About Us
About Springtown
Springtown is a Seventh-day Adventist Church located in Northwest Arkansas. Seventh-day Adventists are made up of people from all ages and all cultures and, as such, Springtown is a place where people of all backgrounds are welcome to come and join together in faith and worship that honor God and lift up Jesus.
We are committed to know the love of Christ, and seek to make this love the most important characteristic of our church community. We also have a deep desire to grow in our understanding of Biblical truth. The Bible is at the center of all our study and teaching, and we aim to discover how the principles of the Bible apply to us today.
During worship at Springtown, you can expect to enjoy engaging worship with meaningful singing, joyful fellowship, and sincere, powerful moments of prayer. You will encounter God through studying the Bible, and hearing a message that is relevant and thought-provoking. Finally, you will be challenged to represent Jesus and to live your faith outside the walls of the church.
Join us for the best weekly reunion of family and friends you may ever experience!
We are committed to know the love of Christ, and seek to make this love the most important characteristic of our church community. We also have a deep desire to grow in our understanding of Biblical truth. The Bible is at the center of all our study and teaching, and we aim to discover how the principles of the Bible apply to us today.
During worship at Springtown, you can expect to enjoy engaging worship with meaningful singing, joyful fellowship, and sincere, powerful moments of prayer. You will encounter God through studying the Bible, and hearing a message that is relevant and thought-provoking. Finally, you will be challenged to represent Jesus and to live your faith outside the walls of the church.
Join us for the best weekly reunion of family and friends you may ever experience!
What do Seventh-day Adventists Believe?
Seventh-day Adventists are a Protestant Christian denomination which holds many of its beliefs in common with various other Christian denominations. Of chief importance is our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the means of salvation for the human race. We also believe that faith in Jesus leads to a transformed life of obedience to God.
By now, you may have noticed that we meet for worship on Saturday. The reason for this is that we believe the Sabbath that God set up at creation should be remembered and honored even to this day.
For more information about this and other Adventist doctrines, see the link below:
By now, you may have noticed that we meet for worship on Saturday. The reason for this is that we believe the Sabbath that God set up at creation should be remembered and honored even to this day.
For more information about this and other Adventist doctrines, see the link below:
The Founding Vision & History of Springtown
Our Vision:
To be a loving, grace-filled community where wanderers are welcomed home, hearts are restored through Christ, and all grow as disciples, proclaiming the everlasting gospel in anticipation of His soon return.
To be a loving, grace-filled community where wanderers are welcomed home, hearts are restored through Christ, and all grow as disciples, proclaiming the everlasting gospel in anticipation of His soon return.
In 1997, three Adventist menâDon Cox, Bill Einhellig, and Jim Jensonâmet over a meal to grapple with two pressing questions: Why have so many Adventists left the church, and what can we do to bring them back?
Over the next two hours, they compiled a list of everyone they could recall who had departed from the church. Many had left due to issues such as lacking appropriate clothing, disagreements over music, or requests to remove mildly disruptive children; some were even told to leave if they did not conform. Without a supportive environment to grow in their faith and make these adjustments gradually, these individuals often found themselves isolated.
By the end of the meeting, the men had identified around 200 names and ignited a passion for re-engaging them. They envisioned a church that would embrace these people with love, oTer unconditional support, and allow them to encounter Jesus on their own terms. Shortly thereafter, they rented a facility, and on their first Sabbath, the service was packed with approximately 100 visitors.
As the church took shape, Don, Bill, Jim, and subsequent leaders recognized the need to foster a distinct Adventist environment. Rather than adopting a traditional modelâpastor-led, governed strictly by the Church Manual, and steeped in the cultural norms that had alienated manyâthey opted for a Cowboy Church approach, which proved eTective from the outset.
This model has historically been lay-led, with minimal formal organizing documents; it operates more like a community organization, emphasizing casual attire for approachability, prioritizing children and families, accommodating diverse worship styles, and focusing on serving the community and one another in unity. While traditional Adventist churches oTer many strengths, the mission to reconnect with those who had stepped away demanded an alternative path.
Twenty-eight years later, Springtown boasts around 400 members and 530 regular attendees. More significantly, our congregation is rich with individuals who once left the church but have since found a trusting home in our Cowboy Church family.
In Christ.
Pastoral Team Charter
Introduction
God asks the church to be a community of people sharing a common purpose and fellowship, continually growing in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul describes the church as â⌠his body, the fullness of him who filleth every thing in every wayâ (Eph.1:22).
