Investing in Transformation

If the Gospel is truly a global venture that is worth our lives both individually and together, then we will naturally be investing ourselves in transformation.  As we taste personal transformation through intimacy with God and involvement with others, we will naturally be seeking to invest in the transformation of the world; sharing the Gospel in words and showing the Gospel through deeds that open up possibilities for Gospel-conversations.

We will invest in transformation through engaging the culture/s in which we live with the Gospel in the language of that culture.   Seeing all of life as being on mission with God, we  see investment in transformation as holistic, utilizing our gifts, time, talent, and experiences as avenues to bring transformation into the world.  Realizing that we can not take on a task this large alone, we gladly enter into partnerships with other churches and para-church ministries to accomplish more with others than we can apart in community, city, and global ministry ventures.

This idea of investment in transformation has as its essence the desire to be Christ-like and display Him, in highlighting the gospel through tangible acts of kindness and service to people that highlights the gospel to the world.

Missional Living:  We value seeing all of our life as being on mission with God, i.e. showing and sharing the Gospel.  In essence, we don’t just “go on mission trips” as much as the whole of our lives being a mission trip, with all of us being missionaries.  Since we are God’s unique work, we value working out what God has worked in us with the totality of our lives.  God has placed us in this time, in this city for His purposes and under His direction.  (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 2:8-10)

Serving People:  Since we desire to be Christ-like and display Him, we seek to be His hands and feet to people all over our world.  If Christ loves people we must love people.  We don’t wish to make the world just a nicer place before people go to hell, but we wish to display God’s generosity in the gospel through tangible acts of kindness and service to people that highlights the gospel to the world.  (Matthew 20:28-9, Titus 2:10)

Kingdom Partnerships:  We value partnering with other churches  and parachurch ministries for the sake of the Gospel in community, city, and global ministry ventures.    Partnering allows us to leverage resources, ideas, and prayer for the mutual strengthening of one another as we seek to advance the cause of Christ.

Cultural Engagement:  We define culture as “a place in which we live that shapes how we think and live.”  We value saturating our area with the Gospel in a language that is understandable to our various cultures.  We seek to engage and change our culture through the contextualization and content of the Gospel.  (1 Corinthians 9, Acts 17)