Our Vision

Community: We are called to be a new kind of community, characterized by real love and real care, where people can have honest conversations about their questions and find sensible answers.

So now you … are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19-20, NLT)

Relationships: We exist to help people connect with God and with each other to find meaning and fulfillment in life. We do this through risking relationships with others, both inside and outside the Church.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31, NIV)

Authenticity: As followers of Christ, we are called to live out a relevant Christian witness that balances beliefs and knowledge, actions and attitudes as we seek to make sense of the Gospel to a watching world.

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? . . . . God-talk with God-actions is outrageous nonsense...you can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. (James 2:14, 17-18, MSG)

"O People, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NLT)

Discipleship: In the process of being transformed spiritually, we must not only know, but also obey what Bible teaches as we seek to apply the truth of God's Word as the ultimate trustworthy guide for daily living.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…(Romans 8:28-29, NIV)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

On-Mission: God is constantly at work in the world around us, and we must be looking to see where God is at work so we can adjust our lives to join in His activity. We believe that the local church is called to be a world mission strategy center, and so we seek to provide outrageous opportunities for participation in God’s mission in the world in the Cradock neighborhood, Portsmouth, Virginia, America, and throughout the world.

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7, NIV)

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.…I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.” (John 5:17, 19, 20, NIV)

Christ-Centered: As the Church, our ministry must be centered on Christ, who transcends economic, cultural and generational differences. Christ's cross is the ultimate demonstration of God's love for us, and His life is the standard for our lives.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. (Galatians 6:14-15, NIV)

Kingdom of God: We proclaim the rule of God in the hearts of all people and the supremacy of God in all things as we seek to advance the Redeemer's Kingdom. We are called to reach across racial and denominational lines to embrace and experience the present reality of God's Kingdom in all its fullness.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18, 19, NLT)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, ESV)