our vision is clear: to see every man, woman, and child in Cabarrus county enjoying Jesus and serving him in their heart, homes, and whole life – wherever they live, learn/work, and play).
mission
Simple: to love people as they discover and live out their place in God’s story. God is up to something beautiful: God’s grace gives room for good things to grow wild. Whether you are a seeker or skeptic, gave up on the church or fear God gave up on you, there is a place for you here. A people who will love you. And a beautiful plotline and purpose waiting to be discovered.
- Story and Power from the Center: by believing Jesus’ grace and truth in all things, we live from the center of our union with God.
- Humility and Confidence: by hitting our knees first, we hunger for a wholeness where our lips, lives, and loves align with God’s heart.
- Hospitality through Strength and Weakness: we open our lives to others by extending our agency (strength) and revealing our vulnerability (weakness)
- Joyful Generosity in Monday Matters: we practice faithful presence and wise stewardship in our relationships, resources, and tasks where we live, work/learn, and play.
strategy
The basic shape of Christian ministry is three leaves on the tree of deep relationships (up/in/out), drawing from the well of God’s grace in Jesus. To be a church, we need to thrive in each of these: to forfeit one is to compromise the others.
- up: communion with God in worship (walking with Jesus, by both gathering with others and seeking him on our own).
- in: community with one another in fellowship (learning to love like Jesus, in grace and truth, with others during the week).
- out: commission to the world where we serve, share, and show the grace of God in the places we live, work/learn, and play. Sometimes we do this together in joint efforts, but most often it’s all the wide and wonderful ways and places we are scattered as people.
“Community without mission dies out and mission without community burns out” (Titus Presley). And both need the spark and flame of worship to burn brightly.
From the center: missional engagement with other people as the heart of Christian witness. We welcome one another just as God in Christ has welcomed us (Romans 15:7). We long to see people move from strangers to guests, from guests to friends, from friends to the family of God, and from family (brothers and sisters in Christ) into servant-leaders who gather one more person into God’s family!
measures
How do we know if our ministry is bearing fruit? What happens when the seeds God plants root down and spring up, spreading out to give shade and shelter to others?
By God’s grace we hope to see a community that
- walks with Jesus in the company of others
- loves like Jesus in grace and truth
- goes with Jesus and leads under Jesus in the Missio Dei (it’s God’s mission, not “ours”)
- from the center: a people that welcomes like Jesus – who he welcomed, and as he welcomed them.