gatherings.
- We welcome the moving of the Holy Spirit as we gather, seeking always to follow His lead as He quickens the revealed word and awakens our minds, hearts, and spirits.
- We encourage the orderly exercise of spiritual gifts by the gathered believers.
- We believe God created praise and worship, expressed with voices, clapping, hands raised, and musical instruments, as a habitation for His glory and Presence.
- We believe we are invited before the very throne of God to ask in prayer from a loving Father who delights to answer whatever we ask in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Our prayer includes worship and adoration, intercession and supplication, times of confession of our sins and offenses, spiritual warfare against evil, times of listening to hear His voice, and times of soaking in His Presence.
Discipleship
- Being a Christian is not membership in a club. God desires for each of us to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, into the glorious and sacred masterpiece He designed us to become.
- We seek to provide solid, orthodox and relevant teaching of the Word of God for the equipping of the saints.
- We exhort and equip everyone in our community to learn how to hear and recognize God’s voice themselves.
- We believe in the priesthood of all believers, where each one discovers and is released in the use of their spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ.
- We believe that all believers have the Holy Spirit and that there is a deeper release of the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit offered by the Lord.
Outreach
Like ancient Celtic church, we welcome into our midst those who have not yet come to faith but are being drawn by the Holy Spirit. Although their lives do not yet conform with a biblical lifestyle and worldview, they are accepted without condemnation. We are glad to have them dwell among us in order to see the grace of God bringing meaning to life and transform them with the “beauty of holiness”. We are patient with their brokenness as we recognize that we too are broken and in need of transformation. We trust the Holy Spirit to plant a hunger for salvation and sanctification in every heart and then provide the transforming power.
Mercy and Compassion
We live in the midst of a culture that has lost its way, descending into despair and moral collapse. All around us are multitudes struggling through life, with financial difficulties, crises in relationships, addictions, health issues and loneliness. We bring the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the laying down of our lives that the Kingdom of God might break into the darkness. This ministry includes practical manifestations of compassion toward physical needs, as well as bringing to bear the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy the strongholds of evil. With the weapons of intercessory prayer, sincere love, fervent faith, prayers of blessing, forgiveness, and godly counsel we come alongside the suffering, compelled by the love of Christ.