These are some of our core beliefs and commitments.

We believe the gospel of Jesus is the power of God for salvation, for all who believe, so we pray that the Holy Spirit will make us gospel-people, who think, live, and breathe gospel truth wherever we live, work, play, study, and all else.

We believe the Holy Spirit is active and alive today in the lives of Jesus’ disciples and in the Church, and that all his gifts, both miraculous and ordinary, are in operation today, so we ask the Spirit to lead us and empower us to become the kinds of people and community Jesus intends us to be.

We believe the church is not a building or a program, but a spiritual family, so we ask the Spirit to bind us together in supernatural love and unity.

We believe also that the Church is a missionary family sent out to show God’s love and declare the good news of Jesus. As a community called to reach and love those struggling in addiction, poverty, and exploitation, we pray that Jesus will lead us right where his kids are suffering in desperate chaos— to the motels, casinos, trap houses, trailer parks, homeless camps, and wherever else people are in bondage.

We believe God still uses apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds, and teachers to build up and strengthen the church for faithful ministry and mission, along with many other people with varying gifts meant to be used to strengthen the life and ministry of the church. We therefore pray that the many gifts will be made available to and expressed within our church, so that all these aspects of Jesus’ character and mission will be present in our disciples, leaders, and church family.

We believe Jesus has mortal enemies-- Satan and his demonic army -- who are hell-bent on rebelling against God and causing chaos and deception, especially among those who believe, so we take this seriously in prayer, in our community, and the mission God has called us to.

We believe that, even when it is not evident to our eyes, the Kingdom of God is advancing throughout the earth, bringing renewal and revival, and that one day all things will be made new when Jesus returns in glory. We pray that the Spirit of the living God will revive us in remarkable ways, and help us to bring that renewal wherever he leads as we look and pray for his imminent return.

We believe our neighbors who struggle in cycles of addiction, mental illness, poverty, crime, and exploitation have been largely ignored by and excluded from the Church, and that this is a great sin. So we pray that God will change our hearts and give us, and other church families, a real heart and vision, first to repent for the harm we have done intentionally or unintentionally, and second to do what we can to fully welcome these neighbors into the life of our gospel community. 

We believe that our neighbors on the streets have experienced real harm and trauma, and have harmed each other, in many ways. This is true of us all, of course, so this is our core commitment: to become a community where Jesus heals us all, together, in mind, body, soul, and spirit, as he sees fit. We believe this best happens as we build trust through loving relationships nurtured over time, first with the Lord, and also with each other. We pray that Jesus will do this supernatural work among us.

We believe that smaller gospel communities are more effective at reaching people and helping them become disciples of Jesus. We pray, therefore, that we will be able to effectively establish and multiply smaller gospel communities as our part of fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28.19-20).

We believe that people in all times and places should have access to the gospel and God’s community in ways that make sense to them— within their rhythms of life and in the language that speaks to their heart. This applies to our neighbors struggling in addiction and poverty as well. We therefore ask that the Spirit lead us to use language that connects and a community life that suits the life rhythms of our friends on the streets, so that they have the best chance of hearing and taking joy in the gospel of Jesus.

We believe that the church is meant to be a participatory community in every respect. We reject the all too common top-down culture adopted by so many churches as unbiblical and harmful, and we therefore pray the the Spirit will move and empower all our people to take part in the celebration.

The Church exists primarily to bring the good news of Jesus to the whole world, but also to prove the truth of the gospel through what we do practically, day to day, locally within our community and then out through the world. We believe this happens best in both gospel proclamation and demonstration, in word and in deed, so we pray that the Spirit will give us the ability to display the truth of Jesus in both what we say (the gospel itself)  and what we do (service, healing, justice, deliverance, miracles, etc).

We also believe that the best leadership arises from within local communities (AKA “indigenous leaders”). We therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he will give us the ability to help our friends on the streets become faithful followers of Jesus, who become leaders of their own gospel communities in the camps, hotels, casinos, streets, and anywhere else they may go.

In a related fashion, we believe churches will see leaders rise up organically from within. This will happen as people become an integral part of the community, building trust over time, displaying faithfulness in ministry and mission, and being affirmed by the leaders in place, rather than through authority imposed through degrees, titles, or authority held elsewhere. We pray that the Lord will help our community become so effective at making disciples that we have an overabundance of qualified, faithful leaders.

Ultimately, we believe that Jesus is Lord, so we pray and trust that he will bring all these things to pass.