PRESENCE
We are a people of “presence”—expectant in worship, aware of both the “in us” and “with us,” resident and manifest, empowering and sending, ubiquity of God. From experiencing His presence, we become His presence in the world. Incarnating a new social order, we challenge the powers and systems of the age, embrace the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes as a way of life, and engage in the hard justice work of the in-breaking gospel of the kingdom. Doing what we see the Father doing.
WALK WITH A LIMP
We value leadership that “walks with a limp.” Wisdom gleaned from experience, vulnerability, truth telling (i.e. the capacity to say “sorry” as much as to lead unapologetically), and servanthood inviting co-creation are all hallmarks of leading. This posture allows us to restore gently, lead compassionately, and not need to be the centre of attention. Things are “caught as much as taught”, and “our whisper is a shout.”
EVERYONE GETS TO PLAY
We are suspect of hierarchy, yet willingly embrace catalytic leadership that never graduates from servanthood and equipping others, opening a generous space where “everyone gets to play.”
A PROPHETIC PEOPLE
As kingdom people we are prophetic in nature, a signpost of God’s activity in our world as we embody the message of the kingdom come. We pledge allegiance to Jesus above all systems, governments, and powers. Listening is more key than speaking; integrity of action is as critical as declaration. In the cultivation of this prophetic ethos, we acknowledge that the presence, voice, and empowering of the Spirit of God comes like a rain, not like water from a single spout. He speaks to the church, through the church, to the world. All voices can resonate with His. Discernment is communal.
RESPONSE – NON-HYPE
Our vision, missional engagement, and liturgical expressions respond to God’s leading, not to our initiation: meekness, not the leveraging of power, compassion not institution, relationship not method.
COME HOLY SPIRIT
Our vision, missional engagement and liturgical expressions must be shaped, led, empowered and sustained by the Holy Spirit.
THE IN-BREAKING KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Triune God is Creator. The creation, both heaven and earth, is in the process of being made new: aching for the return of Jesus and the liberation of all God’s children, the final healing of the created order. We embrace an audacious faith, daring to believe this new creation is breaking in all around us, reconciling and redeeming all things. Therefore, we see creation care; the healing of mind, soul, body, and spirit—both the miraculous and the misericordia—at the core of the good news of the gospel of the kingdom.
THE POOR
We see the poor and marginalized in the centre of Christian community, not relegated to targeting, outreach, or tokenism. The key question is: “Are you willing to welcome?” not “How many food hampers did you deliver?”
We welcome each voice, life perspective, and insight, no matter how vulnerable or weak, into the heart of communal discourse as we all wrestle with our idolatry, addictions, vices, and brokenness, discovering hope and freedom in Christ. We are all at some level beggars simply helping each other find bread.
OBEDIENCE
Our hands are open; our posture is to wait. Our default is generosity with our resources, relationships, systems, and structures. Whether gathered or scattered: this is the Father’s House, Jesus is our Centre and we submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our end game is obedience not sacrifice. Risk is how we spell faith. The spirit of invitation is our guide.
NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL
We believe: that the incarnation of Jesus, His life on earth, and his subsequent crucifixion and resurrection really mean something. He is the way, all the way to the cross. His journey and vocation lead us deeper into what it means to be fully human, here, on earth. Receiving the dunamis of the resurrection and walking in Spirit-filled communion, we remain naturally supernatural. Our faith is cultivated in the soil of real-life experience and expressed via: art, innovation, entrepreneurship, husbandry, and stewardship of the planet. We share. When one weeps we all weep. When one rejoices we all rejoice. We come together because we can’t make it alone.