We long for a grace-saturated atmosphere that communicates to people,“This is a safe place to be real. We are all broken, sinful
people who desperately need Jesus.”
As an implication of the gospel, we want to cultivate the kind of community that is defined by authenticity and vulnerability. We long for a grace-saturated atmosphere that communicates to people, “This is a safe place to be real. We are all broken, sinful people who desperately need Jesus.”
On this note, we will acknowledge that human weakness is not a liability, but a reality that drives us to dependent prayer and to
derive supernatural strength and ability from God. In the words of Jack Miller, “Grace runs downhill.” We believe that true humility is beautiful, and may be the most compelling virtue that attracts nonChristians to the gospel. Consequently, we really want to live as if the ground is level at
the foot of the cross.
As we focus on community as a core value, we will emphasize the importance of intentional, life-on-life discipleship, and that the church is not primarily a place, but a people.Furthermore, as a community, we will affirm that every believer has been endowed with spiritual gifts that
he or she is to exercise so that the the body will be healthy and effective in fulfilling its purpose in the world. In this sense, every member is a minister. Leaders are not called to do all the ministry, but to equip the believers to exercise their unique gifts.
Concerning leadership, we desire and value leaders who are pacesetters in living the grace implications of the gospel, particularly manifesting qualities such as genuine humility, sincere repentance, cheerful generosity and dependent prayer.
In John 17 Jesus prays that the church would manifest unity as an apologetic that the gospel is true. We trust that we will have a diversity of people attending worship and participating in the community. It will be our bond in the gospel that serves as an ever present reminder of our essential unity, even amidst our diversity.
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