gospel identities
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God the Father re-creates in us a new identity through the power of His Holy Spirit.
We have all been transformed and are seeking to walk in these new identities as disciples of Christ. There are five identities as a disciple of Christ that are very important to us and form the DNA of our community.
child: Ephesians. 5:1, I John 3:1, Galatians 4:6-7
God has adopted you into his family and you are forgiven, loved, and accepted by the Father all because of Jesus life, death, and resurrection.
God accepts you completely on Christ work and never because of your work.
What this means for our community is that we celebrate the fact that we are saved by grace alone and now through Christ we have been added to a family of other adopted brothers and sisters.
student: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Luke 4:4, 24:27, John 5:39, Acts 17:11\Col 3:16
You are a student of God’s inspired, inerrant word which centers its narrative on the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are called to study this unfolding, redemptive, revelation for ourselves, our church community and our city.
What this means for our community is that we are all called to be theologians and students in community, helping bring the gospel to bear upon the questions of our own life, our church’s life, and our city.
servant: Mark 10:45, John 13:12-17, I Peter 4:10, Titus 3:1,8,14, Galatians 6:10
You are a servant in God’s world and God’s church. Jesus said that he did not come to be served but to serve. He also said the greatest in the kingdom of heaven was the servant. Our call is to follow in the footsteps of our savior Jesus Christ, and serve people in our church community, and serve people in our city through a faithful presence in all aspects of culture and vocation. We are his people who are called to be zealous for good works.
missionary : John 17:20-23, John 20:21, Matthew 28:18-20, I Cor 9:22-23; 10:33, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, Colossians 4:5-6, Philippians 2:15-16, I Peter 3:15-16
We are a community of missionaries sent by God to talk to people about the gospel in the city you live. Each of us is called to live an ordinary life with gospel intentionality. We are called to view our city, community, school, and work as places that God is sending us as missionaries to tell the good news of Jesus Christ and therefore to make disciples.
builder : John 13:35, Ephesians 4:14-16, I Peter 2:4-10, Galatians 6:1-2
We are builders of God’s church as we love, care, encourage, correct, bear burdens and help each other apply the gospel to all the issues of life.
Through our love and service to one another God makes his gospel visible so that the world may witness a new community that represents his kingdom.