The Mission of a church tells us why it exists, the Values of a church communicate how the mission is lived out, while the “distinctives” of a church give it identity. Another way to say it is, “Life with us means…”
Distinctives are what people see and experience when they encounter our people, both when the church is gathered corporately and when it is scattered during the week in the community. While every church has distinctives, we feel it’s important for us to articulate these as we strive to build a culture of grace and freedom, so people understand who we are and who we are not.
Simplicity
In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. Isaiah 30:15
The Scriptures are full of wisdom concerning the importance of simplicity in our lives and worship. We don’t want to be busy people or a church that is full of activity but lacks the power and presence of God. We desire to be a people who watch for where God is at work and join Him there. We want to practice the ministry of availability and presence – creating margin in our lives to connect to those who don’t know Jesus in relationships, gathering to worship, belonging in relational communities called LifeGroups and serving our community and world.
Authenticity
We care so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives. – 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Grace invites the truth (mess) of our lives. We desire to be a people that lay down the pressure to impress and the pressure to hide. We find liberty in the Gospel of Grace to be truth-tellers and truth livers. We pray that God will use us as He did the early church to create the kind of culture that draws hurting people who have been marginalized by society and religion. We want to help them step from the darkness of guilt and shame and into the light of hope and truth.
Partnership
Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift…to build up the body of Christ… – Ephesians 4:7-16
We believe and practice that every partner of the church is a minister and missionary. As we say, “everyone gets to play.” We all have the privilege of getting to participate in the full work of the church using the spiritual gifts given us by the grace of Christ. God gives the church leaders, not to do all the work of ministry themselves, but to equipping people to discover their unique role in the body of Christ. As a church we commit to helping every believer find their place so they can experience the joy of being used by God. We embrace a mutuality in ministry where men and women serve shoulder to shoulder together.
Generosity
The world of the generous grows larger and larger; the way of the stingy smaller and smaller – Proverbs 11:24
Jesus taught us that it is better to give than to receive. Giving, not getting, is the way of the Kingdom of God. In defiance of a fallen consumer-driven culture, we will live as a subversive people who seek to help others in need and invest in God’s plan with our time, energy and resources, building His Eternal Kingdom instead of our own tiny little kingdoms that will pass away. We pray that the hands of our church will be open to empower the gospel mission to flow outward into our world. We embrace missional living and generosity towards our neighbors. We want to find joy in sharing resources with others locally and around the world.
Fun
I came so they can have real and eternal life; more and better life than they ever dreamed of – John 10:10
Sometimes, churches can take themselves too seriously and God and His grace not seriously enough. God has created us with capacity to laugh and enjoy our relationship with Him and His creation. As the great confession of our faith reminds us, the “chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We will value and not apologize for laughter and play. Life is too short and the many forms of God’s grace in our lives too many to not celebrate and enjoy our journey together.