Our theological outlook can be summarized around three key words: Apostolic, Biblical and Reformed.
First, we are apostolic in two senses. Literally, “apostolic” means “sent,” and we believe that the very identity of the church is grounded in its apostolic calling: as God the Father sent the Son for the salvation of the world, so we have been sent by Jesus and are empowered by his Spirit to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8; John 20:21). We believe that our God is a missionary God, and that we are his sent people. (The words “apostolic” and “missional” have the same literal meaning.)
In addition, we are apostolic because we are committed to the apostolic faith, summarized in the Apostles, Nicene, and Chalcedonian creeds. Those who confess the faith of the apostles are those who have been sent by God in the power of the Spirit to be agents of Jesus Christ’s mission in the world. And so we believe in and seek to live out with integrity the apostolic faith and our apostolic calling.
Our theological vision is also biblical because the Bible authoritatively tells us the story of God’s mission in the world and how his covenant people have been called and sent to participate in his mission. And so we desire to be shaped in community by the Spirit according to the written Word of God, allowing God’s story as told in the Bible to shape the stories we live out in our own congregations.
Third, our faith and life is shaped by the Reformed confessions. These confessions emphasize the glory and sovereign grace of God in Jesus Christ, and offer a comprehensive vision of God’s purposes in the world. The Reformed tradition has consistently lifted up the truth that the whole world is the theatre of God’s glory, and that God has chosen a covenant people to participate in his mission to restore all creation from sin and destruction to perfect harmony with himself. In the Old Testament, God formed Israel as his covenant people, and they were called to be a witness to the nations. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the history of redemption reached its climax, people from all nations now formed God’s covenant people as the Church, and the Kingdom of God was brought near to us. As people of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, we participate in God’s mission by following in the way of the cross, proclaiming the Gospel to all peoples, and witnessing to Jesus’ reign even now, as we look for its full realization in the new heaven and earth, when Jesus returns in glory.
Other aspects of our theological vision are found in our 2006 Invitation and 2009 Covenant.
Soli Deo Gloria!
