Our Distinctives
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Gospel-Centered.
Jesus is at the center of His Church. All of our lives and ministry, our teaching and preaching, our relationships and worldview flow out of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel is the announcement of Good News — news of God’s grace that meets us again and again in the midst of weakness and sin, our guilt and our shame. It’s news of God’s power — the same power that raised Jesus from the dead — now empowering us to live for Him. It’s news of God’s sufficiency — that all that is necessary to reconcile us to God has been accomplished by Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection — in our place, and for our good. We live in response to His grace, out of our hope and confidence in His love.
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Biblically Rooted.
We believe in a God who longs to reveal Himself to us, and to be in relationship with us. We believe the Bible is the very Word of God — that short of the Person of Jesus Christ, the Bible is the clearest picture of who God is, of who man is, and of how God wants us to respond to Him.Therefore, we seek to know God’s Word, love God’s Word, and live God’s Word.
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Others-Focused.
God enters into human history as a loving servant. Rather than seeking His own good, Jesus trusted His Father to care for Him, and He devoted Himself to caring for others. He invites us to do the same. By God’s design, our souls come to life when we follow Christ's example, laying down our lives for God's glory and others’ good, as we sacrifice, serve, and share.
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Intergenerational & Diverse.
God has called the church to make disciples of all ages and demographics, and to cultivate loving relationships across every imaginable barrier or line. An inter-generational church combines the energy and idealism of youth with the wisdom and experience of years. An ethnically diverse church mirrors God's heart for the world. A socioeconomically diverse church reflects God's heart for the poor and marginalized, while gently humbling the wealthy and powerful. The Gospel brings together people who have nothing in common but Jesus. By God’s design, we are beautiful together.
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Equipped & Mobilized.
God designed His church as a launching pad. It’s a place to be cared for, mended, and matured, but ultimately to be sent. If you’ve placed your faith in Christ, you’ve been entrusted with gifts and called to use them for God’s glory. God gave some leadership gifts, so that all of us could be prepared and mobilized in the use of our diverse gifts. God’s work of redemption is a community project. We’re all in it together, as a family on mission.
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Reproducing.
God created humanity to reproduce. We were made in His image – reflecting His wisdom, goodness, and glory – and then commanded to fill the earth with God’s glory. Sin distorted the image of God in us, but in Christ that image is being restored, and in the church that image is being reproduced. The church is not just a local entity; it’s also a reproducing movement. God calls us individually and corporately to grow and develop each other toward full maturity in Christ and to prepare our church to reproduce other churches. We make disciples who make disciples, and we plant churches that plant churches.
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Prayerfully Dependent.
We are weak and needy people. Yet in sin, we often live as proud and independent people. As God calls us to dependence, our prayers put to death our pride. As God calls us to relationship, our prayers put to death our isolation and fear. As God calls us to empowered ministry through faith, our prayers put to death our cynicism, doubt, and unbelief. When we pray, we express our humble, hopeful confidence in our good and loving Father.