What Is a Church?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
*The Church is a body of people who profess and give evidence that they have been saved by God’s grace alone, for his glory alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.*

Our Vision

“Learning to live and serve like jesus”

We want to live fulfilling lives. We want to grow as human beings, we want to help others, we want to be connected deeply to something bigger than ourselves. It’s our belief that Jesus lived the most fulfilled human life ever and he invites us to learn from him. We believe it’s for this we were made.

Our DNA

Christian churches for the most part have very similar beliefs (creeds and doctrine) but they often look and feel very different. This is due to a church's DNA. It’s what makes a church unique. No church is perfect and every church will express their beliefs in a particular way in terms of its vision and values. The following is Broken Bread Toronto's DNA:

1 / PERSONAL RENEWAL

We believe that sin runs deep in the human heart. For this reason, our hearts constantly need to be encouraged, strengthened, challenged, and transformed through the hearing of God’s preached word and participation in community life. Broken Bread Toronto is committed to seeing changed lives. The primary measure of our success will be whether or not our people possess love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in increasing measure in their everyday lives and situations. We strive to be a church that understands your heart and helps you live a fruitful life.

2 / MEMBER PARTICIPATION

If it is true that the work of Jesus has reconciled us to our Heavenly Father, then coming to church is like coming home. The theme of exile and homecoming runs throughout the bible to teach us that our true home is with God. This means that those who have accepted God as Father also accept each other as brother and sister with its attendant roles and expectations. We hope that active and hearty participation in the life of our church is normal at Broken Bread Toronto. Participate not for what you get but for what we all gain. Invite people over for dinner, help someone move, visit a friend in the hospital, have coffee with a newcomer, pray for each other, help out the children’s ministry. Use what God has given you to bless others.

our vision

“Learning to Live and Serve Like Jesus.”

3 / COMMUNITY RESTORATION

Jesus once asked, “Who lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl?” In asking this, he was expressing frustration at the pattern of inwardness amongst believers who, instead of engaging the city and the surrounding culture, huddled into religious ghettos. This pattern is an easy one to repeat. Broken Bread Toronto strives to do as much good as we can in the surrounding community and we want everyone to be equipped for this purpose. It has been said that the church is the only institution in the world that exists primarily for its non-members. We want as much as possible to be true to this.

4 / CITY INSPIRATION

In speaking about the church, Jesus said, “a city on a hill cannot be hidden.” The church was made to display the love and truth of God so that all would see how beautiful God truly is. This means that churches are not only called to serve the city and seek its restoration but to humbly inspire the people of our city so that they themselves may seek God. Therefore the church is not just a humanitarian organization with something to do but it is a testifying community with something to say. A wise man once said, “Don’t seek to build a great church, seek to build a great city.” And every great city is built on inspiration.

5 / GRACE PROLIFERATION

All of life is a gift. God shines his light on those who follow and revere him and on those who don’t. It’s because God is a God of grace. When the reality of God’s grace expressed through the life and death of Jesus Christ truly hits home, one is humbled and disarmed of a judgmental spirit. They are the kind of person that makes up our community. For this reason, Broken Bread Toronto seeks to be a church where grace is freely offered in the spirit of the one who first offered it to us. The proliferation of grace means the death of pride and shame and beginning of life.

Looking for more information? E-mail us at info@brokenbreadtoronto.com.