Who We Are

Vision –

God-sized. Bigger than us. Beyond our ability or control. God must be the One to bring it about.

Mission –

God’s invitation for us to align ourselves with His vision. Marching orders from King Jesus. How we put our hand to the plow.

Disciple – 

Our definition of the word disciple comes straight from Matthew 4:19
He said “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

A disciple is someone who is following Jesus,
is being changed by Jesus
and is committed to the mission of Jesus.

Church – 

The Greek word for church is “ecclesia” and literally means “those who are called out by God.” The church is not a building or a weekend event. We are the church. We are the ones who have been called out by God.

Spiritual Maturity –

Jesus defined spiritual maturity when He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” To grow in spiritual maturity is to become like Jesus and help others become like Him. In scripture, there are stages of spiritual growth – just like there are physical stages of spiritual growth. Our church covers those stages in 201, 301, 400, and other development courses and trainings.

Real-Life Relationships – 

A real-life relationship is where I give you the right to know everything about me, and you give me the right to know everything about you. We work together to be transparent and form real-life relationships in our small groups.

“Discipleship is better caught than taught.”

“Discipleship is a team sport, church is a team sport, following Jesus is something we do together.”

“Discipleship is not just what we do, it is who we are.”

“Come and see.”

“There is God’s part, my part, and their part.” God always does His part, they must do their part, I am responsible to do my part.

“Go with the goers.”

“We will fight for relationship.”

“The biblical foundation for disciple-making culture is love.”

“Put God’s Word in your head so He can move it to your heart and your hands.”

“God’s Word is the final authority for what we believe and practice.”

“Move at the speed of relationships.”

These 7 Essentials help us stay the course as a disciple-making first church…

1. Abide in Christ
2. Reach the Lost
3. Connect the Unconnected
4. Chase the Strays
5. Shepherd People Towards Spiritual Maturity
6. Identify, Equip, and Release New Leaders
7. Work as a Team

(see Stay the Course by Brandon Guindon)

Our small groups care for one another, but we are not care groups. Our small groups fellowship together, but we are not fellowship groups. Our small groups study the Bible together, but we are not just Bible study groups…

Our small groups are disciple-making groups.

Here are four foundational elements of an effective disciple-making group:

1. Biblical Foundation – knowing God through His Word will be central in our meetings, conversations, and the final authority for what we believe and practice.
2. Intentional Leader – a more mature disciple of Jesus who facilitates meetings and leads the team to work together to create a culture where disciples make disciples.
3. Relational Environment – a place where people form real-life relationships, become transparent, and learn to operate in love.
4. Reproducible Process – two parts: 1) the process in scripture by which disciples of Jesus grow in spiritual maturity, and 2) a plan for facilitating disciple-making meetings that anyone can learn to lead and duplicate with new people in new places.

We provide in-depth training for these elements through hands-on practice in small groups, in 301 and every year at 400 (our most in-depth discipleship & relationship experience).