Trust God's Word: His word alone is forever reliable and true.
Our society is in desperate need of something that is objectively reliable and true, the spread of relativism and absence of morality are wreaking havoc. God’s word is living and active, His word is more than words on a page – His Word became flesh and came to seek and save what is lost. Jesus, the embodiment of God’s word is worthy of all our trust. His word as recorded in scripture is also entirely reliable and true for all things concerning life and salvation. We hope our family of faith will grow in its ability to radically trust God’s Word.
Rest: Pausing with Jesus changes everything.
As we reflect on our own busyness, I imagine many of us are tired of hearing how tired others are. For the most part, we have significant say in what fills our schedule. If we’re too busy for Jesus, we’re too busy. Jesus promises us rest if we will go to him and abide in him. When we learn to give Jesus meaningful time, he begins to change us at a heart level – he truly transforms our desires and decisions from the inside out. We’re hopeful that every person in our faith family will learn to regularly rest in the presence of Christ.
Journey Together: We're called to love each other sacrificially.
The secular and spiritually minded in our society all agree that while people are more connected than ever electronically they’re also more relationally isolated and lonely than ever before. Jesus didn’t journey alone, nor did he send his disciples out alone. Jesus himself said, “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We’re encouraged to mourn & rejoice with one another, to confess our sins, to pray together, to gather for worship, to share our resources, and to consider others better than ourselves. God designed us to live in meaningful relationships. We’re hopeful that people of our church will risk being vulnerable and sacrificial with their time, emotions, and resources so that we avoid the temptation to journey alone. We’re better together.
The Lost & Forgotten: God's love is for all the world.
We believe this is the heart of God, to love all people, even those who are spiritually lost and socially forgotten. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son…” Luke 19:10, “Jesus came to seek and save the lost.” One of the last commands Jesus gave to his followers was, “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Proverbs 14:31 says those who are generous to the poor honor God. Psalm 72 says, “may he defend the cause of the poor and defend the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.” We’re determined to not lose sight of those who are hard to reach in the world.
The Next Generation: Helping younger people become strong & courageous in Christ.
Our younger generations will face obstacles that haven’t yet been faced in our nation, we want to remain committed to creating space for them in our church family. This means we’ll need to be prepared for unique questions and perspectives and we’ll also need to be more focused in the way we go about equipping young people to navigate a culture that is increasingly anti-Christian. God has been gracious to bring our church family a strong number of children and young adults, we want to be focused and responsible with that gift he has given us.
Faith-filled Risk: God's plans are better than ours.
The Bible says we’re a people who walk by faith and not by sight, we’re hopeful that is a lived reality at Faith Alliance. Avoiding faith-filled risk leads to complacency and stagnation. The Bible is overflowing with examples of people who “stepped out of the boat” in obedience to God. We recognize that when God shows up in ways that are beyond the capability of any person, He receives all the glory, honor, and praise. His plans are way better than ours; we excited to go and see what God has in store for our church family!