Pastor Tim grew up in Underhill, VT. He and his wife Bobbie have been married since 1985 and have three children. They love the outdoors and love New England in all its seasons. Tim plays ice hockey, hunts, and coaches youth soccer. He and his family keep chickens, dairy goats, and horses.

A Message From Pastor Tim

1. God loves you and wants the very best for you, no matter what your past.
2. The very best God has for you is found in and through God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Statement of Faith
Personal Statement and Philosophy of Ministry

Statement of Faith- Tim Sargent

I believe in one living and true God, who is Creator of heaven and earth, and sovereign over all. I believe that God exists eternally in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and that these three are one God, and that there is no true God but this one.

I believe that God has revealed Himself to mankind through Holy Scripture, consisting of the Old and the New Testaments, and I believe it to be the inspired word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

I believe that God revealed Himself exactly in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. He was with God in the beginning and was God, and he took on human flesh in order to fulfill the promises of God and to redeem mankind from our sin. I believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, and that there was no confusion between His two natures. I believe that He was born of the Virgin Mary and by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and that He lived a perfect life and was without sin.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, and is a distinct person and member of the Holy Trinity. I believe that He convicts mankind of sin and leads us to repentance, and that by His indwelling, provides the power for us to obey God in following Jesus.

I believe that mankind was created in the image of God and originally good, but fell from grace and into sin when our original parents, Adam and Eve, were deceived by the Devil and chose to turn away from God. The effect of the Fall is comprehensive, affecting every aspect of our being and marring our relationships with God, with each other, and with Creation. As a result of the Fall, all Creation suffers. I believe that all mankind are sinners under the condemnation of God, and that we are helpless to save ourselves.

I believe that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as a substitutionary atonement, in order to justify and redeem mankind. I believe that God accomplished our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that salvation is purely by the grace of God, through the agency of personal faith in Jesus Christ, and that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that anyone may be saved.

I believe that we live in the age between the first and second comings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe in the visible return of Christ, when He will come in judgment, power, and glory. I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in the final judgment of all mankind. Those who trust in the work of Jesus will be raised to everlasting life in the presence of God, but those who trust in their own work will be raised to everlasting death apart from the presence of God.

I believe that new converts ought to be baptized following a credible confession of faith and that the children of believers likewise ought to be baptized. This reflects my conviction that the practice of infant baptism is most consistent with the witness of Scripture and the nature of God's covenant administration.

I believe in the church, universal and local, which is the body of Christ, who is her head. The church universal consists of all people from all time who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and placed their trust in God’s salvation. The church local is simply a local and particular expression of the church universal. It is a gathering of believers, carrying out the church’s call to worship God, to bear witness to His truth in the world, and to bless the world through service.

Personal Statement and Philosophy of Ministry - Tim Sargent

Since I believe that God has called me into the full-time ministry of the Gospel, my primary goal in ministry is to help people apply the Word of God to their lives, that they may grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe my calling is worked out in the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, in small group bible studies, in service in the church and to the world, and in a Christian life lived openly in the church and broader community.

My passion is to preach God’s Word to God’s people and so to see His Spirit do His work in our lives to the glory of God through Jesus Christ. I love to see God’s people coming together, working together, building each other up, and enjoying the new life He has given us. I love to see and to help people grow in their personal devotion to God, and to see them work out that devotion through service to those around them.

My heart is not only for building up the church, but also for reaching out to those who have not yet responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love to engage those who are seeking, to show them the wonders and glory of God through Jesus Christ, and to persuade them of the truth. I am committed to God’s missionary work, both here and abroad.

I believe that the context for the work of God in and through the people of God is the community we call the church. This is the place where people know and are known, where they grow in their knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. The life of the church is a shared life where we are continually learning to love each other more, by laying down our lives for each other. This community life is marked not only by devotion to the Word of God, but also to prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42). I believe that the purpose of the church is to bring God’s blessing on the community, serving it in various and creative ways, that the world might know the generosity of God.

I do not believe that God gifts any one Christian to do everything. Rather, to underscore our dependence on Him and interdependence on each other, God distributes throughout the church the gifts necessary for the church to carry out her ministry. Accordingly, I see the role of pastor as a servant, called to lead and help fellow pilgrims exercise their gifts in service to God for the church in all her work.

In all we do in and through the church, we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, as understood through His revelation in Holy Scripture, and we submit to the control of the Holy Spirit, our strength and guide leading us into all truth. The work of the church is ultimately God’s work, and so we accomplish what we do in utter dependence upon, and only by the power of, the Holy Spirit.