HERE IS WHO WE ARE…
WE ARE UNITED WITH ONE MISSION
Because God first loved us, our actions are driven by a daily mission of “loving God by loving people”.
WE SERVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Our staff and church body go above and beyond to serve sacrificially, of our time and talents, to do the work of God in our community. And not to grow our church or child care facilities, but to help Jesus build His kingdom.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE
We pursue excellence in 5 key areas: worship experience, life groups, child development, missions work and community outreach.
WE STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX, WALKING IN FAITH
We are committed to doing things no one else does, in order to reach people no one else is reaching. And as we take bold steps of faith, we get to watch God move in miraculous ways.
WE ARE KNOWN FOR WHAT WE ARE FOR, NOT FOR WHAT WE ARE AGAINST
We lift up the grace, encouragement, and love of Jesus, rather than using our platform to condemn and criticize.
THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe God loves us more than we can possibly imagine. And we believe God wants an intimate, personal relationship with us. When we become believers and begin living a Christian life, a miracle happens inside of us. His Spirit is united with our spirit and we are given a new identity and instantly made holy and righteous. We become a child of God, and a unique, one-of-a-kind expression of Jesus. Our soul (mind, will and emotions) continues to battle with the pressures and the desires of the world, but our spirit becomes one with Jesus. His transforming power is in us and we are in Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). And as He lives in and through and for and as us, we experience life more abundantly (John 10:10). How is this possible? Because His Spirit has been united with our spirit. We no longer live a life depending on “self”, but instead, a life depending on Christ, who is our source of life.
We believe a healthy church and childcare facility are made up of people from all walks of life with a variety of spiritual gifts, talents and opinions. We also believe we are unified in issues that matter most (Acts 4, 2 Timothy 4). But what separates us from other churches is the life changing message of our new identity in Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:20 tells us, ““I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
THE BIBLE (THE GOOD NEWS).
We believe the Holy Scriptures are the inspired words of God – infallible, inerrant and God-breathed. And as the authoritative words of God, the Bible is a vital element for understanding His will for our lives (2 Tim. 3:16). Contrary to what many believe, God is not a God of burdensome rules. In fact, we believe that God has set things in place to help us live a life we could never live on our own (John 10:10). Through the inspiration of the Holy spirit, God used human authors to write the Bible, the story of God working in, through and for humanity.
GOD.
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory. (1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 5:7) We believe God created everything (Gen. 1:1) and then did not simply step back and let nature take its course, but instead, He continues to be active in the creation He loves so much.
God is the very definition of love. Not only did He first love us, He loves us more than we could ever imagine (1 John 4:10). And God is relentless in His pursuit of us. His love never fails (1 Cor. 13).
Because of grace, God refuses to let our poor choices define our future. God Himself came to earth in the human form of Jesus, to live a sinless life and to change eternity. After Jesus was crucified on the cross and raised to life from the dead to undo all of our mistakes, he returned to heaven. The good news is, God didn’t want us to be alone, so He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside those who choose to follow Him (Eph. 1:17).
Since God loves everyone, not just a select few, Jesus established His church to serve the poor, spread His love, and turn the world upside down. But God loves us so much, that He doesn’t want to force Himself on us, and instead, gives us the freedom (free-will) to choose whether or not we will follow Him. The sad reality is some still refuse to believe in Him. But the good news is Jesus is alive, He will come again, and those who choose to accept and trust His love will never taste death (John 3:16).
JESUS.
We believe Jesus is one of three expressions of God. Before there was time as we know it, God created everything (John 1:1-5; Gen. 1:1). Because God loved us so much, and man was so sinful, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and was born of a virgin (Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:18-25). Becoming fully man and fully God, He died on the cross and bore our sins so that we could be forgiven and made righteous (1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 3:21-22). On the third day, Jesus was resurrected from the dead (Lk 24:6) and forty days later ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9) where He serves as our intercessor and High Priest (Heb. 4:14). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one will come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). His death marked the end of the Old Covenant and the requirement to live under the burden of old testament law, and the beginning of the New Covenant – which gives the freedom of living by grace for those who trust in the Lord. We also believe Jesus will return to earth in all of His glory to raise us up and to judge both the living and the dead (1 Cor. 15:13; 1 Pet. 4:5).
HOLY SPIRIT.
We believe the Holy Spirit is co-equal with God and Jesus (2 Cor. 3:17). When Jesus returned to heaven, God sent the Holy spirit that continues to guide humanity to the truth about God (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is not distant, but actually lives inside those who believe in Jesus Christ through faith (Acts 2:38; Rom. 8:9-11). The Holy spirit guides believers into the truth of who God is, equips believers with spiritual gifts for ministry, and empowers believers to be the visible presence of Jesus Christ in the world (2 Cor. 3:6; Acts 1:8).
SALVATION.
We believe salvation is the gift of God, brought to man by grace (not by works) and received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom.10:9). Upon receiving salvation, the believer receives eternal life, and becomes a part of Christ’s life (John 3:16). At the moment of faith, Jesus begins to live in us and we in Him.
CHURCH.
Church is not a building and it is certainly not a product intended for humanity’s consumption. Church is people. It is a living, breathing organism empowered by the Holy Spirit to encourage believers on their journey with Jesus, to serve the poor, and to spread the good news about what God has done, is doing, and will do. Although the local church is led by elders, deacons, and ministers, Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22) and the church is the body in which people serve various roles to meet the needs within the church and the community (Eph. 1:23). Because Jesus loves the church and established it to carry out His work on earth (Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 5:25-27), we believe the church is a vital component to the human story and our growth in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:25).
MAN.
We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). But in Adam’s sin, the human race inherited a sinful nature, and became separated from God (Genesis 3:22-24). And the only way to reconnect with God is through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9).
SANCTIFICATION.
We believe that every believer in Jesus Christ, was united with Him in spirit, and was spiritually crucified, buried, and raised with Him to new life (Rom. 6:4) The results of co-crucifixion are enjoyed by every believer as we choose to walk by the Spirit and not after the flesh. Sanctification of our behavior is Christ living His life through us, which involves active choices to deny ungodliness and to live upright lives in Jesus Christ.
PREDESTINATION.
The common view and understanding of predestination is that God chooses some individuals to believe the gospel – and leaves others with no chance of believing. We believe God loves everyone as we see in 2 Peter 3:9 – “God is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” However, God loves us so much that He gives us the freedom to decide whether or not we will follow Him. And because God is omniscient, He foreknew who was going to choose to believe in Him and who will not.
ETERNAL SECURITY.
We believe that all who believe in Jesus Christ, will never lose their salvation (1 John 5:13).
SATAN.
We believe Satan is a fallen angel, who gets assistance from a host of evil spirit beings, called demons. They want to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus wants to give us an abundant life (John 10:10).
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