We Are the Local Church

When we read about the early church, we see unstoppable power, miraculous love, and outrageous sacrifice. However, we wonder if it is even possible for the church today.
We believe it is not only possible, but it is promised and commanded.
Our desire is to passionately pursue what God wants in a church to get as close to that vision as possible.
DEVOTED WORSHIPERS

We want to be people who are devoted to worshiping Jesus. We want to carve out time daily to be alone for prayer and Bible reading. We make time to join with others to pray and study His Word. We regularly celebrate the Lord’s Supper and can’t stop thanking Him for His mercy. These are not obligations we try to squeeze in, but cravings we can’t live without. We don’t require gifted communicators or musicians; we just love to worship Jesus even in the most basic settings. It is the Object of worship that makes worship exciting to us.

EQUIPPED DISCIPLE-MAKERS

We want our people to become fully trained for greater works of service. We believe that all believers are called be disciple-makers. No one should come as a consumer, but all should come as servants. The Holy Spirit has given each of us a gift that is to be used for building up the body. We want our leaders to teach us how to lead and help us develop in character through their modeling and teaching. Our goal is that each one of us becomes like Christ, and develops the ability to lead others to Him, make disciples, and plant churches.

SUFFERING SOJOURNERS

We want to be people who are eagerly waiting for the return of Christ. We are willing and wanting to suffer because we believe in heavenly rewards. When you read the Scriptures it is undeniably clear that Christians are supposed to expect, lean into and embrace suffering with joy. And this calling to willingly walk into suffering for the sake of the gospel is a call for all believers and not just for leaders or those serving in missions in persecuted areas of the world (Matthew 16:24; Matthew 10:21; 2 Timothy 1:8, 3:12; Philippians 1:29) Far from seeking comfort, we thrive on any hardship we get to endure for His Name. Our focus is not on what we can see, but on the unseen world. We refuse to become citizens on this earth. We live as aliens and strangers on the earth, waiting for a better city.

LOVING FAMILIES

The body of believers is supposed to be closer to us than our own families (Matt. 12:46, Luke 14:26). Jesus said that "all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). He also prayed that his disciples would be so "perfectly one" that the world may believe that the Father sent Jesus (John 17:20-23).

We want to be people who love each other deeply and show this by our sacrifice. We seek a bond that surpasses that of our natural families and is only possible because of our common fellowship with Jesus. We share our possessions and our lives with each other. We seek to obey all of the “one another” commands in Scripture. Christ wants us to be known for our love, and He claimed that our unity would cause others to believe in Him. Our goal is not merely to get along but to love each other to the extent that Christ loved us, and to be united to the extent that the Father is one with the Son.

SPIRIT-FILLED MISSIONARIES

We want to be people with supernatural character, focused on sharing the gospel with neighbors and coworkers. We want to be people who are not focused on survival or higher standards of living, but devoted to the mission. For some, this will mean going to foreign countries to share Christ where He has not been heard. For others, this means supporting those who have gone. For everyone, it means sharing the gospel regularly.

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DEVOTION TO SCRIPTURE

More than anything we want people to be lovers of the person of Jesus. The greatest command is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, so this must be our greatest priority as leaders.

REGULAR MULTIPLICATION OF CHURCHES

The true fruit of a strong leader is not followers, but more strong leaders. The true fruit of a healthy church is not congregants, but more healthy churches. God has designed the world to be one that reproduces and multiplies. We multiply to preserve the healthy number of people in a church, and to prioritize the mission of God over our own comfort. In order to be able to multiply effectively, we must structure our churches in a way that is reproducible. Each pastor is developing a pastor-in-training. When multiplication happens, each church multiplies in half.

EVERYONE DISCIPLED AND DISCIPLING

Discipleship is hard and messy. It involves intentionally getting to know someone, having hard conversations when sin is evident, working through conflict, and spending extra time with them when life gets hard. Our temptation in the church has been to replace discipleship with various other programs. Discipleship is life on life. If you’re discipling someone, have them be around you a lot. Discipleship doesn’t happen with coffee dates once a week. You need to be around each other and observing each other’s lives.

WE MEET IN HOMES

In order to help us truly love each other, we’ve committed to having smaller local churches meeting in a home. For us, we want everyone to opt into sharing life, and therefore the primary context of church for them is a spiritual family.

SIMPLE GATHERINGS

We try to be very intentional that we aren’t drawing people in with anything other than Jesus. There is no impressive service. The main thing you get in joining is Jesus and belonging to the community of believers He has formed. Jesus will build His church. Paul knew it. Jesus knew it. Let’s not do anything different.

EVERYONE EXERCISES THEIR GIFTS

We have intentionally structured things to create space for everyone in the body to contribute in the gatherings and in everyday life. Our pastors lead the Scripture discussion in gatherings, and a big task for them is to draw people into utilizing their gifts. Leaders shouldn’t be dominating the discussion.
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