Our Distinctives

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God, the main character of this story, is the personal, all-powerful being who made everything that exists. He is the true ruler of the universe — lovingly providing for all that is under his care.

God’s creation (human’s specifically -man and woman) made the choice to live outside His Kingdom, His reign, whereby sin entered the world and they were subject to pain, sickness, suffering, and death as a result of that choice. Because He is just and good and cannot allow injustice or rebellion in His presence forever, He had to punish them by sending them away from His presence, and yet he still loved and provided for them.

God did not leave His creation to be confused and without hope forever, but chose one man, Abraham, and made a covenant with him. God promised to bless Abraham and multiply His offspring so that they would be a blessing to all the nations. Abraham’s family would be the means by which God would carry out His mission and cure the world from His creation’s rebellion. Abraham and all of God’s people who were to follow would fall short of being that blessing to all nations time and time again. During this time God promised a new King, a messiah, who would ultimately accomplish his purposes and so His people waited in expectation in the midst of their brokenness.

God was still on His mission and one day His son, Jesus, was born and when he reached a certain age he began to proclaim, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe”. He was the King of God’s Kingdom and spent His time among people teaching and showing them what that Kingdom was like. He lived this way until He willingly gave himself to His enemies who crucified Him on a cross and He died. Three days later, He showed He was the one true King by coming back to life, being raised from the dead, and thereby defeating sin once and for all.

Those who followed Jesus were His disciples and were also known as Christians. Many followed Him when He walked among them and after His resurrection He gathered them again before He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, the Father. His followers prayerfully waited and then the Holy Spirit came and empowered them to live out everything Jesus had taught them. As time went on these followers’ setup communities that would represent Jesus to one another, their neighbors, and even their enemies. These were called churches and they existed to live out God’s redemptive mission that he was still carrying out.

God was still on His mission and in a vision to one of the disciples, John, Jesus revealed his ultimate purpose and plan to restore His creation and make it whole again. One day Jesus will return where he will fully and finally defeat the enemies of His Kingdom, then He will judge every person according to those who rebelled and those who were redeemed. Finally, the dwelling place of God will be with man where He will dwell with them and they will be His people, and God Himself will be there with them forever.