Who We Are
Regular people, but changing!
On the one hand, we’re “regular” people: Like everyone else, we are trying to make it through an over-packed life with challenges from relationships, responsibilities, finances, etc.
On the other hand, we’re different: We have found the promises of happiness and fulfillment from our culture to be largely fool’s gold—all promise and little fulfillment. In Jesus we have found the ultimate reality.
In Him we discover purpose from God, a cure for guilt through forgiveness, and the strength and direction to live a changed life. He meets us at the most relevant and practical level. We want to place ourselves in His hands and allow Him to work supernaturally to heal us, restore us and transform us into the people we were designed to be. We're a long way from perfect, but He is changing us daily! We are finding the abundant life Jesus brings.
What's important to us (more on our beliefs )
The Bible is our one guaranteed source of direction, wisdom , instruction and discernment. It is the “comprehensive equipment” for the man or woman of God. We want to keep it in first place: over tradition, over our own preferences and over the changing currents of popular philosophy.
Family. For some, “family” recalls comfort and security; but for others, a need for healing from pain and brokenness. For still others, the idea might even seem irrelevant. We believe that God’s most important place for building people is family. For this reason, we seek to provide a larger family through the relationships in the fellowship, to support families living in crazy times, and to restore hurting families by God’s power and love.
God Himself! Worship is a priority to us. It is an expression of our awe before Him, love toward Him and thanks for His love for us. Because He’s God and we aren’t, prayer is a priority: “unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” The Holy Spirit’s work is important to us. We value His filling, gifts, and renovating work in our lives.
Relationships matter to us. God has called us to work together, learn from each other and support each other. Because of this, small groups meeting in homes are growing part of our church.
How we operate
Our music. We enjoy contemporary music and instruments. We also appreciate the traditional music of the church. Some of us worship the Lord in a more demonstrative way, some in a more quiet way; but worship is important for us!
The larger Christian church. We take the unity of the Body of Christ (all Christians) seriously: we value our church family and our denomination very highly and are supportive of other Christian churches and ministries.
Our style. Jeans, dresses and ties, are all represented. In all matters, we want to accept each other just the way we are, at the same time helping each other toward a life that honors the Lord.
The work of the Holy Spirit. In our emphasis on the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we try to avoid both extremes: on the one hand, dictating what the Holy Spirit may not do in our midst; and on the other, declaring what he must do in every person’s life. We want to practice this two-pronged advice: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire....Test everything (1 Thess. 5:19,22).” Scripture is the final test of the validity of Christian practice.
Preaching/teaching. Sermons spring from a careful study of Scripture, and bring God’s word to bear on the daily lives we live. The goal is always to be Biblical, practical and interesting.
Money. We believe in good stewardship, but don’t overemphasize money and buildings. Our understanding of giving finds direction from the Old Testament teaching about tithing, illuminated by the New Testament teachings about giving generously, cheerfully, and in response to God’s blessing.