OUR VISION
“A church united to enjoy God’s grace and extend His glory.“
CORE VALUE #1:
KINGDOM-FOCUSED
We understand that we are not “the” church. There are many other churches with varying expressions that are faithful to our common Head; Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will be a kingdom-focused church. This value will be expressed through our passion to plant churches, partner with like-minded churches, and pray for the church universal.
To study this further, read Acts 10.
CORE VALUE #2:
GOSPEL-SATURATED COMMUNITY
We believe that the Church is a blood-bought community of believers that have been joined together for the glory of God. Those that comprise the church are believers that have been bought with the blood of Christ and are being transformed into an increasing commitment to treasuring the Lord’s glory. The biblical term “koinonia” (self-sacrificing conformity to a shared vision) is the expression of life within the body. The gospel that has placed us into this koinonia informs every relationship.
Therefore, we will be a gospel-saturated community.
A gospel-saturated community is marked by:
- Authentic Relationships: Because our identity is fundamentally in Christ we can authentically relate to one another.
- Vital Companionship: Our union with one another is as necessary as a human body needing a brain, heart, lungs, etc. to function. Deep relationships within the body of Christ are not optional for the believer- they are vital.
- Mutual Edification: God is glorified in the display of diverse people unified for a common purpose. Part of this purpose is spurring one another on to take hold of Christ.
- Partnering for Mission: We are fundamentally brought together for the display of God’s glory. The fact that God has joined us together and set us on mission is what separates us from social clubs.
- Family-Equipping: Because the gospel informs every relationship, a gospel-saturated community will be engaged in equipping families to further the mission of enjoying His grace and extending His glory. You will see this value fostered by our passion to equip families (marriage-enrichment, parenting, and singles ministries), exhort members (practicing regenerate church membership, church discipline, accountability groups), and edify one another to experience ever-increasing joy in God and extend His glory (prayer, discipleship, mentoring groups).
To study this further read Ephesians 2:11-22.
CORE VALUE #3:
WORSHIP-FUELED DISCIPLESHIP
We believe that discipleship is the process whereby a believer grows in knowledge and enjoyment of God at the expense of idolatry. We believe that Christian growth into Christ-likeness happens because the believer comes to realize, in an ever-increasing measure, that at His right hand are pleasures evermore (Psalm 16:11) and “the sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.” Therefore, the fight of faith is a fight to believe that God is the source of all delight instead of the fleeting pleasures of sin (idolatry).
Therefore, our discipleship will be fueled by worship.
This value will inform our every action. Over every program, Bible study, sermon, relationship, etc. we will ask the question “How does this help increase my joy in God above idolatry?” We believe to truly ask this question of EVERYTHING will have far reaching consequences and will greatly inform and shape our discipleship relationships.
This will also shape not only the way we do spiritual disciplines but the fact that we do spiritual disciplines. The spiritual disciplines, such as bible reading, prayer, etc. are primarily for us to grab hold of what Christ has already purchased. The spiritual disciplines are the God-ordained means to increasing our joy in Him. Therefore, the means to live out worship-fueled discipleship is to saturate our lives with prayer and Scripture.
To study this further read Psalm 16.
CORE VALUE #4:
A REFUGE FOR THE BROKEN
We believe that it is only by grace that we have entered into union with God and union with our gospel-saturated community. Because of this we believe we are to be people marked by grace. We believe in the already but not-yet aspect of redemption. As such we are broken people that are increasingly being healed in Jesus. We believe that Christ calls the church to be a refuge for the broken; but we also believe that this refuge will inevitably provide gospel healing.
Therefore, we will be a refuge for the broken.
This value will inform several of our actions:
- Purposeful Benevolence- Those that are broken and in need we will help. But we will seek ways to help for more than one day but a lifetime.
- Community Resource- We want our church to be known to the community as a place of resource. As the Lord extends common grace causing the sun to shine and the rain to come even upon unbelievers we want to extend this common grace to our community as well.
- Transformative- We want to be a church that is actively fighting brokenness with the transformative power of the gospel. This will cause us to form redemption groups, provide biblical counseling, and other avenues to heal brokenness with the gospel of Jesus.
- Fighting Social Injustice- A refuge for the broken will fight social injustice, not primarily through political means but through the transformative power of the gospel.
- Hospitable People- It should go without saying that a refuge for the broken will be marked by people that offer an atmosphere of hospitality. Our practices will be ultimately informed by the gospel- but we will act in such a way to be hospitable and accessible to the unbelieving community.
To study this further read Luke 5:27-32
CORE VALUE #5:
MISSIONAL
To be “missional” fundamentally means to “live sent.” When a church “lives sent” we come to understand that when we gather as a church our fundamental task is to train and equip believers to live out the good news of the gospel in our community.
But this also means that we are not only sent to the people in our local community- but we are also sent to be His witnesses even to the ends of the earth. There is no square inch of creation that Jesus cannot cry out “This is mine.” There is not one person on earth of whom it can be said God is not worthy of their worship. Furthermore, it is a scriptural mandate for the church to take the gospel to every people group. And we see the fruit of this in Revelation 5 when peoples from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people are gathered around the throne to worship the Lord.
Furthermore, we believe that it is the call, of all believers, to not only tell the gospel story but to also live the story of the gospel. As such we are called to not only evangelize but also make disciples. This means we are called to reproduce our joy in God in the life of another person.
Therefore, we will live sent to our local community and our global community, with the intention of spreading Christ for the joy of all peoples.
To study this further read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.
CORE VALUE #6:
GOD-CENTERED
God is inexhaustible in His glory. The aim of all God’s actions is the honor and display of His glory. Our aim ought to be the same. Therefore, the ultimate purpose and aim of the church and the individual is to glorify God. This is more than just a theological statement; it will inform all of our actions.
Therefore, everything we do as a people will be centered upon the glory of God.
This is essentially what our vision statement says. We are united together for the common purpose of enjoying God’s grace and extending His glory (and our enjoyment of Him) to all of the nations. What is God’s glory? To say it simply, it is the outward expression of His inner beauty.
What does this mean for us as a church?
We will constantly ask the question, “How does this magnify the beauty of God?”
This will shape the way we ask questions as a church. Rather than saying “how will this grow our church?” we ask “Is this being faithful?” We do not have to walk around blindly wondering how to give glory to God. He has revealed to us through His Word that which glorifies Him. Therefore, another way of asking “Does this magnify the beauty of God?” is to ask “Does this accurately represent God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture?”