LOVE: We love unconditionally.

Is there a more popular but misunderstood word than love? The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus define love -- because God is love. We will love unconditionally all people without preference and welcome everyone without distinction. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13).

TRUTH: We pursue truth.

In a truth averse world, everything is up for grabs. We believe truth can be known and should be pursued. We believe that truth is more than a proposition—it’s a person. "Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it." (Timothy Keller). Truth must be genuine and sincere, full of integrity. Without truth, we have no foundation to stand.

GOODNESS: We seek goodness.

In a relativist world, good is called evil and evil is called good. This caustic exchange tears at the fabric of our world. We will seek the moral and relational good of our city. Robust goodness by its very definition will be marked by selflessness, patience, trust, honesty, and excellence. With humility, we will seek not just to be good, but to do good.

BEAUTY: We cultivate beauty.

Made in God’s image, we have great capacity to create beauty and fill the world with His glory. We will cultivate beauty to fill our city with the beauty of God. This means we will champion diversity because color produces beauty. Musicians, creatives, artists, and artisans are valued because beauty matters.

HOSPITALITY: We love neighbors.

Jesus said anyone in need is our neighbor. We will welcome others as Jesus welcomed us with relational generosity and radical hospitality. We love, bless, and serve our neighbors to meet physical and spiritual needs. This means we will be generous with our time, talents, and treasures. We will be available and accessible, inclusive and flexible, willing to become uncomfortable, with hearts that seek to serve. You are welcome here.

TRANSFORMATION: We embrace change.

Because of the gospel, beauty rises from ashes. With God, people can and do change. We will never get over the gospel and we live a life of continued repentance and faith. We want to see people and culture renewed and revived by the power of the gospel. This means we will take individual ownership of our lives with a fierce commitment to change. We will seek growth in others. We will be marked by forgiveness and accountability, conviction and grace. Our community finds life in spiritual disciplines not because they earn us favor, but because through them we get our greatest treasure...God himself.

COMMUNITY: We build community.

We were created for relationship with God and with our fellow brothers and sisters. We build authentic communities of love, trust, and transparency. Growth in gospel grace happens in relationship as we are sent on mission together. We will serve one another and find life together through fellowship. We will be quick to listen and slow to speak. We will rejoice with each other and cry together. Strangers will become friends who become family.

MULTIPLICATION: We strive to multiply.

What starts here does not end here. We are making disciples who make disciples. Our big dream is to see the city saturated with the glory of God as the Gospel advances. We will multiply gospel communities, plant churches, and send out missionaries to take the gospel both near and far. We are kingdom-minded, which means we believe we are part of something bigger than us. Where we can partner to see the Kingdom advance, we will do so. This will mean we are willing to sacrifice at cost to ourselves and will walk with humble courage down any path God leads us on.