Who We Are
Community
Believers sharing, challenging, and encouraging one another-- all for His glory. (Acts 2:42)
Relational
Intentionally sharing our lives with others so that they may know Christ. (2 Cor. 5)
Worship
Living our lives in glad response to who God is and what He has done for us. (Romans 12)
Truth
We believe in authority, accuracy, and power of the Bible as the Word of God. (John 14:6)
Serving
Reflecting the grace and love of Jesus to our neighbors through personal sacrifice. (Ephesians 2)
Believers sharing, challenging, and encouraging one another-- all for His glory. (Acts 2:42)
Relational
Intentionally sharing our lives with others so that they may know Christ. (2 Cor. 5)
Worship
Living our lives in glad response to who God is and what He has done for us. (Romans 12)
Truth
We believe in authority, accuracy, and power of the Bible as the Word of God. (John 14:6)
Serving
Reflecting the grace and love of Jesus to our neighbors through personal sacrifice. (Ephesians 2)
The Vision
Our vision is to communicate to as many people as possible the changing power of Jesus Christ in a practical and biblical way; to develop them into responsible, productive, mature believers; and equip them for service in the church and life mission in the world, in order to magnify God's name.
Core Beliefs
We believe in bringing glory to God.
In every action as a body and in every aspect as an individual it is our pursuit to bring glory to God.
We believe in the authority of Scripture.
The final word for how we operate is the written, inerrant Word of God.
We believe in salvation by grace.
While we are committed to the work of this church, we are not attempting to earn the pleasure and forgiveness of God. We work in response to what God has already accomplished. We serve with gratitude for his saving act. Every action we take is an action of thankfulness and obedience because God is worthy of our very best.
We believe in leading biblical lifestyles in every aspect of life.
We seek to know and express the Living Word (Jesus Christ) by learning from and submitting to the Written Word (Bible).
We believe in and practice the priesthood of every believer.
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, every barrier between God and humanity has been removed. We have no need of a mediator except Christ himself. Therefore, every person who comes to faith has the ability to seek God, experience his forgiveness, receive instruction from his Holy Spirit, and minister to those around them.
We believe that people matter to God.
We believe that people matter. It means that there is always room for more people in our community. It means that no individual is ever more or less important than another. We seek to minister equally to every person in every situation. We seek to give our best to God in every aspect of life. God made us to be creative beings, therefore we strive to use that creativity to bring glory to him. We do so with integrity and humility.
We believe in every-believer, team ministry.
Ministry is not saved for the hired staff; it is the responsibility of every believer. We expect every member to involve themselves in works of ministry, but we do not expect them to do so alone.
We believe in being vision-driven, not opportunity-driven. Opportunity does not necessarily equate God’s will. Every opportunity is first viewed through the lens of our God-given vision. No matter how great the opportunity, if it does not match our vision, it is not right for us.
We believe in health, not just growth.
Growth is fun, but it is only effective if it is a by-product of health. Healthy organisms grow naturally and so our focus is to remain a healthy body and allow the growth to remain secondary. We believe in equipping leaders, not creating events. Events can encourage, but leaders can transform. It is not our desire to draw more people to our buildings, it is our desire to engage more people in a relevant relationship with Christ, see their lives change, and then equip them to influence everyone around them. Equipping leaders is our greatest tool toward transformation.
We believe form follows function.
The Bible clearly lays out several functions which the church is to serve, but it rarely demands the form in which they are to be accomplished. We strictly hold to biblical functions. We are constantly adapting cultural forms.
We believe in being doctrinally pure and culturally relevant.
We firmly believe that “Relevance” and “doctrine” are not at odds. It is possible to guard the truth of the gospel and live holy lives while at the same time speaking in a manner which the culture can understand. Being boring to those around us should be avoided as much as being heretical.
We believe every ministry should be founded on three components — truth, accountability, and relationships.
Truth.
That which is real, authentic and genuine. It deals with the rightness (in the sense of truthfulness) of things as they really are. Truth is reality, whether in the physical or spiritual realm. The Bible declares that God is true, truthful, and truth (i.e., 1 John 5:20; John 14:6, 17:3; Psalm 32:5; Romans 3:4). For God not to be the source of truth makes this study, and all other religious endeavors, subjective at best. We firmly believe that God is true and that what he has revealed to man is also true. We believe the Bible contains God’s eternal truth for man: “The sum of your Word is truth, and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160). Knowledge of and adherence to Truth, the Bible, is absolutely necessary for life and ministry.
Accountability.
The final ingredient, and the one so often missing in Christian ministry. As defined by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, accountability is “the quality or state of being accountable, liable or responsible.” For the believer, there are vertical (God-ward) and horizontal (man-ward) dimensions to this element. We are, first and most importantly, accountable to God. Each of us will one day answer to God for the life we’ve lived, whether we’re a Christian (2 Corinthians 5:10) or not (Revelation 20:11-15). We’re all accountable to God for how we’ve conducted our lives. Believers are also accountable to each other. We are to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21), love one another (John 13:34-35), follow the direction of our church leaders (Hebrews 13:17), and submit to the proper authorities (Titus 3:1). Believers, therefore, should be accountable (responsible, faithful, obedient) to the truth of the Bible as it is lived out in the relationships of life. When these ingredients are present, effective personal and church ministry results. Without them, we lose our moorings and drift aimlessly without stability, balance or success.
