Jesus is central to everything we believe and do. To know who God is and what God is like, we look to Jesus. Jesus is God incarnate (“in the flesh”) and is the one true Savior and Lord of the world and Head of the church. By the grace of Jesus we enter into a personal relationship with Him that is lived out in community with his followers who have been sent into the world. In all things, our first concern is His glory and our motivating principle is His mission.
Because people matter to Jesus they matter to us. Every person, from every walk of life, has been created in the “imago dei” (in God’s image). Ministry occurs when there is personal engagement of another with Christ at the center. We believe the Gospel is passed on from person to person, not program to program. In our common life together our relationships are marked by the “one another ” found throughout scripture such as love, serve, honor, bless, forgive, share with, be devoted to one another.
Following Jesus is life long—what a joy to know we never “arrive” but are always being transformed into the character of Christ! The process of transformation (sanctification) is ongoing for both young and old and occurs as we engage individually and with others in regular spiritual practices including prayer, bible study, fellowship and service.
We value the life of the mind. Grounded in the infallible Word of God and illumined by the Holy Spirit, we value prayerful consideration of how matters of faith and daily life connect as kingdom people. We seek to understand, share and live out the hope that is within us with a depth of consideration that honors both Christ as Lord and Savior as well as the dignity of others who have been created in His image.
We value a Kingdom focus in our ministry and discipleship, believing all is to be for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. This focus guides us into living into the present reality of His kingdom so that we honor such things as truth over deception, faithfulness over success, creativity over routine, joy over duty, obedience over pleasure, servant-hood over power, simplicity over indulgence, stewardship over greed, and things eternal over things temporary.
