CULTURE: Who are we?
GOSPEL CENTRALITY
The gospel is the good news that God saves sinners and restores all things through the perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of King Jesus, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit, one God, and will one day come to judge the living and the dead.
Scripture teaches us that salvation is not by works but by grace alone. We desire to keep this message of God’s grace at the centre of who we are and all we do.
We adhere to historical formulations of the gospel, including the creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian), the Thirty-nine Articles, and the Jerusalem Declaration.
See Luke 24:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Ephesians 2:1-10; Colossians 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:8
CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR: Gospel Centrality means WE BELIEVE
GOSPEL CULTURE
The gospel shapes who we are, and the cross of Jesus shapes our church culture. God the Son embraced humility, servanthood, and obedience to the point of death on a cross. The cross is not only the way of salvation for those who trust him but also the pattern for how we live. Like Jesus, we put the needs of others ahead of our own.
United together with the same mind and same love, we embrace cross-shaped humility.
See Philippians 2:1-11; Philippians 2:19-23.
CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR: Gospel Culture means WE CHANGE
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
GOSPEL COMMUNITY
The gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection forms us into a community with one another and together with God. The gospel shapes the practices and rhythms of our lives together. In the gospel, God calls us to belong to this new countercultural community where we are deeply committed to one another through proximate relationships and sacrificial love.
See Titus 2:13-14; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:10; Acts 2:42-47; Matthew 5:14-16; Titus 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9-12.
This gospel community stands firm amid the shifts and changes within the broader culture. We will shine brightly in the darkness of our city, showing the glory of Christ and the beauty of his gospel. We will learn from the worldwide persecuted church to live with devotion and conviction no matter the cost.
CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR: Gospel Community means WE COMMIT
"We will shine brightly in the darkness of our city, showing the glory of Christ and the beauty of his gospel."
GOSPEL COHERENCE
The gospel is the language that we speak. We are fluent in the language of our city and fluent in the language of the gospel. We apply the gospel to one another in the church, and we proclaim the gospel to those who don’t yet know Jesus.
“It is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. We talk most about what we love or what we see most at work in our lives. Where our treasure is, our heart is. We need to pay attention to what we treasure and meditate on.” (Jeff Vanderstelt)
To be gospel coherent with others requires us to keep the gospel on repeat in our own hearts and lives. Our proclamation of Christ is an overflow of knowing Christ.
See Ephesians 4:14-16; 1 Peter 3:15; Acts 4:20.
CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR: Gospel Coherence means WE SPEAK
GOSPEL CONFIDENCE
The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Our confidence is not in our abilities or strategies but in our Sovereign God, who works powerfully by his Spirit through the gospel.
We stand firmly in the reformation tradition of the bible alone, Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, to the glory of God alone.
Our confidence in the gospel and the sovereignty of God in salvation leads to humility, kindness, and generous orthodoxy.
See Genesis 50:20; Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; Ephesians 1:4-5; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:12-13
CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR: Gospel Confidence means WE PRAY