Our Strategy:
To Lead a Jesus-Centered Life
There are five spiritual formation rhythms that make up our “way of life.” We understand that cultivating these rhythms happens best in community.
1 . Recreate
This rhythm describes our practice to intentionally pause from the busyness of life, in order to create space for physical (healthy eating, exercise, and rest), emotional (healthy reflection and self-evaluation), and spiritual (healthy communion with God) restoration to occur.
2 . Listen
This rhythm describes the practice of actively listening to the key influences in our lives, that being, to God’s Word, God’s Spirit (in personal prayer), and God’s People.
3 . Give
This rhythm desires to see us committed to giving to the work of God, giving to the needy in our community, and giving to the world, through the exercising of Gospel Generosity.
4 . Gather
This rhythm seeks to see us regularly experiencing life-giving worship services, and authentic community groups.
5 . B.L.E.S.S.
B.L.E.S.S. is a rhythm acrostic that describes how we want to be “on mission” as a church; it shares the same meaning as the BLESS strategy. It’s described below:
Begin with Prayer for “divine appointments.” Jesus started with prayer; we do too. We pray for opportunities to engage our neighbors that God wants us to bless. Our “neighbors” are people with whom we are living in close proximity and extends to anyone with whom we are interacting. “Prayer is both how you do mission and how you discover your mission.”
Listen to our neighbors. We are present — listening to, and being genuinely interested — in the struggles, the pains, the challenges, and the joys that our neighbors face.
Eat with our neighbors. Eating together is a universal place where, by being present, we can practice and exercise hospitality and authentic relationships. There is nothing like breaking bread to build bridges into the lives of our neighbors.
Serve our neighbors. We believe that if we are present, listening, and eating with our neighbors, then we will also learn and know how to love and serve them. We strive to meet the needs of our neighbors, which also include the oppressed, the maligned, and the marginalized in our communities, with practical and impactful acts of service.
Story Sharing with our neighbors — who are in close proximity, who are in our communities, and who are those that go beyond our community, into “neighborhoods” around the world. We invite people into the story of God by being committed to sharing how we have been restored back to God through Jesus.