Project Church is all about Jesus.
In him, God became a man, entered our messed-up story, and changed the story by living the life we couldn’t live, dying a death we should have died, and rising from death and offering new life to all who believe in him.
As a result of what Jesus did (and is doing), our hope, our project, is to be the church Jesus had in mind. Not some religious institution of self-righteous, judgmental hypocrites, but a movement of love of jacked-up yet growing people who are exploring and following Jesus. Who are taking our first steps and next steps in living the lives we are meant to live. Who are an authentic community of grace, truth, mission, and meaning.
Our style and methods may be innovative and daring, but make no mistake about it, Project Church is all about, all for, and all because of, Jesus.
So what kind of church are we?
We use three words to describe us: Gospel. Community. Mission.
Gospel
We believe in the timeless truths of the ancient scriptures. We aren’t looking to invent some new religion. That’s weird. We also aren’t seeking to push the Bible down your throat or beat you over the head with it. That’s not how we roll. But we do believe the Bible is relevant to our lives. And since Jesus said it was all about him, we recalibrate our lives according to it. It’s our supreme court and ultimate authority and no person, philosophy, or teaching is above it. We figure if God says it’s his very word, then it should be a big deal to us.
It’s in the Bible where we discover the gospel. The good news of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Grace means God can’t love us any more or less than he already does. There’s nothing that can separate his love from us. It sounds too good to be true yet there’s no purer truth in all the universe than the gospel. In Christ, we get what we don’t deserve. Him and his ever-flowing, over-flowing, love and forgiveness. We simply need to believe it and receive it. And because we get what we don’t deserve, we are free to give grace to others. It’s not always easy- but it’s always good.
If you’re not sure what you believe, we welcome you to explore the scriptures with us. We all wrestle with doubts and none of us have it all figured out. At Project Church, you can belong before you believe. But rest assured, we have a basis for life and faith, and that is found in the holy scriptures.
Read God’s Epic Story to discover more about what we believe.
Community
Project Church boils down to relationships.
We get this from God. After all, He is in relationship with himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. When He created humanity, He designed us for relationships- with Him and one another. It’s in the fabric of our being.
This is why God calls us to above all- love Him and people. Love can only travel on relational highways. The very highway He constructed. Our challenge is to love like God does. Right where people are.
At Project Church, our aim is to be an authentic community. Meaning we want to be real with God, ourselves, and each other. Church was never meant to be a bunch of people who sit in pews, put on masks, and go through the motions. Instead, we’re to be a family where no one stands alone. Where you’re free to be yourself. Where we spur each other on. A real church for real people.
Because relationships are so important, we seek less churchy activities and more friendships with people despite where they are on their spiritual journey. If anything, the church is to equip people to go through everyday life to build and develop genuine relationships. Not keep them corralled in church buildings like cattle.
This may seem to be a given, and perhaps a bit elementary, but we are about intentional, genuine relationships. This is where the rubber meets the road in terms of following Jesus and being the church Jesus had in mind.
Mission
God is on a mission in this world and our hope is to tether ourselves to him and follow wherever he leads. Our mission is to do what Jesus said: Make disciples who love God, love people, and live free.
It is a collision of what’s known as the Great Commandment & the Great Commission.
All followers of Jesus are missionaries wherever God has placed us.
As everyday missionaries and disciples of Jesus, we will stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves and offer hope to the hopeless. We will fight against injustice and guilt-based religion by living out the gospel of grace. We will never forget that our ultimate mission is to bring good news and be good news to those around us. After all, in serving others, we serve Christ. We are called to be carriers of hope and infect all those around us. We simply want to tether themselves to Jesus and go as far as He leads.
Too often, the church has attacked the culture in which we live. This is the equivalent to throwing rocks at the house of the very people you’re called to love. Jesus showed us the way to change a story is to enter a story.
All around us are a multitude of stories that need to be changed. We can’t make all the stories better. We wish we could. But we can make some better and some is better than none.
Our greatest hope and mission is for folks to meet the One who puts all the pieces back together. Who restores stories. That’s why we enter the story. To change the story.
