Our Vision
Our vision guides our thinking about what kind of church we believe Christ is calling us to be. When we think about Christ Church, this is what we see. Our vision consists of 5 Ministry Areas:
Worship
Worship is the basis of all we do as a church. Our corporate worship at Christ Church seeks to help us encounter God more fully and worship God wholeheartedly. The purpose of worship is to worship God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). We believe worship should be designed to honor the Triune God that Christian tradition names Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At its best, “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23) transforms our lives as we experience God’s Triune fullness.
To experience God’s fullness we see in the life of Jesus, worship is not served only by the tastes and styles of our cultural moment. Thus, we seek to incorporate the best practices of Christian worship across the centuries. Christ Church follows a traditional Christian worship format. We use worship elements both old and new that help to create meaning, inspiration and a sense of the sacred in our worship gatherings.
Community
At Christ Church, we want to provide many ways to help people be connected with God and with others. We become connected to each other as we attend worship gatherings, participate in Sunday morning classes, become involved in Living Room small groups, serve in mission projects, or share leadership in some aspect of ministry.
These are only some ways to make new friends in the Christ Church community. Other opportunities may include: game nights, progressive dinners, movie nights, camping trips, book clubs or just about any other experience you would share among friends.
In these ways, church becomes more than services and programs. Church becomes a community of friends where people can be free to be themselves, be loved, and deepen their relationships with God and each other. We believe church should be more than just a community of “familiar strangers.” We believe the church can be a place of genuine friendship (John 15:12-15).
Discipleship and Spiritual Practices
Spiritual practices are the ways in which we deepen our faith. They include but are not limited to: regular worship, biblical study, daily prayer, silence, journaling sharing the good news of God’s peace and love, opening our homes for studies and fellowship, and inviting others to faith and worship.
Discipleship means making these practices a lifestyle leading to a life fully devoted to Jesus. Whether at church, at home, or on the job, the Christian spiritual life is more than a belief system; it is a way of life. Rooted in historic Christian faith and guided by the Bible, we grow as people and disciples of Jesus (Luke 10:25-28).
Missions
We seek to make a difference in Christ’s world both locally and globally. We seek to share the spiritual hope of Jesus through what we say and what we do. God’s love inspires us to reach out to our neighbors both at home and around the world. This happens not only through giving our money, but it happens as we give of our own personal time. (Matthew 22:37-40).
Whether one is a businessperson, teacher, doctor, nurse, or simply a willing helper, we believe all people can be ministers and missionaries wherever they are. Together, we can make a difference in the lives and lifestyles of people in our community locally and in the global kingdom of God that has no borders. We seek to be a church that not only “does” missions. We seek to be a church “of missionaries” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Stewardship
At Christ Church, stewardship is defined more broadly than just material and money matters. Stewardship describes the basic orientation of life as a gift of God. Christians are called to serve the world through their unique gifts that extend beyond the boundaries of race, gender, rich, and poor (Galatians 3:27-29). Wise and generous use of these gifts is a way of learning how to live as servants of Christ and “stewards of the mysteries of God.” (I Corinthians 4:1).
Stewardship is a personal as well as communal practice. At Christ Church, there are many ways in which stewardship may work itself out in our life together.
• Teaching preschool, children or adult classes
• Volunteering for various ministries of the church
• Local and global mission projects
• Being a mentor
• Tithing
• Regular participation in Sunday school, small group, and worship
• Growth in faithfulness and spiritual practices