OUR BELIEFS:
“IN ESSENTIALS, UNITY; IN NON-ESSENTIALS, LIBERTY; IN ALL THINGS, CHARITY.”
― St. Augustine
BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God.
- That the 66 books of the Old and New Testament were inspired by the Spirit of God as originally written
- That the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct · 2 Timothy 3:16
GOD
We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
JESUS CHRIST
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- In His eternal existence, with the Father in pre-incarnate glory
- In His work of creation, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death and bodily resurrection
- In His triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry and personal return
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the absolute and essential deity and in the personality of the Holy Spirit.
- Who convinces of sin, of righteousness and of judgment
- Who regenerates, indwells, seals, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ
- Who baptizes believers at conversion into the Body of Christ and bestows upon them His gifts sovereignly as He wills and fills those yielded to Him
MANKIND
We believe that Adam was divinely created in the image of God.
- That by the sin of disobedience, he fell from that state.
- That all his posterity inherited spiritual depravity and defilement.
- That all men therefore are guilty before God and condemned to physical and spiritual death.
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is by the sovereign grace of God.
- That by the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered a propitiatory death.
- That justification is by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- That those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and ultimately perfected in the image of the Lord..
OUR VALUES:
THEREFORE IF YOU HAVE ANY ENCOURAGEMENT FROM BEING UNITED WITH CHRIST, IF ANY COMFORT FROM HIS LOVE, IF ANY COMMON SHARING IN THE SPIRIT, IF ANY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION, THEN MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE BY BEING LIKE-MINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING ONE IN SPIRIT AND OF ONE MIND.
"Think what a local church would be like if its people were radically devoted to Christ, irrevocably committed to each other, and relentlessly dedicated to reaching those outside God's family with the Gospel of Christ. It would be an unstoppable force... a testimony to God's unfailing grace. It would be a church against which the gates of hell could not prevail!"
-1998 Leadership Summit Vision Statement
JESUS-SHAPED IDENTITY
We believe Jesus Christ must be at the center of our lives and making disciples of Jesus at the core of our ministry.
BIBLICAL INTEGRITY
We believe the Bible is the unique and authoritative Word of God, which teaches all that is necessary for faith and life. The prominence of God’s Word over our lives shapes our priorities, and the unrivaled authority of the Bible directs our actions to be in concert with Christ’s very best for our lives.
THOUGHTFUL THEOLOGY
We believe in theological education, constant learning, and the life of the mind, and celebrate this as one of the treasures of our Reformed heritage.
ACCOUNTABLE COMMUNITY
We believe guidance is a corporate spiritual experience. We want to connect leaders to one another in healthy relationships of accountability, synergy, and care.
EGALITARIAN MINISTRY
We believe in unleashing the ministry gifts of women, men, and every ethnic group.
MISSIONAL CENTRALITY
We believe in living out the whole of the Great Commission – including evangelism, spiritual formation, compassion, and redemptive justice – in our communities and around the world.
CENTER-FOCUSED SPIRITUALITY
We believe in calling people to the core of what it means to be followers of Jesus – what “mere Christianity” is and does – and not fixate on the boundaries.
LEADERSHIP VELOCITY
We believe identifying and developing gospel-centered leaders is critical for the church, and a great leadership culture is risk-taking, innovative, and organic.
KINGDOM VITALITY
We believe congregations should vigorously reproduce new missional communities to expand the Kingdom of God.
OUR VISION: WE DESIRE TO CREATE A CULTURE OF...
PRAYER
In the New Testament church, "all joined together constantly in prayer" (Act 2:42), suggesting a mindset that place prayer at the heart of the church's activity, always a part of everything we do.
HUMILITY
As seen in Mark 10:42-45, Jesus taught that humility is the foundation for greatness in God's Kingdom, and we cannot build a Kingdom culture in our church without it.
JOY
It's a barometer of the inside spiritual condition. Joyful people act differently - positive attitudes, God-honoring behavior, and uplifting speech that lovingly encourages (John 15:11).
HOSPITALITY
Romans 12:12 encourages us to "...seek to show hospitality." Warmth and friendliness are demonstrated and communicated regularly because all churches naturally drift toward an inward focus.
RELEVANCE
The key to people understanding our message is our understanding them. The level of our understanding of our complex culture will set the limitations of our ministry (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).