Statement of Faith
A Community on a Journey
We are on a journey to discover what it means to be fully alive—to God, to our true selves, to each other and to the beauty and brokenness of our world. We recognize that each of us may be at different places on this journey with different personal beliefs and nonbeliefs. This Statement of Faith proclaims the beliefs and understanding of New Community Church and guides its teaching, ministries and activities.
Ephesians 4:25–26, 32; Hebrews 12:1; Philippians 1:6
Who God Is: The Nature of God
We believe the historic Christian understanding of the one true, holy God existing in three equal persons: the Trinity or Triune God—Father, Jesus Christ the son, and the Holy Spirit. This God is the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of the world.
The World that God Created
We value the historic Christian understanding that God created the world good (Genesis 1:31) so that all of creation can flourish and be fully alive (Genesis 2:1-5).
We accept that this goodness was corrupted by human decisions to walk away from God and to hide from God (Genesis 3:1-9). This is what Christians refer to as “sin” (Romans 3:23). This sin has profound consequences in all of our relationships. It has separated us from God (Romans 6:23), from one another (Ephesians 2:11-12), even from ourselves (Matthew 11:28-30), and it has impacted the harmony of nature (Romans 8:18-22).
We affirm the uniqueness of human beings as reflections of the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and therefore believe that people have a distinctive place in God’s creation. We value all people as equally reflective of that image and treat each other with care and dignity.
Humanity in Tension
We recognize the historic Christian understanding that we live in the tension of goodness and beauty corrupted—that as human beings, we do not always see clearly and we cannot understand God fully (1 Corinthians 13:12). This leaves us seeking to answer these faith questions: How do we know who God is, who we are, and what our place in the world is? And how do we reconcile these things when we walk away from a relationship with God and hide ourselves from God? We believe the answer is centered in Jesus.
Jesus Christ
We locate our faith in the historic Christian understanding that Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God's redemptive purposes in the world (John 14:6); Jesus Christ is the perfect reflection of God in the world (John 14:9; Philippians 2:5-6); Jesus Christ is the perfect representation of humanity in the world (Hebrews 4:15); and Jesus Christ accomplishes the redemptive purposes of God in the world—the active pursuit of restoring and reconciling the relationships that have been marred by sin (Romans 5:6-8).
The Bible
We trust that the Jewish and Christian scriptures point to and witness the centrality of Jesus Christ for God’s redemptive purposes in the world. Therefore, we hold the scriptures (Old and New Testaments of the Bible) as inspired by God, sacred, and authoritative for life and faith. As a community, we interpret this sacred text by practicing the virtues of having a tender heart toward Christ (1 Peter 3:8) and being led by the Holy Spirit (John 16:5-15). We work at understanding the Bible and applying scripture in our personal lives and as a church (2 Timothy 2:15); We seek to be patient with and listen to people who disagree with us (Acts 5:33-39), and to treat each other with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:13-17); We humbly acknowledge our limitations in our interpretation (James 4:6) and seek wise counsel from trusted Christ followers (Acts 15).
The Church as a Witness to God’s Work in the World
New Community Church belongs to the historic expression of God’s continued redemptive purposes in the world through the global church. As followers of Christ we are a community of people who follow Jesus and are witness to the transformative power of his grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Matthew 28:18-20). This is lived out through our efforts to grow humbly as disciples of Christ, becoming more loving, joyful, and patient (Galatians 5:22-23) in our daily lives. It is lived out through our worship, the stories we tell of God’s work in our own lives, and our resolve to love our neighbors as ourselves in real and tangible ways. We find our identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), are part of the greater Church (Ephesians 4, Revelation 7:9-10), and seek to be a blessing in our own community (1 Peter 3:13-17).
Faith Applied
Our mission is to be followers of Christ in an authentic community for the good of our community and the world. We are committed to growing and maturing as spiritually-formed followers of Jesus, addressing injustice and oppression where we have influence. We understand righteousness as being in right-relationship with God, each other, and with ourselves. This includes our own personal character development as well as systemic problems in our world. As Christ followers, our faith is an internal journey with an external expression.
Our desire is to meet every person, wherever they are spiritually, and join them in their own unique spiritual journey toward knowing, understanding, experiencing, and following Jesus.
