WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe in a beautiful story. We often refer to it as the story of redemption. Throughout history God has been reaching out to us, attempting to redeem us back to him. We are broken people in a broken world. Often we are lost, confused, and in pain. God wants to redeem this pain and show us his love.

We believe that relationships are the key to everything that happens in the world. We believe that from the beginning, God has existed in relationship within Himself. He existed as one being in three distinct persons. We believe in God as Son, Holy Spirit, and Father. We believe God created the world we live in, and the universe that sustains it. We do not know how God chose to create. We simply believe that, at some point, God initiated creation, and however it came about, we are a continuing process of that creation. God continues to sustain creation, and through his love, he brings redemption to broken people in a broken world.

As the story unfolded, God came down to dwell among his Creation. God being born as a man was an act of great humility. God's greatest act of humility, though, was giving his life up for that same creation. He died on a cross so that we might have real life. We celebrate this weekly through the sacrament of communion as we remember this death on our behalf. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. We are now free because of the amazing grace of Jesus. We no longer need to wear masks and pretend to be something we are not. We are free to be ourselves in God. Everything changes for us now. We are open to know and be known, to love and be loved, to care for and be cared for.

The Holy Spirit continues this amazing story even today. As we find God's love for us more and more, we find that we want to live a different type of life that brings biblical (social) justice to those in the world who are poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised. The Holy Spirit is God within us. It is through the Holy Spirit that we live lives of goodness and compassion, showing the love God showed us to the world.

We believe the Bible to be the greatest resource we have been given in understanding how our personal stories relate to God's story. The Bible is a simple story that allows us to find ourselves in it. We believe that human beings, in an amazing endeavor with God, wrote these beautiful words that we have today. We believe the Bible is a unique story that gives us understanding into who God is. We believe the Bible is a helpmate in following Jesus in our lives.

The story of God continues even today in communities like The Journey. The community is a unified group of people who are searching to find the mystery of God in the midst of a broken world. We are "resident aliens" who place our hope in the mystery and majesty of the Almighty God. The church is a true community of people, who together learn from each other and God what it means to be a unique people, set apart for Him. We believe the church should always work together in love and unity, devoted to helping people here and now as we show God's love, at all times, to each other and to the world around us.

We believe that humanity is created in the image of God. Our stories come alive as we show this image through our own creativity in this world. Our brokenness often keeps us from fulfilling that image. Thus, our creativity can be short-circuited and God's image can be marred. But we believe God is still there and wants to love us and give love to others through us.

The story of redemption finds its culmination in human beings joining God in bringing good in the world. God has provided redemption to all people. God's grace was expressed through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross, but is also expressed everyday in how we live together and love others together. We are able to have a direct relationship with God by following Christ with our lives. We believe that following Christ is not a set of rational beliefs or a system, but instead a radical way of life. We live this way of life through bringing good to the world and loving people as Jesus loves us.