To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to bring all of life under his lordship. Obviously, this is no easy task. In fact, it takes a lifetime and is complete with ups and downs, failures and victories. Jesus knew that we would struggle: “In this world you will have trouble."  But then he gave us an important word of encouragement:  "Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

To assist and empower us for living, Jesus gave us two things: His Holy Spirit and the church. As we allow God’s Spirit to fill us and as we yield to His guiding, we are able to endure and overcome as Jesus did. But this journey is not to be taken alone, thus we have the church. Encouragement, correction, support, and spiritual growth take place within the body of believers. Further, the church is responsible for impacting the community in which we live. We are a counter-cultural movement that cannot happen in a vacuum or as lone rangers.

Like salmon swimming upstream against the river’s flow, so the followers of Jesus Christ are in this world. But the payoff is worth every ounce of effort. Our world needs to see a wholesome alternative community that operates with complete integrity, with a heart of compassion for all persons, with a mission bigger than itself, and with joy that defies explanation. 

We are imperfect people who are striving to live according to God’s standards. We are learning to love God and others and to become all that He has created us to be. Sometimes our body of Christ is ailing, but we really want to be healthy and strong. We want the words “Jesus is Lord” to be true in our personal lives and in our church family. 

So we invite you to travel with us through this beautiful, mixed up world with passion, purpose, and an unending desire to follow Jesus. Together we are discovering that “[God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…” (2 Peter 1:3).