JOURNEY
Following Jesus means we’re part of God’s Story. It means we’re on a journey. It means process, change, growth, doubt, struggle. We want to make “relational space” for skeptics, strangers, doubters, and searchers. We want to learn how to listen to one another and walk with those that society has marginalized.
HONESTY
We want to be known for who we really are, even in our doubts and questions. We want to cultivate a community where there is no pretense, preening, or status games. We want to be as honest as possible with God and others about our lives, a safe place to say “I messed up.”
COMMUNITY
We value honest, grace-filled, face-to-face connections with others. Community is not a commodity we can consume, it is something we enter into by spending a lot of time together, serving one another, listening to one another, investing in one another, and forgiving one another. Valuing community means inviting others into our actual lives, with all the mess and inconvenience that comes with it.
PARTICIPATION
As followers of Jesus, we believe that we are not called to be spectators, but participants. Everyone gets to play in the kingdom of God. Therefore, we want to see what God is doing and join Him in it throughout the week, not just for a few hours a week. Our community structures will reflect this value, providing opportunity and need for everyone to step up and contribute in the areas the Spirit has gifted them.
OIKOS
Oikos is a Greek word that means family, sphere of influence or relationships. Most people come to embrace and live out the way of Jesus because of relationships with others in their oikos. Therefore, we take our oikoi (that’s the plural) very seriously; our spheres of influence, connections, networks, relationships with those who are spiritually disconnected.
SIMPLICITY
We choose substance over spectacle, spiritual nutrition over immediate gratification, sustained attention over serial distraction, long-term formation over short-term excitement. Our structures and gatherings will be lean, lightweight, and low-maintenance.
WONDER
Because we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we choose joy over cynicism. We want to be people who respond to God with wonder, passion, and humble worship.
CREATIVITY
Expressing creativity is a natural expression of being created in the image of a creative God. Experiences of beauty always point to the One who is Ultimate Beauty, and oftentimes penetrate our hearts in a way nothing else can. We desire to express God-given creativity in order to point people toward Christ and the kingdom of God in a meaningful, compelling way.
ROOTS
We did not invent Christianity, we received it. So we value being grounded in a tradition larger than ourselves that unites us with Christians across time and space. We affirm the historic Christian creeds and observe the Christian year, which traces the life of Christ and re-tells the gospel story every year.
JUSTICE and MERCY
Being a follower of Jesus is a journey of downward mobility, where we seek to show practical mercy to the hurting and needy all around us and seeking justice in relationships and social systems that do not reflect love and compassion of God.
TRUTH and GROWTH
While we’ve noticed that we can learn general things about God from nature, humanity, and culture, we’re convinced the only reliable source of revelation about His specific character and redemptive actions is ancient Hebrew and Christian Scripture. We seek to submit our lives to the Scriptures, assisting and encouraging one another in the journey of repentance and faith that brings transformation to our lives.