Why did we start a church?
Simply put, it is the natural outflow of the gospel. Unbeknownst to us, the gospel did not just change us individually but collectively. A supernatural act happened by the Spirit of God where we were joined together as one family of all people who have embraced and believed in the gospel of Jesus.
The Church was created and continues to grow not by any work we have done, but through the work of Jesus (his life, death, and resurrection). The elements of the gospel, or more directly translated “good news”, is found throughout the Bible in Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Through Jesus, God the Father is now redeeming and restoring the world and the people in it. He does his work by the Spirit through what He calls His Church.
So, for us, it isn’t really about starting a church…it’s about the gospel of Jesus. If we can show people how to enter His love (acknowledging sin, asking His forgiveness, reading His Word, etc), abide in Him, and let them watch Him change us, we will discover the dynamics of Christ building His church through us, all around us. And people will see His heart, and see our heart, and we’ll all join God in his redemptive work in the world.
Formerly known as River Market Community Church, we are a mix of people scattered across the metro area and have come together for this endeavor with a variety of backgrounds including addicts, drunks, thieves, adulterers, self-righteous pastors’ kids, those darn ‘rainbow and unicorn’ do-gooders, and lazy gluttons (with the founding pastor being an ex-drug dealer!). We all used to live (and sometimes still do) to glorify ourselves and be our own gods. But we all encountered the Gospel of Jesus, and it has changed our lives (some early in life, some later). The Gospel is continuing to change us.
What is the Gospel?
When translated from the original Greek, it means “good news”. When God created the entire universe, He also created man. When given the choice, man chose to rebel against God (what we call sin). This sin separated humans from God because He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. The good news is that God left His throne in heaven and came to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ (fully God, fully man). Jesus then lived the perfect, sinless life that we cannot. He was crucified on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, bearing the wrath of God that we deserve. He rose from the dead 3 days later, proving His deity and power over death. Those who believe this good news, Jesus’ power to save them from their sin, will live with Him eternally (John 3:15-17, John 3:36).
We believe this good news as a church family. We are sinners saved by Jesus’ work alone (nothing we have done), which allows us to have a relationship with God. We are now a people that have a relationship with God and we try to live our lives in a way that glorifies Him. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have/ask tough questions and wrestle with our doubts; honestly, we are plagued by unbelief and hopelessness at times. We still sin and hurt ourselves, those we love, those we have a hard time loving, and God BUT now we have Jesus. In Jesus, we are a new creation, have hope to cling to, spiritual life to live; we now have freedom from sin and death. As we work out our faith and our relationship with Jesus and who we are in Him, the gospel works itself deeper and deeper into every area of our lives.