We believe that humans seek meaning through three fundamental human questions:
Who am I? Why am I here? And where do I belong? At New Community Church, we put Jesus
in the center of these three questions to discover how we are to be in the world. We discover
the way of Jesus as well as the truth of Jesus, living as the beloved of God (Identity), belonging
to God and each other (Belonging), and being a blessing in the world as generous and loving
servants (Meaning).
Sacraments as Witness
Sacraments are practices that use physical symbols and representation to point to a deeper spiritual reality. NCC observes two sacraments rooted in the actions and teachings of Jesus Christ: Baptism and Communion.
Baptism: The immersion of a person into water symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is an act of obedience (Matthew 28:18-20), but not a prerequisite for salvation (beginning a new life with Jesus that exists into eternity—Ephesians 2:8-9). Baptism is a voluntary act of identifying with Jesus and publicly declaring a decision to follow Him. It should be done in a community of believers—the local church—to identify with that community both as a place of growth and as a place of service in the ministry of the church.
Because the symbolism of Baptism requires a certain level of cognitive and developmental readiness, conversations with children about their own Baptism at NCC generally begin as they approach middle school.
For younger children, NCC encourages parents to consider presenting their children for the ceremony of dedication, whereby God’s blessing is formally invoked upon the children, the parents publicly commit themselves to raise the children in accordance with the teachings of scripture, and the community agrees to support the parents and the children in this decision.
Communion: Jesus' Last Supper, the Passover meal he shared with his disciples on the night before he was crucified, is the biblical foundation for communion. With his twelve disciples gathered around him, Jesus "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" (Luke 22:19–20).
Communion is a sacrament of belief through which Jesus' followers acknowledge and remember His work on the cross—the ultimate sacrifice made on our behalf for the forgiveness of the sins of humankind.
We extend an open communion table in our worship services to all followers of Christ, regardless of denominational affiliation or spiritual tradition. People who have not yet made a commitment of faith through Jesus Christ are encouraged to instead experience a peaceful moment of quiet during that part of the service. NCC leaders are available for conversation and prayer after the service and during the week about what it means to make a faith commitment to Jesus.
Like Baptism, communion calls for a deeper understanding of faith and a developmental readiness. NCC Kids ministry provides age-appropriate discipleship experiences for children to understand communion and its significance, supporting parents who want to invite their children participate in this experience in a meaningful way.
Prayer
New Community Church believes prayer makes our relationship with God dynamic and alive. Prayer breathes life into our journey with God and is an expression of our ongoing and growing connection with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Prayer, including the Lord’s Prayer, is the expression of our hearts longing for love, meaning and to be united with God as fully as possible. NCC regularly incorporates the Lord’s Prayer in its worship services.
Prayer is a way God works in us, bringing people and communities together. Through prayer, our hearts are knitted together in a supernatural experience by a holy God who desires to meet us. We practice prayer alone and in community. Prayer is an important aspect of our corporate worship and in our daily lives.
New Community in the World
Jesus prays that His disciples will be in the world, but not of the world (John 17). This means that our posture in the world is to live a distinct kind of life—following the teachings of Jesus, and loving our neighbor as we would want to be loved (Matthew 22:36-40). This will put us at odds with values and systems we encounter. When we feel that pressure we will do our best to: (1) set apart Christ as Lord, (2) be prepared to talk about the hope we have in Christ, (3) treat people with gentleness and respect, and (4) continue to do good in our community (1 Peter3:13-17). In this way we can be “salt” and “light” and express the wisdom, power, and beauty of God to our watching neighbors (Matthew 5:13-17). We want the world–its people, institutions, structures–to flourish and experience all that God has for them (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
Our statement and spiritual practices of faith are the heart of our vision to follow Jesus Christ together. There are many other questions that arise in the normal everyday workings of life together. In those questions, we will act charitably and be patient as we work toward understanding what the scriptures say. We value open conversation as a community, exploring and discovering what it means to be faithful to the way of Jesus and the truth of Jesus in our personal, church, and public lives. We seek to acknowledge and understand when we get things wrong as individuals and as an institution, and we will confess our sins, seek forgiveness, and move toward one another in love and grace.
At New Community Church we want to walk with the committed and the curious, journeying together toward a deeper relationship with God. We want to offer the life of Christ in the beauty and brokenness of our world. And we want every person in our lives to experience the fullness of their humanity as they reflect the image of God in the world.
