About

Our vision is to see a gospel movement on the North Shore.

Who We Are

We are ordinary people

Christians experience life just like everyone else. We go through trials and suffering. We have seasons of joy and celebration. We sin, repent, and sin again. We are not excluded from the brokenness of life; but we are taken through it by our gracious Savior.

United by Extraordinary Hope

Our church’s unity is not something we create or build; it’s a gift we receive in the Gospel. As we come to Christ—our Living Hope—we are formed into a community of his Spirit. He himself is our peace and foundation. Therefore, our hope is not wishful thinking or naïve optimism. Hope is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Hope is a Person. That’s why it’s extraordinary.

Transformed by the gospel

The gospel is the good news that God has rescued us in Christ. Jesus died and was resurrected. All of life—work, marriage, art, family, friendship, meaning, goals, finances, civic duty—is re-imagined as we consider the kingdom of God.

Called to live on mission

God draws us to himself in his great love for us, and then sends us out to share this great love! We live on mission as a community, seeking together to align ourselves with the kingdom of God in every aspect of life.

Our Vision and Purpose

Our long-term desire is to see an extraordinary work of God’s Spirit in every community on the North Shore

that results in thousands of people meeting Christ, growing as disciples, and serving in gospel-centered churches.

We want to take part in a gospel movement that declares the reign of Christ and re-aligns all of life to his holy love, transforming the landscape of the North Shore.

This vision is so much bigger than us! It is something only God can do! Therefore, our focus is to take one step, each day, toward rediscovering the wonder of the gospel. We’re praying for all of us, youngest to oldest, to have a life-changing rediscovery of the gospel. We want to be gripped daily by the riches of what Christ has done for us—our Living Hope. We want to see increased passion in worship, courage in evangelism, joy in service, hospitality to our neighbors, engagement in community needs, and wisdom to speak the truth in every area of life. We want to live as if the gospel is true—because it is!—and step by step become people who can encourage a gospel movement.

In this vision, we hope to see

Lives renewed

Families transformed

Homes opened up

Skeptics welcomed

Prayer mobilized

Leaders developed

Old divisions healed

Churches partnering together for mission

And we can't do this alone.

North Shore Gospel Partnership

The North Shore Gospel Partnership is a friendship of churches and ministries united around the gospel, collaborating for the advancement of the Lord’s transformative work on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

Learn More

We want the way we do things at NSCBC to be shaped by the gospel

See below some different ways that we try to live out a gospel culture on the North Shore.

Our Culture and Values

We want to be a vibrant, welcoming community.

We desire to be people characterized by deep love, acceptance, and the mercy of God. God’s grace makes us want to open our lives and show hospitality to all types people, even those we disagree with morally or spiritually. Because we’re forgiven by grace alone, we can be merciful to one another, transparent about our sin, and quick to seek and grant forgiveness. We can open up our homes and use our “table” as a place of welcome. We worship and serve with a diverse group of people; united by a common experience of God’s costly grace.

We want to be growing individually

We want to align everything in our life—work, family, ministry, friendships, etc.—to the implications of the Gospel. The death and resurrection of Christ changes everything. We want to be continually growing in the application of God’s Word to our everyday lives. To this end, we commit ourselves to gathered worship, serving together, developing Gospel community, Christian formation, regular times of prayer, reading the Bible, and other spiritual practices.

We want to value and mobilize the organic church

Beyond the programs and services of the institutional church, the organic church impacts lives through independent actions of individual Christians. Gospel movements are grass-roots, vision-driven and decentralized. Every believer freely uses his or her gifts and resources as the needs arise. The institutional church creates structures (e.g. pastors, church officers, programs, services) to support and encourage the growth of the organic church. The more the Gospel impacts our hearts, the more we reach out to others who are struggling spiritually, socially, and physically as they seek to live in a fallen world. This living expression of the Gospel makes our communities stronger and provides a place for everyone.

We want to communicate the Gospel well

As we experience the joy of being awakened by the Gospel in our own lives, we long for others to be transformed by the Gospel. As we share life with our family, friends, and neighbors, we are learning about their greatest fears, hopes, failures, dreams, and challenges. Through discipleship, we are learning how to better share the Good News in a way that connects the Gospel to these everyday life situations. As we develop relationships with those who are skeptical about or unconvinced by the truth of the Gospel, we desire to grow in knowledge and experience of the Gospel so that we will always be ready to effectively share the reason for the hope we have in Christ.

We want to be positive about the area in which we live

The North Shore of Boston is beautiful and has a unique culture. We seek to celebrate the positive aspects of our culture and we work towards the common good of our broader community. Remembering that we daily experience the grace and forgiveness of God, we are willing to challenge the elements of our culture that dishonor God, while at the same time extending grace to those in our community. We desire to relate the Gospel to the needs and questions of those around us, seeking to model our lives after Christ, who reaches out to all people.

We want to be involved with other Gospel-centered churches

Many churches in our area are centered on the person and work of Christ and committed to biblical authority. We seek to proclaim the Gospel to the people of the North Shore by working side by side with these churches. Although churches may differ on secondary issues like church government, end-time views, or expressions of spiritual gifts, rather than being tribalistic and competitive, we desire to be on mission together to bring the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to our neighbors, friends, family, and co-workers.

What We Believe

The Word of God

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

See 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:19-21.

The Trinity

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.

See Matthew 28:19; John 1:14; 16:5-13.

God the Father

We believe in God, the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men [humanity], that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

See John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:1-3.

Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.

See John 17:5; Ephesians 1:2-3; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 7:22-25.

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.

See John 14:26; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:22.

Regeneration

We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

See John 1:12-13; 3:3; Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5.

The Church

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship.* We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.

See Matthew 16:16-18 and Ephesians 2:19-22.

Christian Conduct

We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the wellbeing of others; that their conduct should be blameless before the world; that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions; and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.

See Ephesians 2:10 and 2 Peter 1:3-7.

The Ordinances

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

See Matthew 28:18-20 and Luke 22:14-20.

We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.

See 1 Peter 2:13-15; James 4:12; Romans 14:4.

Religious Liberties