a safe place to grow in faith
Our Mission, Vision & Values
Our Tagline
Our church’s tagline is "a safe place to grow in faith." We know that many people have had negative experiences wih Christian and churches. We seek to be a safe place where you are accepted as you are and where you don't have know anything about the Bible. We believe creating a relationally and spiritually safe place is the best environment for people to grow in their spirtual journey.
Our mission is to lead self-reliant people into Christ-centered community and beyond. We want people to find the freedom and joy of relying not on themselves but on Jesus Christ and the spiritual family gathered around him. If you look closely at our logo on the left, you'll see it's made up of people holding hands with the Cross at the center. That's our mission - to create a strong community centered on the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. We believe people grow best in the context of safe relationships with a smaller group of people who know each other and encourage each other.
Our Vision
Our vision is to change lives in our communities through launching 100 “lifeboats” that help people belong to one another, believe in Jesus Christ and become disciples who grow other disciples, groups and churches. We also want to be a church that plants other churches and are actively working with the New Church Development Team of our Presbytery to help plant new churches.
Our Values
Our three core values are:
• belonging (helping people connect into authentic relationships)
• believing (helping people discover a personal relationship with Jesus Christ)
• becoming (helping people mature to become like Christ)
Our church is structured around these three core values.
Our Statements of Faith and Practice
These ten statements show not only what we believe, but how we strive to live in response to what we believe.
1. We affirm the Bible as God’s authoritative and infallible Word by proclaiming, studying, and most importantly, obeying it. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 - But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God–breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.)
2. We pursue a whole-life commitment to Jesus Christ, His Kingdom and His love for lost people. (Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.)
3. We live in daily dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and sensitivity to His leading. (Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.)
4. We engage in a lifestyle of worship and holiness that seeks God’s glory above all else. (Romans 12:1-2 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.)
5. We grow best by gathering in small groups for authentic fellowship, Bible study, prayer, mutual ministry, and outreach. (Mark 3:14 - He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach)
6. We relate to each other by speaking the truth in love, including a commitment to personal vulnerability, conflict resolution, and forgiveness. (Ephesians 4:15 - Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ.)
7. We serve according to our Spirit-given gifts for the common good and to reach the world. (1 Corinthians 12:7 - Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.)
8. We honor God through the biblical stewardship of our time, talent and treasure. (Matthew 25:21 - “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’)
9. We structure ourselves to be a missional, flexible and outward-looking church that gives away ministry and plants churches. (Mark 8:35 - For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.)
10. We embrace a diverse church (generational, socioeconomic, racial, giftedness) in order to reflect the breadth of the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.)