The best way to discover what a faith community believes is to watch
them, join them, come at things from where we sit, see if our
message matches our actions. And while we don't think the best
way to discover the beliefs of a community of faith is to
READ
WORDS,
you are here because you have
questions. With that in mind, here are some basic
ideas to start the conversation -- we strive to be:
•
Missional:
because we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Spirit (the Trinity), we understand our role is to be fully engaged
in community and creation, and our responsibility is to take the
hands & feet of Christ to all those who need us. Reggie McNeal in
his new book, Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for
the Church, wrote:
“Missional is a way of living, not an affiliation or activity. To
think and to live missionally means seeing all life as a way to be
engaged with the mission of God in the world.”
To be sent out, to be an Apostle, is to think and act missionally.
To that end, we encourage all who share our passion for this to
be engaged in their communities, schools, workplaces, coffee shops,
and villages - find a place to be a witness to others by serving
them where they are!
•
Relational:
no person exists as an island unto themselves, and neither does the
church. We use the example set by Jesus himself as he sought out
and cherished the personal, one-on-one time he got with his
disciples, friends, and strangers (though was anyone really a
stranger to Him?). We encourage relational living through
SMALL GROUPS that meet for study, discipleship, and
fellowship; we celebrate relational community in our sacraments when
we serve the LORD'S SUPPER and BAPTIZE
new (and RENEWED!) believers; and we gather for a weekly
corporate worship experience to join our voices and hearts as we
praise God for everything we get to see Him doing!
•
Relevant:
when we go to other countries, we don't take them plants, we take
seeds. Those seeds are then allowed to grow in their own culture.
We don't expect YOU to come to US and be like us; our hope is we
engage you where you are, and we both are changed because of the
intersecting of our lives. Our roots are in the holiness
tradition -
We don't apologize
for standing with Jesus, his words, his life, his love. We hope
you'll join us there!
That's it - in a nutshell.
We've created a set of core values that
guide our leadership team. And if you want to know more about our
General Church, try The Bigger Picture.
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