Gospel Centrality

All that God is for us in Christ, animating who we are and what we do.

The Gospel is the incredible, unexpected, beautiful, and true good news that through the person and work of Christ, God has redeemed sinners like you and me from the curse of our sin. It's the story of a loving and holy Father sending The Son to take our place on a cross, pay our debts, forgive our sins, make us right, adopt us as sons and daughters, give us eternal life, and begin conforming us into the image of the One by whom we were created. The Gospel is the center of our lives and the filter through which everything is run through here.

HOLINESS AND HUMILITY

Unwavering commitment to holy living without performance or pretense.

We have received an abundance of undeserved grace from God. When we grasp the fullness of this truth, it produces in us holiness and humility. While we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, our faith never remains alone. God works in us to produce a life of repentance and obedience so that over time, we look like Christ. Our hearts are resolved to say “yes” to all of Christ’s callings on our lives. Because it’s all by grace, there’s nothing to prove and no boxes to check. With holiness also comes humility. We know deep down that we bring nothing to the table, except our sin. We are broken, in need of a Savior, full stop. Our only boast is in the goodness, mercy, power, and glory of Christ.

THEOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY

Scripture as the first and final authority for all our faith and practice.

We are convinced that our deepest joy intersects with our clearest apprehension of what He has said to be true about who He is, what He has done for us, and how He calls us to live through the pages of Scripture. Our faith, practice, and worldview is informed and shaped by the words of Scripture. And so the Word is always open at Seven Mile Road, whether it be in sermons, in Gospel communities, in team meetings, or in one-on-one discipleship.

RELATIONAL INTIMACY

Life shared in transparent, long-term, and tight-knit community.

The Church is not a place, event, or spiritual services provider. The church is a community of people being redeemed, knit together, and conformed to the image of God. We share life over the long haul as we respond to the life-altering message of the Gospel. We need each other. Even a casual reading of the New Testament shows that Jesus’ church was marked by a beautiful, messy, holy intimacy. They shared life together in the Gospel — they knew each other’s names, stories, sins, strengths, weaknesses, issues, dreams, fears, all of it. That’s what we are shooting for here: to be a church where friendships run deep.

LIFE ON MISSION

Intentionally meeting, loving, and engaging friends and neighbors with the Gospel.

We are a sent people — sent into the world to love and bless our neighbors. Everyone at Seven Mile Road is a missionary, on mission with Jesus to see His Kingdom break in on the kingdoms of this world. We are committed to living with boldness, creativity, and hospitality as we move toward our friends and family, neighbors and networks with Gospel love. This means we will be generous with our time, talents, and treasures with hearts that seek tell the Gospel in word and deed.

BUILT FOR NEW ENGLAND

A family of churches built to love and lead New Englanders to the real Jesus.

New England is home to nearly 15 million people — townies and transplants, blue collar and white collar, secular and spiritual, liberal and conservative, young and old. While there are church buildings on seemingly every main street, most are memories of a forgotten time. New England is now the most post-Christian and least Biblically-minded region of the country, and the Christian Gospel is met here with a combination of disinterest and disdain. We are energized by this landscape and are training pastors and planting churches that fit and flourish in the New England context.

REFORMED TRADITION

Ministry grounded in and shaped by the biblical doctrines of grace.

The Reformed Tradition believes that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, all for the glory of God alone. The Gospel is about God’s initiating grace — He acts, we respond. Even our response is a gift of faith birthed in us by God’s Spirit. Yes, good works flow from the Gospel, but they are not the cause of it. God freely gives grace to us not through performance, work, or merit but simply because of His love. Salvation from beginning to end is a gift. He called us, saved us, regenerated us, forgave us, justified us, adopted us, reconciled us to Himself. Day by day, His sanctifying grace draws us toward holiness and enables us to persevere to the end. This glorious grace frees us from arrogance, self righteousness, and despair because the God who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. Our Reformed Tradition impacts our understandings of Scripture, preaching, the sacraments, church government, etc.

RIGHTLY ORDERED RELATIONSHIPS

Men and women partnering together in alignment with their God-given callings.

God made humanity in His own image, as the crown of creation to glorify Him through enjoying fellowship with Him and serving as holy stewards of His world. Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God — possessing the same moral dignity and value with equal access to God through faith in Christ. At the same time, men and women are distinct. Our diversity as male and female cannot and should not be flattened. Humanity thrives when we celebrate both our unity and diversity as male and female. This has implications for our marriages, homes, and the church. In the creation order before the Fall, God established a pattern for manhood and womanhood. In the home, God has assigned a humbling and unique authority (headship) to husbands to lead and serve with Christ as the ultimate example. In the church, certain qualified men are called to serve as pastors (elders), exercising a servant leadership by which all members thrive. Both the home and in the church ought to be contexts where women thrive. Neither the home nor the church can be healthy without both men and women being loved, taught, respected, heard, and deployed for service. God’s highest glory and our deepest joy coincide when we wholeheartedly embrace the sex He has assigned to us and His intentions for our masculinity and femininity.

ACTIVELY MULTIPLYING

Serious about planting more missional churches.

Read the New Testament and you will see that starting new churches is how the Gospel spreads. There is no better way to connect with unbelievers than by starting new churches among them. The local church provides the perfect context for effective evangelism: a bunch of people who love and follow Jesus, gather weekly to hear the preached Word, and walk all week through life together in Gospel-centered friendships. So we’re not out to grow a megachurch, but to multiply healthy congregations that grow roots in particular New England cities and towns and live with missional intentionality among those people groups. In the coming years, we hope to see thousands of New Englanders believing the Gospel, being discipled, and living on mission in an ever-growing network of healthy Seven Mile Roads for Jesus’ glory and our joy.

LOCALLY FOCUSED

Tightly contextualized for Gospel advance among specific people groups.

Each Seven Mile Road is sent to love, serve, and bless a people group in a particular place. Living as everyday missionaries gets fleshed out in particular neighborhoods, towns, and cities throughout New England. Rather than focusing regionally, we want every Seven Mile Road church to know and be known locally. This is why Gospel communities play a strategic role in our mission to bring the hope of Christ to distinct neighborhoods all over New England. We are in and for our particular communities.

LONGTERM AND UNWAVERING

We’re not going anywhere.

We are in for the long-haul, with a steadfast commitment to give every New Englander the opportunity to know, love, and follow Jesus. God works through relationships and relationships take time — over meals, over seasons, over a lifetime. In a transient culture, someone has to stay and say “these are my people.” Cold, rocky soil takes time to till and patience to see seeds take root and grow to maturity where Gospel fruit is produced. By God’s grace and with his strength, we will work and stay to see His harvest.