We have a clear vision that encompasses the five timeless purposes that God has for the New Testament church.

  We are all about five simple things.

• Loving

• Contributing

• Sharing

• Connecting

• Growing

  The New Testament contains these five purposes for the Christian Church. They are contained in kernel form in what is called The Great Commission and The Great Commandment. And while the kernels of these five are contained in these two important Scriptures, these five purposes are woven throughout the entire New Testament.

The Great Commandment is found in Matthew 22:37-40

"Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:19-20

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

So we are about these five things:

• Purpose #1:-LOVING: Growing deep and enriching relationships with God. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart." This is the purpose sometimes referred to as worship.

• Purpose #2:-CONTRIBUTING: Making meaningful contributions to God's Kingdom and to the world. "Love your neighbor as yourself." This is the purpose sometimes referred to as ministry.

• Purpose #3:-SHARING: Helping others come into a personal relationship with Christ. "Go and make disciples of all nations." This is the purpose sometimes referred to as evangelism.

• Purpose #4:-CONNECTING: Experiencing growing, enriching relationships with other Christ-followers. "Baptizing them." This is the purpose sometimes referred to as fellowship.

• Purpose #5:-GROWING: Growing in Christ-likeness for a lifetime. "Teaching them to obey." This is the purpose sometimes referred to as discipleship.

Our Mission Statement encompasses all five of these purposes:

Growing a healthy Christian community through reaching the unchurched and growing together into fully devoted followers of Christ.

We have articulated some of our core values about each of these purposes.

1. Core values about LOVING.

• God has been seeking us long before we started looking for Him.

• Our highest privilege as human beings is to "love God and enjoy Him forever."

• Both corporate and private worship are vital to a thriving Christian life.

• God is desires a daily relationship.

• God desperately loves all people, from all walks of life.

• A thriving relationship with Christ is a natural and integral part of a balanced and healthy life.
   

2. Core values about CONTRIBUTING.

• God has made everyone unique, and our different abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives make us more effective in ministry.

• As much as possible, we build ministry around people, rather than people around ministry.

• All Christians need to at times do a ministry simply because it needs to be done.

• The Holy Spirit births new ministry in the church through the people to whom he gives the burden for that new ministry.

• We need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for effective ministry.

• Ministry is about being like Christ. As God works in us, it results in His working through us. Because God is concerned with all kinds of human need, so are we.

• Just as no individual can do everything, so also no church can do everything. We recognize the need for other churches and organizations, and their ministry emphases.

• We want each ministry program (or approach) to live a natural life cycle and then be discontinued.

• We do ministry as a team.

• Our goal is quality ministry, not volume.

• It's important to serve in the church, and it's also important to serve somewhere in the community.

• There are seasons where we can do more and other seasons when
  we can do less, and that's okay.

• Our "outreach" approach will seek to be a blend of helping people in our community, planting outreach-oriented churches in western Washington, and helping people in our global community.

3. Core values about SHARING.

• We must stay intensely committed to evangelism, because the tendency for a church is to lose its outward focus.

• We want the bulk of our growth to result from attracting people not presently connected to an evangelical church.

• Most of the "un-churched" people in our community view themselves as "Christian," by their own definition.

• By understanding who we are "fishing for," we will be more effective in our "fishing."

• We work strategically, while at the same time put our entire reliance on the power of God's Spirit and His Word to transform people.

• It is our responsibility to adapt our styles and approaches to the un-churched in order to reach them. It is not the responsibility of the un-churched to adapt to our styles and approaches.

4. Core values about CONNECTING.

• God meets us where we are and helps us grow from there.

• Growth is natural to a person who has given their heart to Christ.

• Love (not guilt) motivates healthy spiritual maturity.

• Coming to Christ and growing in Christ are a process.

• Christ is our primary model for spiritual growth.

• The Bible is the unique, inspired, inerrant, and only infallible Word of God.

• As we mature spiritually, it is evidenced in the mind, the attitudes of the heart, and in actions.

Holy Bible: The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority for determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, the Bible is inspired, infallible and inerrant (see Prov. 30:5; Rom. 16:25,26; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20,21).

Trinity: There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal (see Gen. 1:26; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 3:16,17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; Heb. 3:7-11; 1 John 5:7).

Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100 percent God and 100 percent man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for humankind and, thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory (see Isa. 9:6; John 1:1,14; 20:28; Phil. 2:5,6;
1 Tim. 2:5; 3:16).

Sanctification: Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God's Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (see Rom. 8:29; 12:1,2; 2 Cor. 3:18; 6:14-18; 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1-3; Heb. 2:11).

Jesus' Blood: The blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100 percent sufficient to cleanse humankind from all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death (see John 1:29; Rom. 3:10-12,23; 5:9; Col. 1:20; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 5:9).

Jesus Christ Indwells All Believers: Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to Him, thus making Jesus the Lord of their lives as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried and rose again from the dead (see John 1:12; 14:17,23; 15:4; Rom. 8:11; Rev. 3:20).

Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Given at Pentecost, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father. It was sent by Jesus after His Ascension to empower the Church to preach the gospel throughout the whole earth (see Joel 2:28,29; Matt. 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4,17,38,39; 8:14-17; 10:38,44-47; 11:15-17; 19:1-6).

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the Church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection and confirm the power of the gospel. The lists of these gifts in the Bible are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters (see Rom. 1:11; 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-31; 14:1-40; Eph. 4:16; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:5-16; Heb. 2:4; 1 Pet. 4:10).

The Church: The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission. Every person born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the Body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (see John 17:11,20-23; Eph. 1:22; 2:19-22; Heb. 12:23).

Two Sacraments:

Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38).4

The Lord's Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. (See Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12,36-38; 10:47,48; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23-26).

Healing of the Sick: Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign that is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus' work on the cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit (see Ps. 103:2,3; Isa. 53:5; Matt. 8:16,17; Mark 16:17,18; Acts 8:6,7; Rom. 11:29; 1 Cor. 12:9,28; Jas. 5:14-16).

God's Will for Provision: It is the Father's will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God's will while on earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ's provision in order to serve others.

Spiritual (see John 3:3-11; Rom. 10:9,10; 2 Cor. 5:17-21).

• Mental and emotional (see Isa. 26:3; Rom. 12:2; Phil. 4:7,8; 2 Tim. 1:7; 2:11).

• Physical (see Isa. 53:4,5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24).

• Financial (see Deut. 28:1-14; Josh. 1:8; Ps. 34:10; 84:11; Mal. 3:10,11; Luke 6:38; 2 Cor. 9:6-10; Phil 4:19)

Resurrection: Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. As a result, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected-they that are saved to the resurrection of life, and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (see Luke 24:16,36,39; John 2:19-21; 20:26-28; 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:42,44; Phil. 1:21-23; 3:21).