Beliefs

We affirm that the Old and New Testaments are inspired and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. This gift of the living Word speaks directly to us now, in multiple creative, poetic, historic, and convicting ways, even as we acknowledge the care needed to interpret ancient texts written to varied audiences.

Our reliance on the Bible grounds our identity, call, and convictions—it’s why we affirm both women and men as ordained ministers and at every level of church leadership; why we pursue and embody racial/ethnic diversity, representation, worship, and leadership; why we embody justice and compassion and prophetic reconciliation.

We believe that the dynamic proclamation of the Word of God, in both in word and in our tangible lived witness, is what transforms us and is transforming the world.

We believe that this eternally existing, infinitely faithful, good and perfect Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is actively at work in our world, calling forth the liberating power of the Kingdom in our midst, through us, and for the redemption of all things, seen and unseen.

We believe that God’s reign has already been inaugurated in the life and death of Jesus Christ and is an upside-down Kingdom, a way of being and living that makes the valleys high and the mountains low, that centers the marginalized and sets the captives free.

God is holy, set apart, and cannot be remade in our own image. And God is also “Emmanuel,” God with us; “El Roi,” the God who sees us, and “Jehovah Jireh,” the God who provides for us.

Jesus is both fully God and fully human, was born of the virgin Mary, and discipled women and men through his loving presence, anointed actions, and miraculous power.

He was then crucified to overcome sin and death, arose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

Christ’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection show us the fullness of God’s reconciling work for both individuals and the systems and powers of this world.

The name of Jesus is above all other names and he desires to be the Lord of our lives, offering us freely overflowing love, grace, forgiveness, acceptance, belonging, healing, faith, freedom, truth, and life!

The gift of the Holy Spirit can convict, compel, encourage, and heal us, as well as shift the atmosphere as we corporately worship, pray, obey, confess, and walk and speak in faith.

The Spirit is freely given in faith and enables us to follow Jesus, to walk forward as “a new creation,” to grow into the fruits of the Spirit, and to respond to Her voice obediently.

We still believe in the miraculous potential of the Spirit to interrupt this world and call forth life from every dead, captive, and broken place in creation.

These gifts are freely given to all who follow Jesus Christ and none are better than the other—each is necessary and depends on the other.

We rely on a multiplicity of diverse gifts, as well as diverse life stories, diverse ways of knowing God, and diverse practices of faithfulness, in order to be the Body of Christ.

We pay special attention to those members often overlooked or oppressed in our world, as the prophets, Jesus, and the early church leaders encouraged us to do.

Christ is the head of the Church and knits together all who confess faith into a new people, a new identity.

We practice baptism (both infant and adult) and Holy Communion as sacrament—visible signs of God’s invisible grace that remind us through God’s promises who we are and whose we are.

We also affirm the priesthood of all believers—that all members share in ministry, serving, leading, and showing hospitality to one another.

The church is not a building, an institution, or an organization—it is
grace-filled membership gathered into identity through the work of God to encourage and serve each other, the Kingdom, and God’s work in the world.

Salvation belongs to the Lord, whose grace and power invites all who believe in Jesus to eternal life. We can never earn eternal life, but out of the lavishness of God’s love, it is a free gift offered to us through Jesus.

Because of this gift, we live differently in this world, in a dynamic relationship with a Living God, with a Living Word, and with the Living Body of Christ who all together proclaim Good News to this world.

We seek shalom for the city we have been sent to; we engage in justice, compassion, and reconciliation just as Jesus did; and we speak hope and abundant life into every space and person who is hungry to believe in a good and gracious God.