What we believe
First and foremost, we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Read about the gospel here.
Our values
1. The Gospel: The gospel changes absolutely everything.
The gospel is the good news that the reign of God (his kingdom) is at hand by the person, work, and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. It (He) is the solution to all of the effects of in in our hearts and in the world. Therefore, we are committed to bringing everything we do in line with the gospel (Gal 2:14).
2. The Word of God: The gospel opens our eyes to the truth.
Only through the preaching of the gospel are blind eyes are opened to the truth of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:5-6). Therefore, we will faithfully teach, preach, and apply God’s word to our hearts in our circumstances.
3. God-centered Worship: The gospel makes us worshippers of the true and living God.
Through the gospel, the Father seeks to make people true worshippers – people who worship God alone through Jesus Christ alone (John 4:23). Therefore, we are committed to public worship with God- and gospel-centered song lyrics and with attention to the reading of Scripture, prayer, giving, and the sacraments. We will also encourage Christians to have robust lives of private worship.
4. Commitment to the Local Church: The gospel is aimed at creating local Christian communities.
The gospel leads to the planting and flourishing of local churches (1 Thess 1:8). Therefore, we are committed to teaching Christians the centrality of the local church, understanding at the same time that Christians in our culture come to understand its centrality in a process. We will acknowledge this process by providing opportunities for believers to increase their level of commitment over time.
5. Relational Depth: Through the gospel we become the people of God, a new community in which worldly distinctions no longer separate us from one another (Gal 3:28).
Therefore, we are committed to developing relationships with one another that move away from the fear of being known and the sense of superiority that lives as if we don’t need others in our lives.
6. Spiritual Renewal: The gospel brings ongoing spiritual transformation.
Too many Christians think that the gospel is for the beginning of the Christian life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every Christian’s fruitfulness ultimately springs from the soil of the gospel. (2 Pet 1:2-9). Therefore, we will help believers understand this reality by the way we preach, teach, and counsel.
7. Leadership Development: The gospel calls people into local church ministry.
Through the gospel, the church has been granted gifts for its edification, officers in the church to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:7-16). And although the Bible limits the offices to men, it does not limit all roles of leadership in the church to men (e.g., Acts 18:1-26). Therefore, we are committed to leadership development for men and women that does not micromanage ministry, but encourages involvement, imagination, ingenuity, and self-starting initiative.
8. The Suburbs: The gospel changes our attitude toward where we live.
God loves the suburbs as much as any other place on earth (e.g., John 4:39-41). Therefore, we will teach people to celebrate God’s common grace that we experience in the suburbs, to seek the common good of the suburbs, and to challenge the idolatries of suburban life.
9. Personal Evangelism: The gospel makes us a church for others.
All Christians and every local church have the privilege of sharing Jesus with others (Col 4:2-6). Therefore we will teach people that the church is not for ourselves alone. That the gospel frees us to live for the good of the suburbs: our friends, neighbors, and colleagues who do not yet believe. We will also actively cultivate relationships with non-Christians and invite them to church, being conscious of and welcoming to them when they come. Finally, we will communicate in such a way as to invite dialogue, understanding that the way people typically come to Jesus is in a process.
10. Concern for Justice: The gospel produces social healing.
The coming of the kingdom of God means that we get to taste the fruit of Jesus’ reversal of all the effects of the fall (Mark 1:14-15). This reversal doesn’t simply affect our relationship to God, but who we are in the totality of our being – psychologically, physically, socially, and institutionally. Therefore, we will vigorously pursue justice for everyone through a vital ministry of mercy that begins with the suburbs and moves out into the Twin Cities Metro and the wider world.
11. Cultural Renewal: The gospel produces cultural renewal.
The gospel reminds us that all our work matters to God (1 Thess 4:10-12). It teaches us that every vocation can be offered as service to God. The gospel also shapes the way we work, affecting the motives, manner, and method of our work, and enabling Christians to perform their work with excellence, diligence, integrity, and Christian distinctiveness. Therefore, we are committed to equipping believers to fulfill their calling, transforming culture from the inside out.
12. Global Christianity: The gospel is good news for all the peoples of the world.
The gospel motivates us to plant churches around the world among every tribe, nation, kingdom, and language beginning where we are and extending outward to all the unreached peoples of the earth (Matt 28:18-20). Therefore, we aim to be involved in the planting of churches with the same gospel-centered core values into every city and people group within the Twin Cities Metro, the United States, and the world.
13. Cooperative Mindset: The gospel produces cooperation among churches.
God desires to use all of the gospel-preaching churches in a region according to their giftedness for the common good (e.g., 1 Cor 16:1). Therefore, we will not be territorial with respect to other churches, but seek to form partnerships with those that are fulfilling their
role to reach the community with the gospel of grace.
Our distinctives
-
We practice believer’s baptism, as expressed Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19.
-
We are Reformed in the sense that we believe in the Doctrines of Grace (also known as the 5 points of Calvinism.)
- Total Depravity: Sin has extended to all parts of our being; we are in an utterly hopeless condition, unable to get ourselves out of this state. [Eph 4:18; 1 Cor 2:14, Romans 1:30; John 15:25; Luke 19:14; John 5:40; Isaiah 5:20; Titus 1:15, and others.]
- Unconditional Election: Because of our total depravity, salvation must originate with God. Scripture tells us He has elected some sinners to be saved from deserved condemnation, purely because of his gracious mercy and love. [Romans 9:11 and 11:5, Eph 1:4, 5, 9, 11; Psalm 65:4, 2 and 103:11; 2 Thess 2:13, Romans 9:15, 23; Psalm 103:11, 1 Peter 1:2-3, Jonah 2:9, and others].
- Limited Atonement: Christ died to save only the elect, securing with absolute certainty their salvation. [Acts 20:28; John 3:14 + 15; Gal 1:4 + 5; Rev 13:8; John 6:38 + 39; John 17:9, 10 + 24; John 10:11; 1 Peter 2:21; Romans 5:8-10; 1 Thess 1:10; Luke 1:68; Isaiah 53:11, and others].
- Irresistable Grace: Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God draws the elect to himself, raising them to new spiritual life. [Matt 11:28-30; John 6:37; Matthew 23-37; John 5:40; Eph 1:12, 19; Ezekiel 11:19+20; Psalm 110:3; 2 Thess 1:11, and others].
- Perseverance of the Saints: God keeps and perseveres His elect by His power and grace and never lets them go. [1 Peter 1:5; James 4:6; Phil 1:6+19; John 6:39; John 10:28+29; Romans 8:38-39; Roamns 8:8; Gal 5:13-26, and others].
Relevant Resource: Doctrines of Grace sermon series
Additional Resources
The London Baptist Confession of 1689 [Click here to read the PDF]
Together for the Gospel Coalition (TG4) [http://t4g.org/]
The Gospel Coalition [www.thegospelcoalition.org]