“For Christ” primarily means we are intentional about Jesus and his gospel, so we proclaim the gospel as the good news for all people. We reorient our lives around that gospel, and the gospel informs and influences who we are and why we do what we do. The end goal of every Christian is not primarily morality, but gospel-centrality. The means we love Jesus and live like him. Because of this, we have a high priority on the Scriptures since the Scriptures are how we learn and understand who Jesus is and what he has done.
“For Community” primarily means that we are intentional about being a family, being a body, and being a community of believers. The church is not a building; it’s a body. The church is not an event; it’s a family of believers. We are united together through Christ. Therefore, we place a high priority on community groups, discipleship, healthy families, and making sure that care and support are demonstrated across our entire church.
“For the City” primarily means that we do not exist for the good of ourselves but the good of the city—and not only our city but all cities. Every church has to do the hard work of learning their city by understanding the unique demographics, circumstances, struggles, and idols that exist in that city. Once a church determines the needs of the city, it can ask how they are positioned to help meet those needs. We have spent time learning Wilmington and have established multiple ways to be For the City. We have narrowed it down to these five values of being For: Next Generation, Multiethnic Church, Underprivileged Youth, Persons of Need, Church Planting.
