Our Passion and Expertise

As children of God, we grow in stewarding our lavish gifts from the Father .. to slow down, to listen and consider .. to reflect the Father – and our faith becomes actions not mere words .. actions from which life flows .. and in the ‘doing’ we are blessed. And we grow in wisdom - which is itself a gift. We ask for it, and we walk in it and grow adept at sorting out desire, judgment (which turns to discernment), actions and relationships. As it weaves through our lives we begin to interact with both the gifts and the giver well .. our lives take on a new cadence of patience, fellowship, steadfastness, faith, love of neighbor, peacemaking, justice, rescue, mercy, prayer, confession and repentance. We begin to reflect the giver  .. and we find joy.

 We were in darkness, trapped in trespasses, passions and desires, following the course of the world and its rulers –  separated from God. But God, the unbalanced God who is rich in mercy, love and compassion for the lost, brought us to life and we are now ‘in Christ’ – by faith joined to the image – absorbed into it – defined by it. Now, ‘in Christ’, we are His workmanship - created anew in Christ, set apart from what we used to be and brought near to the Father, forgiven, redeemed and lavished with grace - blessed. Further, we are built together into the household of God, a living temple – a dwelling place for God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets - with Christ as the cornerstone. Sealed with and empowered by the Spirit, rooted and grounded in love – growing in wisdom, strengthened by His power, we slowly learn to walk differently. We walk as our new self that is created after the likeness of God. Using our gifts to build up the body of Christ, we start to live in humility, gentleness and unity. We begin to relate to one another differently, speak differently, work differently, and process anger differently. We imitate God to the world around us. We walk as children of light, wisely in this world – because it’s a war out there. We submit to and depend on one another, never forgetting that our strength is in our dependence on the Lord. 

  In the Psalms, as mirrors of our soul, we are invited to engage the triune God with our worship and our suffering. To cry out, to pour out, to remember, to know God accurately if not fully and to be fully known. To trust and find refuge and be held.  To grieve, to lament and question boldly.  To beseech, to plead and to petition. To sort through our thoughts and emotions and find a path to wholeness.  To go beyond ourselves in a priestly vocation and hold the thanksgiving, the prayers and the pain of the world before God in lament and worship. 

 In His life, Christ - fully God and fully human - lives as the truly Human One - the “Image”; through His death, Christ shatters the power of the darkness and evil that hold us; in His resurrection, He ushers in New Creation; in His ascension reigns at the right hand of the Father and in the fullness of time will unite all things in heaven and on earth (Eph 1). In Christ, we who "image" God flourish - reconnected to the triune God, recreated, bound to one another as a “living stones'' in a new temple with Christ as the cornerstone.  When we engage our thoughts and emotions upward, we turn to the reigning Christ that shatters the pain and darkness that surrounds us, and we flourish. Reconnected to the triune God, we walk in the steps of our Savior and live authentically before Him as we process our pain, longings and suffering.  Recreated in Christ, we are sent out into the world to fulfill the purpose for which we were designed, walking in the steps of our Savior (Ephesians 2, 1 Pet 2, John 20:21, Philippians).  

We are created in the image of God and share in His dignity and honor.

We are God’s masterpiece, fallen and recreated through relationship with Christ, known intimately and fully loved by Him.

We are “embodied souls.” Our bodies, though fallen as well, are precious gifts requiring stewardship.

We are placed intentionally, called to participate in God’s redemptive drama.

We are made with purpose, in the image of our creative God, to steward and bring forth the potential of creation. 

We live in a complex world full of needs. We are called to be creative problem solvers using our skills, gifts, and talents to serve God and others. 

We are made for community - to live in a relationship with God and others. We are dependent on Him and interdependent on each other. 

As an authentic Christian community rooted in faith and committed to wise, sustainable ministry, our methodology is to create "safe" spaces for skill development. In these "spaces," we respect the person, draw people together, invite conversation and understanding, and allow people to take new risks in patterns of living. We strive to:

Love God: We lay the foundation of who we are both in and through our relationship with God. We are known intimately, fully loved, and recreated in Christ, and we respond to Him with worship and love.

Love Others: Created in the image of God, we share in His dignity and honor and seek to be a tangible representation of Christ in all interactions. Further, we are placed intentionally in a complex world full of needs and called to participate in God’s redemptive drama, using our time, talents and treasure to serve God and others. 

Pursue Excellence: We do not seek perfection; instead, we seek to honor God, do our best, and improve. We seek out best practices in education and secular SEL, retranslating these for a biblical worldview.

Stewardship: We are made with purpose, in the image of our creative God, to steward and bring forth the potential of creation. Additionally, as “embodied souls,” we view our bodies and relationships, though fallen, as precious gifts requiring stewardship. 

Joy: Resting in the faithfulness of God, we focus on authentic communication, stewardship and collaboration, believing that these foundational practices, when pursued biblically, will lead to an authentic, cruciform life and ministry full of life-giving relationships, meaning, purpose, value-driven action, and Christ-focused joy.