Together as a community, we gather around the table of communion. The table that You invited us to and that teaches us of Your love and Your plans for our future. We remind ourselves that communion was Your plan all along. Just as Father Son and Holy Spirit enjoy an ongoing exchange of self giving love, so we too are invited into that communion with You and with each other. Jesus, we thank you that Your blood spilled for us and Your body broken for us made this communion between God and people possible.
And so, we come near to You Lord, and offer our broken selves, collectively to You. In this moment we place anew on Your body the sins of our community and culture. We confess those things that have come between You and us. Our tendency to elevate ourselves, things and others to supreme places does not work. Jesus, you alone deserve that place in our lives. We confess and call out the idols of comfort, ambition and money all of which have led to pride, apathy, fear, control, and greed.
We recognize our need for a culture shift. We need a rearranging of our values at a foundational level. We believe there is a better way for Jesus’ Church to thrive.
And so we choose to be a community that is marked by the centrality of Jesus. We gather around Christ. He is the one unifying factor of not only every atom in our bodies and every quark of the universe but also this local community of His followers. He receives the glory. It’s his presence we anticipate whenever we gather and it’s His presence that binds us together.
We will rally around Christ and in Him will find communion, union, oneness.
We choose to be a community that thrives together as a body, made of diverse and complimentary parts, like Jesus intended. Ours is a messy community, of diverse voices and experiences, all drawing us closer to the truth and reality of Christ and His Kingdom. We believe that Jesus’ Church is healthier and more vibrant amidst a thriving collective of perspectives, styles, and expressions.
We will embrace our diverse life as a church over our comfort and familiarity.
We choose to be a church that invests in and grows every person toward the fullness of the Imago Dei, the creative, amazing, powerful Christ in us. We value the expression and growth of all Christ followers into their giftings, with opportunity to share, serve, and contribute. There is room for and need for every gift and passion that comes from Christ in His Church. This includes ME and the person next to me.
We will expect God to use US powerfully in His kingdom plan. I will dive in deeper; I will also invest in and pour into others.
We choose to remember that we all work toward one common goal in Jesus.
We will be consumed with His purpose, unified in our pursuit of His kingdom.
