Our Mission
Mission Statement: “Make Jesus known and make disciples.”
Last words are important words. Some of the last words Jesus leaves with His disciples helps form the mission statement of our church.
Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, His people will be His “witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Christians now live to know Jesus and to make Him known.
In light of Jesus being given “all authority in heaven and on earth” – He gives His disciples a commission to “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus defines discipleship for His followers by saying that we are “teach people to obey everything that He has commanded” (Matthew 28:18-20). Dhati Lewis said, “Discipleship shouldn’t be A ministry of the church, but THE ministry of the church.” The mission of our church is to help teach people to live all of life under the Lordship of Jesus as a disciple of Jesus.
Our Vision
Built on the foundation of authority of the Scriptures (Matthew 7:24), with Jesus as the Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), the founding pastors of our church believed the Lord was calling our church family to faithfully construct 4 Pillars that our church would be known for in the city to which He has called us.
For Unity – Jesus prayed (John 17:20-23) and died for the unity of His Church (Ephesians 2:14-18). Birmingham is known around the world for racism and division. Our prayer is that the Lord would use our church family to help bring harmony where there has been hostility. We believe this reconciliation will come through repentance, mercy, restitution and the pursuit of justice that reflects the righteousness of God.
For Diversity – One of the final scenes in the Scriptures is people from “every nation, tribe, people and nation” are worshipping together around Jesus’s throne. This is how the story ends for the people of God. The Lord has providentially placed our church family in a city that is known for division across ethnic and economic lines. But He has also placed us in a neighborhood that is incredibly diverse in both of these areas. The Lord has not called us to uniformity, but unity in the midst of our diversity. Our desire is for our differences to not divide us, but to be beautiful displays of the unity of the midst of diversity that we see in our Triune God and a preview of the glory of Jesus’s coming Kingdom.
For the City – The people of God who were in exile were called by God “to seek the peace (shalom) and prosperity of the city” to which the Lord has placed them (Jeremiah 29:7). Followers of Jesus are called “exiles” in the New Testament (James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1). Christians are ultimately citizens of a heavenly city (Philippians 3:20), but are called to be faithful “ambassadors” in the city to which the Lord has currently called us (2 Corinthians 5:20). Christians and churches should desire to see the city in which they live to flourish in every way possible by learning to love their neighbors as they love themselves (Matthew 22:39). We want to be a church that obeys the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. That loves the nations and our neighborhood. We desire to see Jesus’s Kingdom come and will be done in Birmingham as it is in heaven.
For the Glory of God – As the people of God, everything we do should be for the glory of God in Christ, even common things like eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31). We long for the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habbakuk 2:14). Our lives individually and corporately should be a preview of this coming day. We were created by Jesus and for Jesus, so everything we do should be for His glory (Colossians 1:16). “For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).