Our Guides In The River
Every river adventure needs a clear set of guides. Maps that help us know where we're going.
Vision
Our vision is Jesus.
Mission
Our mission is to love God and serve our neighbour.
Values
We join with the global Church in valuing the things that are on God's heart:
Love - The driving ethic of Jesus' kingdom is love. The scriptures define love as laying down our lives to serve each other. We want to be communities that live as alternative societies in the world, loving God while compassionately serving each other and our neighbours.
Faithfulness - Jesus calls us to "follow Him." We are to live as His disciples and apprentices, learning from Him the ways of God's kingdom in the world. We want to be communities who live in faithfulness to Him as revealed in the scriptures.
Justice - The scriptures and the witness of Jesus consistently demonstrate a move toward the margins. We want to be communities of people who serve and love the marginalized, seeing to bring equity where little exists.
Reconciliation - God is about reconciling all things to Himself and each other. Where there is no peace, He is bringing peace. We want to be communities of people who join Him as ministers of reconciliation, reconciling people to God, each other and creation.
Guiding Priorities
These are the things we feel uniquely called to in this season:
Generosity - We want to be people, both corporately and individually, who choose to live simply so that we might have more (time, talents, money, possessions) to give away to works of justice and reconciliation.
Participation - We want to build communities where no one is left on the sidelines, where people from every background and generation are built up to participate in the church and serve in the world.
Partnerships - We want to supportively work with other churches, and especially house churches, partnering together to help fulfil our mission.
Simple Churches - We want to see simple churches flourish and new simple churches started by empowering and equipping servant leaders and creating resources that enable vibrant communities. We want to do this within a simple network support structure.
Creative Service - We want to follow Jesus' leading, seeking innovative and relational ways to enact justice and pursue the ministry of reconciliation.
Ancient Rhythms - We want to prioritize the "ancient rhythms" of the early church: fellowship around a meal, the scriptures, prayer and communion. These things keep us grounded in Jesus.