We desire a simple approach to living life as the body of Christ and have come to value ways in which we can experience:
More community, less hierarchy;
More spiritual maturity, less conformity;
More compassion, less performance;
More celebrating all the gifts, less elevating the stage gifts.
How do we experience Community?
Community is the inevitable outcome of fellowship with other believers that share similar values and have the …
- courage to be honest & transparent,
- humility to listen & be accountable,
- hunger to grow spiritually mature,
- commitment to love in word & actions,
- willingness to make space in their life for others.
What do Spiritually Mature Christians look like?
- Because they have a fiancé relationship with Jesus, they love and relate to him fully, with all their emotions, intellect, and will.
- Because they understand the foundational truths of the faith, they do not burden others with the traditions of religious systems neither are they threatened by other’s freedom in Christ.
- Because they embrace their identity in Christ, they serve at their highest level of passion and ability.
- Because they see others as God sees them, they move towards them in compassion not judgement.
- Because the Spirit of God both indwells and empowers them, the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are active and obvious.
We believe following a simple set of principles aligns the expression of our community with God’s intentions for the Body of Christ. These Principles are …
- Our highest priority is to continuously draw closer to our loving Father and bring others with us on the journey.
- Our gifts, talents, and passions have not been given to us to support people in positions of authority but to serve people in need.
- Healthy communities are made up of mostly healthy individuals so each member should be progressing in maturity.
- The most effective way to build community is by doing life together with those who are geographically close to you.
- Love for each other is the distinguishing mark of Christians, not loyalty to a church organization, Christian leader, or denomination.
- Meetings (agenda, time constraint, roles) are not the same thing as community and can often work against it.
- Communities are hosted not led.
- The Old Testament priesthood (one man standing before God for the people) has been superseded by the priesthood of all believers.
- Any creation of an organized structure or hierarchy should develop out of a specific need in the community, not preemptively. When the need is resolved, so is the structure.
- Healthy communities maintain a proper relationship to the gifts given to the church by Jesus: Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Pastor, & Evangelist.
Our hope is that this will help fellow communities – whatever their expression – develop mature, unified, and empowered believers who are other-worldly in their love for each other and radical in their kindness to those outside the family.