Based upon the Story of God, the church is the family of God who have been sent to be his missionaries to give witness to the victory of Jesus over the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church exists to give a coming preview of the future world in the present. Its obedience is to show Jesus’ victory over sin. Its life together shows the restored relationships with God, self, others, and the world.

As central as it is for the church to gather together, the church is not a meeting nor a meeting place. It is the people of God who give their lives to each other for the express purpose of living out in mission their new identity in Christ.

The Story of God gives us a totally new identity. He has fashioned us into new people, who bear his image in the world. In other words, who we are in Jesus determines how we live. As participants in this story, articulate it this way: The church...

Lives as a Family

We live our lives together under King Jesus as the family of God, because we realize we have been adopted into God's family. Living in genuine Gospel community is telling the truth to the world what the new creational world is all about.

"You have received the Spirit of Adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Romans 8.15)

Loves as Servants

We love one another by serving one another, because we realize we are loved and served by King Jesus.

"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10.43-45)

Goes as Missionaries

We live with Gospel intentionality as missionaries carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because we realize we have been reconciled to the Father through the Gospel.

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ..." (2 Corinthians 5.18-20)

To enter into the story of Jesus means these transformative identities begin to shape the entirety of our lives. The way this happens practically for us is in Missional Communities.

MCs are simply smaller outposts of God's healing and dwelling work in the world; the church being the church. They are groups of people who embody every aspect of God's missional life: spiritual, physical, personal, and communal. So, MCs are not a typical small group where one specific aspect of the Christian life is addressed.

What actually happens in each MC follows from that goal:

Some MCs meet regularly as a group to share a meal. Others share meals, coffee, or drinks throughout the week with others as each is able. But each one is committed to the development of deep, familial relationships.

Some MCs set aside time for collective prayer and the reading of scripture, while others step into and out of an ongoing Gospel conversation through texts, phone calls, play dates, and hangouts. But each is committed to constantly encouraging its members with the story of Jesus for sake of growth in grace.

Some MCs are geographically defined and share food, lawn mowers, and cars on a daily basis. Others have grown organically beyond neighborhood boundaries and keep track of needs and hurts through Facebook groups and group messages. But each is committed to sacrificial displays of Jesus’ love one to another.

Some MCs have found specific outlets for displaying the Gospel in the world, such as a neighborhood, a school, or a non-profit. Others find a common mission in wrapping their jobs, friends, and family in joint prayer. But each is committed to bringing their points of contact with the world into the family of faith.

There's no set structure or schedule. We believe the Spirit of God is active in his people to lead them to fuller knowledge of His presence and fuller expressions of His power in any way they may see fit.