Relationships.
Interpersonal contacts and dealings between individuals. Relationships occur at home, at work, at church, at school, at leisure and so forth. People were never intended to exist in isolation. The Scriptures also stress the importance of believers being rightly related to each other. The Bible speaks of the proper attitudes and actions that characterize good relationships. The “one another” admonitions of the New Testament highlight the importance of these relationships (note, for example, “love one another,” “serve one another,” “forgive one another,” et al). Not only are relationships inescapable, they are often the stimulus for encouraging spiritual birth and/or growth; for example: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).
In every action as a body and in every aspect as an individual it is our pursuit to bring glory to God.
We believe in the authority of Scripture.
The final word for how we operate is the written, inerrant Word of God.
We believe in salvation by grace.
While we are committed to the work of this church, we are not attempting to earn the pleasure and forgiveness of God. We work in response to what God has already accomplished. We serve with gratitude for his saving act. Every action we take is an action of thankfulness and obedience because God is worthy of our very best.
We believe in leading biblical lifestyles in every aspect of life.
We seek to know and express the Living Word (Jesus Christ) by learning from and submitting to the Written Word (Bible).
We believe in and practice the priesthood of every believer.
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, every barrier between God and humanity has been removed. We have no need of a mediator except Christ himself. Therefore, every person who comes to faith has the ability to seek God, experience his forgiveness, receive instruction from his Holy Spirit, and minister to those around them.
We believe that people matter to God.
We believe that people matter. It means that there is always room for more people in our community. It means that no individual is ever more or less important than another. We seek to minister equally to every person in every situation. We seek to give our best to God in every aspect of life. God made us to be creative beings, therefore we strive to use that creativity to bring glory to him. We do so with integrity and humility.
We believe in every-believer, team ministry.
Ministry is not saved for the hired staff; it is the responsibility of every believer. We expect every member to involve themselves in works of ministry, but we do not expect them to do so alone.
We believe in being vision-driven, not opportunity-driven. Opportunity does not necessarily equate God’s will. Every opportunity is first viewed through the lens of our God-given vision. No matter how great the opportunity, if it does not match our vision, it is not right for us.
We believe in health, not just growth.
Growth is fun, but it is only effective if it is a by-product of health. Healthy organisms grow naturally and so our focus is to remain a healthy body and allow the growth to remain secondary. We believe in equipping leaders, not creating events. Events can encourage, but leaders can transform. It is not our desire to draw more people to our buildings, it is our desire to engage more people in a relevant relationship with Christ, see their lives change, and then equip them to influence everyone around them. Equipping leaders is our greatest tool toward transformation.
We believe form follows function.
The Bible clearly lays out several functions which the church is to serve, but it rarely demands the form in which they are to be accomplished. We strictly hold to biblical functions. We are constantly adapting cultural forms.
We believe in being doctrinally pure and culturally relevant.
We firmly believe that “Relevance” and “doctrine” are not at odds. It is possible to guard the truth of the gospel and live holy lives while at the same time speaking in a manner which the culture can understand. Being boring to those around us should be avoided as much as being heretical.
We believe every ministry should be founded on three components — truth, accountability, and relationships.
Truth.
That which is real, authentic and genuine. It deals with the rightness (in the sense of truthfulness) of things as they really are. Truth is reality, whether in the physical or spiritual realm. The Bible declares that God is true, truthful, and truth (i.e., 1 John 5:20; John 14:6, 17:3; Psalm 32:5; Romans 3:4). For God not to be the source of truth makes this study, and all other religious endeavors, subjective at best. We firmly believe that God is true and that what he has revealed to man is also true. We believe the Bible contains God’s eternal truth for man: “The sum of your Word is truth, and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160). Knowledge of and adherence to Truth, the Bible, is absolutely necessary for life and ministry.
Accountability.
The final ingredient, and the one so often missing in Christian ministry. As defined by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, accountability is “the quality or state of being accountable, liable or responsible.” For the believer, there are vertical (God-ward) and horizontal (man-ward) dimensions to this element. We are, first and most importantly, accountable to God. Each of us will one day answer to God for the life we’ve lived, whether we’re a Christian (2 Corinthians 5:10) or not (Revelation 20:11-15). We’re all accountable to God for how we’ve conducted our lives. Believers are also accountable to each other. We are to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21), love one another (John 13:34-35), follow the direction of our church leaders (Hebrews 13:17), and submit to the proper authorities (Titus 3:1). Believers, therefore, should be accountable (responsible, faithful, obedient) to the truth of the Bible as it is lived out in the relationships of life. When these ingredients are present, effective personal and church ministry results. Without them, we lose our moorings and drift aimlessly without stability, balance or success.
Relationships.
Interpersonal contacts and dealings between individuals. Relationships occur at home, at work, at church, at school, at leisure and so forth. People were never intended to exist in isolation. The Scriptures also stress the importance of believers being rightly related to each other. The Bible speaks of the proper attitudes and actions that characterize good relationships. The “one another” admonitions of the New Testament highlight the importance of these relationships (note, for example, “love one another,” “serve one another,” “forgive one another,” et al). Not only are relationships inescapable, they are often the stimulus for encouraging spiritual birth and/or growth; for example: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).