Joining God in the renewal of all things
(Isaiah 65 v 17, Matthew19 v 28, Revelation 21 v 5)
This vision is lived out in three ways: living in the way of Jesus, serving the city, and the renewal of the world.
The way of Jesus
Our church does not exist in a cultural vacuum. We are part of redemptive history, the movement God has been building and using throughout the human story. The pinnacle of redemptive history was the incarnation of Jesus. His teachings are the central focus of our community. We believe that the life of Jesus (not only His death and resurrection) is central to the purpose of the incarnation. Jesus didn’t just die to give us life after death, he came to show us how to live well in the here and now. His compassion, courage, integrity, discipline, and generosity model for us who we can become, and the life we are called to participate in.
Serving the city
Christianity has always done best in an urban context. Diversity, need, and creation of culture have always been at the heart of the gospel movement. We love the city of New York, and we want to live, work, celebrate, enjoy, raise our families, and serve in this great city. We need the city, and the city needs us, and we are continually exploring the relationship between these two. Our passion is to be a community of people who thrive in all areas of life, believing the best place to serve the world is from our city of New York.
The renewal of the world
We live in a unique cultural moment, when the world has truly become a global community. We are all connected, and we are only just learning what this means for the church. The economy, environment, pluralism, poverty and diversity are issues we are all coming to terms with, and in which our church is called to participate. We believe that on the cross, Jesus died not only to defeat the power of sin in our lives, but also for the life of the world. We believe deeply in personal atonement, but equally in Christus Victor: that the systems of this world have been defeated on the cross, and that God is making all things right with Himself. We want to leverage our lives and influence for the least, and the forgotten, in the places that need it the most, so the holistic gospel of peace works for the renewal of the world.
Our Values
We become what we pursue. We are asking God to center our lives on these things:
Intimacy
We believe that God has clearly revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was God stepping into the human story to reveal God’s heart, truth, and the ways he wants to interact with us. Because Jesus is God coming to us and pursuing us, our response to him is to seek to know him more and walk with him. As we respond to God, he makes his presence known to us, in the work, communion and power of the Holy Spirit.
John 1 v 14, John 17 v 20.
Transformation
The gospel invites us into a process of growth and transformation that is holistic and comprehensive. As the Spirit works within us, renovating our hearts, we will seek to become like Jesus in all areas of life, including our finances, attitudes, speech, actions and relationships. We acknowledge this is a gradual process, and we anticipate an attitude of repentance and hope as we move in the direction the Spirit leads. We acknowledge this is not possible through legalism or human discipline, but only through partnership with the Spirit who is making us new by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Titus 3 v 5, Gal 5 v 13-24, Col 3 v 9-10.
Community
The Trinity is at the core of Christian truth, namely that God himself has always been in community. The Father and Son and Spirit are all loving and giving and sharing with one another. Community is an invitation to participate in this Trinitarian relationship, and to continually invite others into it. We still believe that it is not good for us to be alone. We realize that the first thing damaged by the fall was relationships, and the first thing that should be repaired by the resurrection is the way we relate to God and others. We acknowledge that we need each other, and that the life Jesus offers works only in connection with others. We are committed to pursuing God together, in all of life. For us, love is the context for all community.
Genesis 1 v 26-27, John 17 v 20-26, 1 John 3 v 11-24, Ephesians 4 v 25-32.
Servanthood
We believe that in our commodified culture, love is best expressed through service. Putting the needs of others above our own, thinking of others more highly than ourselves, and laying down our lives for one another is the standard Christian life. We seek to do this in the most practical of ways, and to create a culture that models to the world the new humanity, as Jesus first served us. As the Spirit works within us, we will see our selfish nature diminish and the nature of a servant take root within our hearts. We are committed to becoming servants, not simply doing acts of service.
Philippians 2 v 1-11, Mark 10 v 35-45.
Mission
We believe that throughout history, God has been working through his people to bring the world back to himself, first through Israel, and now through the church. We are called to reflect the heart of the God who loves the world, by being the kind of people who are doing something about the way things are. We believe the gospel is holistic in nature, and that the mission of Jesus is the renewal of all things, as demonstrated through his rule and reign in the kingdom of God. We are not simply transporting a message from place to place, but working for the rule of God in all the social structures of our world. We believe the gospel is the power of God for salvation, and that salvation is God’s offer to return to the original story, in this life and throughout eternity.
Isaiah 49 v 6, John 20 v 19-22. Matthew 28 v 18-20.
Process
In making this vision and these values a reality, we need to connect our lives to the work God is doing in our time.
Connection
We live in a culture that is more connected than ever, yet is relationally starving. We are committed to love and pray for those in our immediate context, and to seek to be an incarnational presence of the kingdom of God in their midst. This is done in a spirit of humility and gentleness, with sincerity, graciousness and love. We are living the teachings of Jesus in a compelling way that demonstrate the power and beauty of the kingdom of God.
Transformation
We are committed to pursuing, and inviting other people to pursue, the change that is possible in a relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe that we are not limited to our past, our relationships, our genetics or others’ judgments, but that in Christ all things can become new. We are committed to being honest and vulnerable in this process, modeling for others the path of Christian discipleship.
Movement
We believe that the gospel is an invitation into a better story than the one offered by our culture, and that the path to reality and freedom is found in a reconciled relationship with God. We believe this is good news, and that inviting others into the story is the only natural response to the work God has done in our lives. We are committed to becoming followers of Jesus who are helping others become followers of Jesus, because it is the best possible life to live.
