Who We Are

•We center everything in our lives and in our church on Jesus, understanding our identity and union together through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

• John 17:20-23; 1 Cor. 1:30

• Why does gospel unity & centrality matter to us? Because we believe that the gospel is both the power of God for SALVATION for everyone who believes in Jesus (Rom. 1:16) and the source of SANCTIFICATION for believers as they follow Him (Col. 2:6-7). We believe it is the truths of the gospel that enable us to genuinely and joyfully do what is pleasing to God and grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ, both as individuals and as a church. Further, the gospel is all that should and needs to bind us together (Eph. 2:11-22), regardless of nationality, ethnicity, political affiliation, education and economic levels, or even common affinities.

• We seek God in desperate, dependent prayer, eagerly pursuing abiding in Jesus as our first priority.

• John 15:4-5; 2 Cor. 12:9-10

• Why does prayerful dependency matter to us? Because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). The truth that God is working for good in the lives of believers in every situation (Rom. 8:28-29) fuels our prayers no matter the circumstances.

• Prayer is an act of dependence: we are acknowledging our need for God when we pray to Him - for His presence, His work, His guidance, His help. We recognize all of these things when we thank God through prayer, actively watching for God’s presence and work in our lives.

• Prayer directs us in mission. We seek Him humbly in prayer before we serve Him in mission, so that our labors are not in vain.

• We desire to be a people of prayer, not primarily to receive from God, but because He is our Creator, Savior, and King and he is worthy of our submission to depend upon Him for all things. This value calls us to seek God’s face before we seek God’s hand, practicing prayer as a means to know God, exalt Him, and to be transformed to be more like Him.

• We live with open hearts, open hands, and open homes, courageously supporting others in warmth and kindness as givers, not takers.

• 1 John 4:7-12; 2 Cor. 9:6-8

• Why does courageous generosity matter to us? Because God has freely given to us, we want to give freely and sacrificially to Him of our time, talent, and treasure, not for our personal gain, but for His glory! This values encourages us to support the ministry of the church financially, and to serve each other and our community with joy.

• Courageous Generosity is not just what we give, but how we make ourselves available (hospitality). We believe God calls us to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us (Rom. 15:7). Jesus welcomes us sacrificially, graciously and purposefully, giving Himself for us so that we can experience the joy of relationship with God the Father. We invite others into that same joy by welcoming them in the same way Jesus welcomed us: sacrificially, graciously and purposefully.

• We enthusiastically go low to lift Jesus and others up.

• John 3:30; Rom. 12:3-5; Phil. 2:3-8; 1 Peter 5:1-6

• Why does joyful humility matter to us? Because our Lord Jesus lived this way to accomplish our righteousness and salvation. Our lives are not our own anymore, but we live to honor God (1 Cor. 6:19-20), and we do this in part by serving and lifting each other up.

• We want to be a community of believers committed to each others’ good because the church is a body with many members belonging to one another.

• We prioritize Jesus’ mission in every aspect of our lives and church.

• Matt. 28:19-20; John 4:35-37; 2 Cor. 5:18-20

• Why does missional urgency matter to us? Because we believe that Jesus came to save sinners, and has ordained the task of evangelism/disciple-making by the church to be the primary and ordinary means by which he saves people. We believe that if the love of God is in us, that we will be compelled to share it with others to make Jesus known, and that to not share is unloving and disobedient. Further, we believe that those who do not believe upon Jesus will face an eternity in hell. Therefore, we value a growing urgency to share the gospel with boldness to those in our everyday rhythms of life, as well as to others around the world to whom God sends us. Because of the magnitude of the mission, and its shared nature among all believers and local churches, we desire not to build the kingdom of our church, but to plant more churches while also living in a mentality of kingdom collaboration with like-minded churches.