Our Vision
To live as a family of servant-missionaries,
following Jesus with our whole selves,
because of who He is and what He's done.
A Family of Servant-Missionaries
Our strongest desire as a church is to live in line with the way God made us, both individually and corporately. The more we complicate his call, the more we obstruct gospel faith and fruit in our lives.
In the gospel, we see God give his disciples three new identities: family, servants, and missionaries.
No longer orphaned, God the Father adopts us into his family -- declaring us to be his sons and daughters, making us brothers and sisters to one another.
No longer isolated, God the Son remakes us into servants -- giving us his heart and mind, who lived his life not from fear, but from love for God and others.
No longer aimless, God the Spirit makes us missionaries -- going with us into all the world to announce God's kingdom and invite others to faith in Jesus.
At Citizens, these three identities are the primary categories through which we envision our life as a church.
Following Jesus With Our Whole Selves
Being disciples of Jesus means our Christian identity is not just a mask we wear on Sunday, but profoundly shapes every aspect of our lives. Believing God's story will change how we relate to our own story, resulting in new ways of thinking, feeling, and doing. Ultimately, grace promises to renew us completely -- spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, socially, culturally, and beyond.
Believing this promise, Citizens is committed to holistic discipleship which is both comprehensive and particular.
Comprehensive discipleship resists the temptation to compartmentalize following Jesus. Following Jesus with our whole selves is not about adding Christian stuff to our already busy lives. Instead, Jesus intends the gospel to transform the life we already have. Family-missionary-servant is not three more roles alongside so many others (employee, spouse, friend), but are the fundamental identities which give shape and direction to the rest.
Particular discipleship resists the temptation to one-size-fits-all Christian living. Being family, servant, and missionary will look substantially different from person-to-person (and even season-to-season for the same person!). Following Jesus with our whole selves means we follow Jesus from within our unique personalities, histories, and situations. We welcome this, because God is glorified when diverse people follow Jesus together.
At Citizens, we are fighting for holistic discipleship, where the gospel is applied to all of life and extended to every person.
Because of Who He Is and What He's Done
As Christians, who we are and what we do is the lived response to who Jesus is and what He's done. This way of life is not our own idea, but is the result of believing the gospel of Jesus Christ -- that Jesus came to earth as a baby, lived perfectly on our behalf as the new Adam, suffered and died to atone for our sins, was raised from the dead on the third day and now sits on the throne at the right hand of The Father continuing to intercede on our behalf and helping us through the work of The Holy Spirit.
This news is good because we are saved completely: rescued, forgiven, cleansed, reconciled, adopted, renewed, secured. And it's good because it's free: our salvation cannot be earned, only received by grace through faith. This double-assurance is what inspires our worship and obedience.
At Citizens, we want the glory of God -- most perfectly revealed in his gospel -- to be the basis, means, and end of our life.