Pastoral Team Charter
Introduction
God asks the church to be a community of people sharing a common purpose and fellowship, continually growing in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul describes the church as â⌠his body, the fullness of him who filleth every thing in every wayâ (Eph.1:22).
God calls us into His body for the purpose of establishing a saving relationship with Him and community with one another. The Holy Spirit convicts our minds, leads us to repentance, and plants us within the church.
I Timothy, chapter 3, describes the Christian life of a Pastoral Team member in these words:
ââŚabove reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentleâŚâ
The symbol of water baptism marks our entrance into the body of Christ and also marks the baptism of the Holy Spirit experienced by a new disciple. âI tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of Godâ (John 3:5).
The Holy Spirit is the vital life force of the church. When you come to Christ, you are prepared by the Holy Spirit, who has already led you to repentance, for service.
When a church serves the world it is an expression of the love of Christ to the world. It is the body of Christ serving the worldâs needs and being used by the Spirit as an agency of salvation. Thus, the church is a servant body. It was created for service. It serves the Lord in praise, serves one another in love, and serves the world in humility.
âFor we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in themâ (Eph. 2:10).
God calls every member of the church into ministry. The church is a kingdom of priests set free to minister for Christ. Our priesthood is to each other within the church and to the world. A Pastoral Team member, like any other church oTicer, is a ministering servant of God.
Every Christian believer is called to ministry, gifted by the Holy Spirit, and in baptism ordained for ministry (Eph. 4:11-12).
Duties and Requirements of the Pastoral Team
The ministry to which a person is called when he or she becomes part of the Pastoral Team can best be described in the following ways:
Structure:The Pastoral Team shall consist of 5â7 members, with 10 individuals nominated by members in Church Business Session and reduced to 5â7 by the Steering Committee to include selecting a Chair from the list. The Pastoral Team functions independently and reports to the Steering Committee at all regular sessions.
The Chair will be an exOTicio member of the Steering Committee, and the currently serving pastor will serve as an exOTicio member of the Pastoral Team. A member will serve a 2 year term, with the initial membership having 50% serving for 1 year, and 50% serving 2 years. This is to ensure an annual rollover of serving members.
Qualifications: A Pastoral Team member must be someone who has been an active Springtown member for at least two years.
Visitation:Nurture develops on a horizontal level in the church, with members offering encouragement and spiritual counsel to one another. In such a caring community, even the pastor is nurtured through the membership of the church.
A Pastoral Team member can be a vital element in this kind of caring church. The Pastoral Team member can actively visit members in their homes, encourage others to do so, and assist in the training of prospective members.
Commitment:It is especially important for the local Pastoral Team member to be committed to the outreach of the church. The congregation needs to know that its leaders have a clear vision of the mission of the church.
It has been said that church growth is âcaughtâ rather than taught. When a Pastoral Team member enthusiastically models a commitment of his or her time to outreach ministry, others catch the same spirit and commit themselves to the mission of the church.
A Pastoral Team member can be a vital element in this kind of caring church. The Pastoral Team member can actively visit members in their homes, encourage others to do so, and assist in the training of prospective members.
Commitment:It is especially important for the local Pastoral Team member to be committed to the outreach of the church. The congregation needs to know that its leaders have a clear vision of the mission of the church.
It has been said that church growth is âcaughtâ rather than taught. When a Pastoral Team member enthusiastically models a commitment of his or her time to outreach ministry, others catch the same spirit and commit themselves to the mission of the church.
Worship leadership: The involvement and leadership of a Pastoral Team member can make a tremendous difference in the weekly worship celebration service of the church. Quality leadership and participation can transform a dull, lifeless worship service into a meaningful celebration and praise.
Skills in worship leadership, such as the reading of scripture, offering public prayers, planning the order of service, organizing song service, and delivering the sermon, should be developed.
Church Administration:A Pastoral Team member should always attempt to make a positive contribution to the organization and progress of the church. While doing this, he or she should not try to dominate or control but rather enable others to participate in decision-making in the church and ministry.
Skills in worship leadership, such as the reading of scripture, offering public prayers, planning the order of service, organizing song service, and delivering the sermon, should be developed.
Church Administration:A Pastoral Team member should always attempt to make a positive contribution to the organization and progress of the church. While doing this, he or she should not try to dominate or control but rather enable others to participate in decision-making in the church and ministry.
A Pastoral Team member often serves in an advisory capacity to various departments, committees, and projects. In doing this, the Pastoral Team member provides unity among the various programs of the church, communicates progress to the church board and encourages a unified mission.