What We Believe
Faith.
Whenever Jesus talks about faith, He is almost always driving at something deeper than just belief. Even His own apostles, who saw him perform many miracles, struggled at times and asked Him, “How can we increase our faith?” And He responded, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” We believe even the smallest measure of our faith can move mountains and is directly tied to God’s power and strength to provide it. The faith He encourages us to seek is the same faith only He can supply; all we need do is ask and surrender to His generous heart.
Hope.
We believe the entire history of the world has been about God working through His people to turn away from corruption and to join Him in restoring His creation. We do this by making things right when we mess up, we fix what is broken, we help the oppressed, we heal pain, we bring joy to sadness, we bring peace to strife. We do all this because hope in God is greater than just feeling optimistic at times, it is something alive within us that grows deep and wide. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Love.
Jesus showed us that everything in life will work out for good when we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. We believe the best way to orient our lives around His sacrificial example is through loving all people equally through our actions, even those with whom we disagree. Jesus said, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” If we can learn to grow and love in this way, the world will look much more like God intended in the beginning.
How it’s lived out.
Let’s be honest, we live in a cynical age consumed with tearing down rather than building up. An age where cursing one another and keeping a laundry list of past wrong-doings is common fare, causing many to wallow in shame, guilt, fear, or bitterness. An age where we treat one another as guilty until proven innocent. Where it's all about winning, no matter who gets hurt. Where friendship is laden with having to defend rather than to share.
But, we believe there is no competition in Christ.
If we don't make time to slow down, we will continue crashing into one another. Ridding ourselves of distractions is an incredibly taxing endeavor in our day, but saying “no” to something means saying “yes” to, perhaps, something much better.
We aim to be good stewards of this land, shaping it to be a blessing for all who come upon it. We want people to say that our mission gave an authentic taste of the gritty love of the Cross. When Jesus tells us we’re the salt and light of the world, He means that we should live flavorful, interesting, challenging, and fun lives — that preserve His fingerprints on creation. We are a team that works hard to overcome the dark clouds that cast shadows and prevent anyone from being restored to new life. Christians, at their best, have historically worked together to become productive, lively, and generous people oriented toward a common task.
