What Really Matters to Us

Truth

We see God’s revelation as the way we encounter the Sovereign Lord, know Him personally, and experience continual transformation by His power.

• We value faithful preaching and in-depth study of Scripture
• We value evangelism as the only means of new birth
• We value nature as God’s revelation and gift to us
• We value men, women and children as images of God
• We value culture, science and the arts as avenues of truth, beauty and goodness

Community

We desire community formed by the truth of the gospel, where we experience grace and share it with others.

• We value servant leadership seeking to shepherd in humility and boldness
• We value a plurality of leaders each with their own strengths and perspectives
• We value worship and prayer as organic outflows of our individual and corporate lives
• We value grace, compassion, and mercy, not legalism or judgmentalism
• We value depth, authenticity, purity, and honesty
• We value interdependence and bearing with one another's burdens
• We value serving and loving each other as brothers and sisters in Christ
• We value each member’s role in community as worthwhile and essential

Mission

We want our community to join Jesus' mission to recover the lost, build the church, and serve our neighbors in downtown Columbia, and beyond.

• We value our neighborhoods, our city, and our region
• We value mercy ministry and social justice
• We value personal and relational evangelism
• We value leadership development locally and abroad
• We value church-planting regionally, nationally and internationally

Revelation

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We believe the invisible, unapproachable, incomprehensible God has revealed Himself in visible, approachable and comprehensible ways. And because we have known Him, we love Him. Because we love God, we love His Self-revelation.

Jesus

God has revealed Himself fully in the eternal Word, incarnate in Jesus Christ. Because we have come to know Jesus, we now know God. And because we love God, we love Jesus.

The Bible

God has revealed Himself in Scripture. As the written Word of God, inspired and illuminated by the Holy Spirit, we greatly value the faithful, corporate teaching of Scripture , and our own, individual and diligent study of it.

Nature and Culture

God has revealed Himself in creation and, most uniquely, in men and women – a revelation sustained despite the radical corruption and confusion of sin. We value not only all of nature as God’s gift, including, most especially, men, women, and children, but even our fallen culture, as the magnificent artifact of those bearing the divine image.

Columbia and Beyond...

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

City

We love the city of Columbia. We love its people, despite our many flaws. We love its culture, despite its many flaws. And because God cares for the city, we seek to promote its welfare, and advance justice and peace within it.

To this end, we value service to the community at all levels: from assisting our city’s poor and at-risk, to coming alongside our more affluent and educated neighbors, civil leaders and officials for the sake of the greater good. We highly value, then, ministries to not only the economically and socially vulnerable, for whom God shows special concern, but also to the university, to local government, and to places of business and the arts.

Most importantly, we are convinced that the most powerful way we can serve the greater good in Columbia, and promote its peace and prosperity, is as intercessors and ambassadors from Christ in the evangelization and discipleship of her citizens.

World

This is our Great Commission from Jesus, and it extends our concern as the church not only to the whole city, but to the whole world!

The purpose of our mission isn’t only for the benefit of our neighbors and enemies, but also for the glory of God. The two are connected: God’s grace is most clearly seen in the salvation and restoration of men, women and children. Because we so delight in the riches of His kindness, and because we so value all people as God’s wonderful creation, we desire to see everyone everywhere share in our joy of knowing God and enjoying Him forever.

Since the ministry of the gospel is the principal means by which God’s grace is communicated to and experienced by people, we value above every endeavor disciple-making and church-building among all communities and cultures. In particular, we prioritize evangelism, shepherding and leadership development for the multiplication of mature disciples.