Distinctives
We love the Gospel
At the top of our list, and at the center of everything we do, is the gospel. Trusting in Jesus’ perfect life, His death in our place to pay the penalty we deserve, and His resurrection from the grave gives us acceptance with God, forgiveness of sin, and never-ending life and joy with Him. Does it get any better than that? Is there any news that comes close to Jesus agreeing to take the punishment we deserve so that it would be right for God the Father to love us as Jesus deserves? We don’t think so. Amazing! The love the Father has for His Son, Jesus, is poured out on us, and it’s only possible because the obstacle of sin has been removed at the cross. God’s grace is all the more amazing to us when we realize we did nothing to deserve it, or even activate it. Even our faith is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9), and if God hadn’t opened our eyes to who He really is (2 Cor 4:6), none of us would ever accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 3:10-12). Because salvation is 100% God and 0% us, there’s just no room for boasting in ourselves and every reason to boast in the grace of God toward undeserving sinners, like us. With this in mind, how could this news not affect everything we do?
We love to laugh
Hello? Did you read what we had to say about the gospel? Okay, life can be very hard and Christians aren’t immune from depression, but we’ve found that the best remedy for every difficult circumstance is to be reminded of the gospel. In light of this good news we find ourselves hopeful and less likely to be grumpy. Basically although we’re aware of – and have suffered- pain in life, we have high confidence in the sovereignty of God, we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously, we enjoy a good laugh, and our constant remedy is to preach the gospel to ourselves and others.
We love families
God made the church to be a little like a family where dads lead, protect, and lovingly discipline; where moms serve, nurture, and help with dad’s leadership; and where kids grow, learn to submit to authority, and are given opportunities to love. Encouraging godliness within family relationships is a wonderful way to encourage a growing love and appreciation for God’s family, the church. Since families make up a good portion of the church, and those without a family need the love that a family gives, we try to encourage godly unity by staying together as much as possible.
We love to serve
If you have a delicious pie do you keep it to yourself, or do you share it with others? When you watch a thought-provoking movie, aren’t you quick to tell others about it? We share good things with others because a part of our own enjoyment is in serving others with the joy we’ve experienced. Serving begins at home, happens at church, flows out to our community, and continues to move further and further away because we just can’t help it. We love the gospel, and part of our enjoyment is in serving others with God’s goodness whether it’s a church family need, a local project, loving those with disabilities, supporting international workers, or in supporting a short-term mission trip. We love to serve because we love the gospel so we’re committed to missions and ministries here at home and in South America and Africa, to name two important continents.