Church Overview

Our Vision

We envision a church sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with our “Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria” (the tens of thousands of residents in the Santa Cruz Valley).

We envision a church welcoming all people into the fellowship of our church family and living in harmony as committed believers in Jesus Christ.

We envision a church extending the love of Christ. It is a place where the lost, the lonely, the hurting, the depressed, the frustrated and the confused can find love, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance and encouragement.

We envision a church which disciples people to spiritual maturity and encourages ministry participation through God-centered worship, Bible studies, small groups, seminars, conferences, and internships.

We envision a church equipping every believer for a significant ministry and challenging them to serve in obedience as God leads them.

We envision a church supporting career missionaries and church workers, both locally and all around the globe, encouraging those in our congregation to become long and short-term missionaries, and empowering every member for a personal life mission in his or her world.

We envision a church which spends at least 50% of its budget on others.

We envision a church serving as a haven for winter visitors to grow in spiritual maturity and engage in ministry.

In order to reach people in the Santa Cruz Valley we envision maximizing the use of our existing facilities, grounds and technology.

We envision multiplying the body of Christ in the Santa Cruz Valley by planting multi-generational and multi-cultural congregations.

Our Core Values

WE VALUE BIBLE CENTERED PREACHING AND TEACHING.

The Bible is our final authority and the foundation for all we do and believe.

WE VALUE GOD CENTERED WORSHIP.

We value worship that is focused on God and His glory and that is structured to draw all people into His presence to meet with Him that He might be glorified in their lives and service.

WE VALUE CHRIST CENTERED MINISTRY.

Because of all that Jesus Christ has done for us, we endeavor, under His leadership, to do all for Him seeking His honor and glory.

WE VALUE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERED SERVICE.

We believe that Jesus continues His ministry through His people. The Holy Spirit has gifted and empowers every believer for service in the church, in the community, and the world.

WE VALUE COMMITMENT TO PEOPLE FOCUSED MINISTRY.

People, all people, matter to God and they matter to us. We invest in people by seeking to introduce them to Jesus Christ, connecting them with the community of God’s people, caring for their needs, bringing them to maturity in Christ and releasing them for ministry in Jesus’ name.

WE VALUE COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY.

We are committed to one another as a community of followers of Jesus Christ. We share our lives and resources with one another as we bear one another’s burdens, challenge one another to grow in Christ, hold one another accountable and join together as a team for service in Jesus’ name.

WE VALUE COMMITMENT TO THE POWER OF PRAYER.

We believe that God has chosen in this age to release His power through the prayers of His people. Therefore we are committed to pray for one another and God’s Kingdom as individuals, in our services and as a vital part of our small group ministry.

WE VALUE COMMITMENT TO GOD’S GLOBAL MISSION.

Desiring that God would be glorified by all people, we are committed to build His church among all nations by prayer, financial support and personal service.

Our Core Convictions

Our core convictions are expressed in our Statement of Faith which we share with the Evangelical Free Church of America, the fellowship of autonomous churches to which we belong.

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

We believe in the personal, bodily and pre-millennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.