Identity and Purpose

Mission Statement

We are a group of ordinary, forgiven sinners set free by the undeserved love of Jesus Christ to be his followers. He has called us to make disciples for him of lost sinners, and to grow disciples together in fully expressing love for God and all people by:

• Communicating Jesus’ Message through evangelism
• Celebrating Jesus’ Presence through worship
• Connecting in Jesus’ Body through fellowship
• Cultivating Jesus’ Life through discipleship
• Contributing in Jesus’ Kingdom through service.

Forgiven Sinners

We call ourselves forgiven sinners as a regular reminder that we are all rebellious, broken, lost, and equally in need of God's grace and forgiveness. We are all dead in our sins, having followed paths of self-indulgence and self-righteousness in hopeless attempts at finding contentment, self-worth, and self-justification. In His mercy, God seeks us out and meets us as we are, not as we should be, in order to make us what we were meant to be. Through Jesus Christ, God the Father reveals a powerful love that sets our lives in motion: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

Set Free

Trusting in God's love, we have been saved from the false and addictive promises of self-indulgence and self-righteousness, which only produce within us motives of fear, guilt, and pride. Jesus’ unmerited mercy and forgiveness have now positioned our hearts to express obedient love to God and for people out of genuine trust, gratitude, and joy. The Bible calls this love-motivated response the "obedience of faith." (Romans 1:5)

Followers of Christ

We are not ashamed to be called by the name of Jesus Christ because he is God's only Son, full of grace and truth. His love is powerful and his commands bring complete fullness of life. Therefore we seek to treasure, know, and obey him more fully everyday as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We agree with his earliest disciples who said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69)

Making Disciples

Jesus gave a clear command to his followers: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) We think it would be unloving to keep the good news of forgiveness and new life to ourselves, and so we seek to respectfully, but urgently, call lost sinners to abandon self-indulgence and self-righteousness, and instead receive God's unmerited love in Jesus Christ as the crucial first step into the new life provided by the Holy Spirit.

Growing Disciples

This new life in Jesus gets worked through us progressively, not all at once--like a seed that grows into a tree, and like yeast that works through a large batch of dough. Therefore we intentionally nurture this process of transformation by the Holy Spirit, participating with Him in putting off our selfishness and sinfulness and "putting on Christ" each day. As we grow and develop and learn to be apprentices of Jesus, our expressions of love become more deeply authentic. And when we fail, we are freed by God's grace to openly confess, turn from sin, and try again.

Fully Expressing Love

Jesus calls us to full maturity in our spiritual growth. Nothing short of that will do, for God, “who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) So we prepare ourselves for completeness by intentionally working to express the full spectrum of love in God’s Kingdom. We call these love expressions our "5 C's"...to Communicate Jesus' Message, to Celebrate Jesus' Presence, to Connect in Jesus' Body, to Cultivate Jesus' Life, and to Contribute in Jesus' Kingdom. Those who love fully attain "the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13), reflecting our Savior’s character and likeness, and giving God the glory due his Name.