We affirm there is only on GOD who is sovereign, infinite and perfect in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love. He is the Creator of all things and He eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We affirm that Jesus is not just the way; He is our way. Before all things and in all things we value Jesus as Lord of heaven and earth; and as the image of the invisible GOD. We worship GOD by imitating the life, teachings and ministry of Jesus. Both our theology and praxis is relentlessly Christological. Jesus is our model, mentor, hero, mediator, savior, judge, king and ruler of all.
We believe the Holy Spirit has been given by the Father, through the Son and that he reveals and glorifies Jesus as the Christ. He convicts us sin, draws us to GOD and imparts unto us new life. He indwells us as followers of Jesus and seals us until the day of Christ's return. He gives us spiritual gifts for ministry and empowers us to live a life pleasing to GOD.
We trust the authority, reliability and truth of all Scripture. In humility, we acknowledge we do not fully understand God and the world he made. For that reason we rely on the bible to be the rule of our faith, teaching us what we do not know, challenging and leading us away from our misconceptions, self deceptions, and convenient ideas about life and God. We don’t choose the parts of the bible we prefer or want to believe, obey or understand; instead we submit to all of Scripture believing it reveals the truth that is beyond us. We believe that Jesus is the word of God made flesh and for that reason we don’t just obey Scripture, we love it. Because, like a mirror it shows us who we really are, and like a window it opens our lives to the beauty, wonder, and love of the God we long to know.
We believe firmly that all followers of Jesus make up the church, not buildings or budgets, or even leaders. When these disciples move together in sincere worship and genuine community to accomplish their part in God’s mission, they are the Church.
We are committed to Christ-centered community. We believe that GOD calls us into his mission together, never alone. We believe that GOD did not intend for us to be alone, and that isolation, fear of each other, and spiritual competition are cancers in the church. We believe that moral and theological failures, controlling leadership, and many of our emotional struggles stem from a lack of true Christ-centered community. We value free, committed and loving friendships. Whenever possible we will lead through teams and the sharing of life at every level with trusted friends who become extensions of the grace and presence of GOD in our lives.
We affirm Life Groups as the most basic expression of the church and therefore, our ecclesiology is simple. When followers of Jesus work together in sincere worship, and genuine community to reflect the image of Christ and accomplish their part in the mission of God, they are the church. Worship, community and mission then are our ecclesial minimum. We encourage biblically appointed leadership, sacramental worship, the pursuit of the gifts of the Spirit and giving, etc., but these are desired and not required to be considered a Life Group. We believe that these Life Groups also need the larger network, leadership and resources of a city wide church to strengthen, empower and help direct their expression.
We gather in the larger context for worship, training, and as leadership primarily to strengthen and supply the Life Groups in their work to obey Jesus and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to their mission fields. We believe the larger church expression exists to serve the smaller and not the other way around.
We value the empowerment of every Life Group community to contextualize the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel to the people they hope to serve. Our paradigm is that there is no one paradigm. We believe in contextualized structures with revolutionary content. Learning from the ministry of Jesus we will not try to bring surface transformation (to culture or structures) but rather contextualize our structures to what people can and will understand, so that the revolutionary message of the kingdom and the liberating work of the Holy Spirit will be received.
Similarly, we affirm that every culture and ethnicity, while imperfect, reflects the mosaic of God’s own image and together we better glorify and serve the God of creation. We value those of every ethnicity, language and culture in our city and in the world. We believe that the church of Jesus Christ was meant to demonstrate the power of the gospel through reconciliation, unity, and the beauty of a multi-ethnic community. For that reason we do not just admire multi-ethnic communities, but commit to become one. We do not believe in being color blind. Rather, we strive to accept and include the beauty and wisdom of every culture in our city and in our communities.
Because we value community and simplicity, we commit ourselves to both sharing and giving. We share because it promotes healthy relationships and breaks the bondage of possessiveness. We believe the western doctrine of personal property is often overemphasized and worshiped and should be tempered with the more biblical value of generosity and sacrifice. In sharing what we have with others we confess that God is the true owner and that we are only stewards in his vineyard. We also give because in giving we destroy the grip of materialism over our hearts by releasing the resources, wealth, and/or possessions completely into the control of another - GOD. For that reason we pursue relentless generosity. For this reason we encourage our people to give as often and as generously as they can, and to consider themselves stewards of the rest. Likewise, the collective finances of the church and its ministries must set an example in this regard.
We commit to pursue humility as one of our chief virtues. We expect it in leadership, in community and relationships, in our theology, and in the contextualization of our mission, in our prayers, and in our appraisal of ourselves and others. We are convinced that humility is necessary for following Jesus as an individual and as an organization. In individuals we hope for humility in all our relationships and leadership roles. As an organization we hope to be a flexible learning organization, looking always to refine our commitments and expand our understanding and revelation of God and His call upon us. We believe in the living prophetic word of God, that it must be heard and obeyed, yet we also believe that we are flawed listeners and should always listen and follow with humility.
