We love the North Shore and invest our lives in it, but we’re not defined by the cultural values around us. As we seek to take part in a Gospel Movement on the North Shore we need to align our church culture with the missionary call of God; namely:

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.
X