Our Vision

OUR VISION…

…to build joy-filled communities of faith whose very existence inspires every individual to live R³.

What is R³?

It is the balanced, abundant Christian Life, made up of three key [r]elationships:

• [r1] A deepening relationship with God
• [r2] A life-changing relationship with other believers
• [r3] An engaging relationship with those yet to believe

OUR MISSION…

…to encourage people to enjoy God together.

OUR DISTINCTIVES:

• More joy in Jesus
• Biblically saturated
• Transformed in community
• Culturally embedded
• Embracing inevitable tensions

EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) statement of faith: EFCA-statement-of-faith

Common Misconceptions:

We believe that there is more joy in Jesus than anywhere else. However many of us are not experiencing more joy because we cling to some too common misconceptions:

• Misconception: Our desire for joy (pleasure, happiness, delight) is evil
  Truth: Our desire for joy is God ordained.
• Misconception: We desire joy (pleasure, happiness, delight) too much
  Truth: We are willing to settle for too little.
  “If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
  -C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
• Misconception: God’s glory comes from our sacrifice
  Truth: God’s glory comes from our sacrificing lesser delights for the deeper, more lasting joy found in Him.
• Misconception: Trials are a result of God’s displeasure with us
  Truth: Trials are God’s way of drawing us to Himself.
• Misconception: Our joy comes from the stuff God gives us
  Truth: Our joy comes from God Himself.
• Misconception: Joy is found in doing more for Jesus
  Truth: Our greatest joy is found in Jesus.