We exist to be a people who embody and proclaim the life-giving fullness of the Gospel.
Here's what we mean by this:
“To Be A People”
Relationship is central to our mission. We fulfill this mission together as God’s family, not as individuals. It is not enough that each individual would seek to fulfill this mission, but that we would do it in community--as a people in relationship with one another. Over and against preferring ourselves, "we choose us." (1 Peter 2:9-10; Ephesians 4:1-16)
“Embody”
Embodiment is intentionally and actively living in such a way that the Gospel is visible in our actions. The Gospel's implications are lived out through abundantly overflowing lives of service, sacrifice, generosity, and love towards others: family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and even enemies. Embodiment of the Gospel can and should be both individual and corporate.
“Proclaim”
Proclamation is the bold and winsome articulation of God’s truth. It is not enough to just "live" the Gospel, we must also "speak" it. As with embodiment, proclamation takes place in corporate gatherings and in private conversation, when we gather and when we are scattered.
“The Life-Giving Fullness”
Jesus said that he came to give life, and to give it in abundance (John 10:10). Living as a people who embody and proclaim in every area of our lives is to express what truly gives us life: the Gospel. The whole Gospel is for the whole person and extends to the wholeness of our lives, making us whole in the process. We are not interested in doing things that lead to death or being people who are content to inhabit dead places. Ironically, just as in Christ's resurrection, it is through our deaths to ourselves that God chooses to bring life (John 12:23-26; Matthew 10:39). The “fullness” of the Gospel touches every area of the individual’s and church’s life, extending outward to the world. All of life is to be animated by the Good News of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection on our behalf.
"The Gospel"
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is central to our focus. The Gospel [or Good News] is, broadly, the overarching redemptive Story of God told in the Scriptures from beginning to end. More specifically, the Gospel is the redemptive work of God found in the person and work of Jesus Christ: His perfect life, suffering, death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf and for our salvation.
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The Story of God
The story line told in Scripture from beginning to end conveys the plan of God through history to recover his lost creation. The view of God’s redemptive plan through history can be understood through the chapters of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. The telling of this Story gives the context for God’s Redemptive Plan in Christ. This is God’s story in one broad stroke.
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The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
At the center of God’s Story is the work of Redemption: the Person and Work of Christ. Through living the perfect life, availing Himself to pay our ransom with His Body through His death on the Cross and finally conquering sin and death by rising from the grave, Christ becomes the means and ends of the world’s salvation. The Gospel does not end with this event, or even with the salvation of the believer. Upon being set free from sin, believers are now given access to the Spirit of God to live a Spirit-Empowered life.