“A community embracing Christ’s gospel and revealing it to a world that desperately needs to hear it.”

Even as a naval captain at sea needs proper navigation to make a safe journey, a Christian community needs a biblical vision to steer it towards faithfulness and fruitfulness. Our vision at Redemption is simple but all-inclusive: Gospel, Community, & Mission.

I. THE GOSPEL

* What is the Gospel? The meaning of the word is “good news”. The essence of this news is that the God of heaven, rather than being remote or hidden, has passionately pursued us. More specifically, He loves and redeems a lost humanity. God created man in perfection, in paradise, in his image, and in a perfect relationship with Himself. However, paradise was lost. The Bible claims to be the historic account of the world in which we live. According to this true story, our human race (beginning with out first parents willful rebellion) fell from where it once was; we feel separated from our original home in God’s favor, unwilling and unable to obey Him, guilty of sin and deserving of divine judgement, and, therefore, powerless to restore this broken relationship with our Maker. 

When the situation seemed hopeless, God pursued us and sent his beloved Son, Jesus. He would give Himself for us in every way — in life, death, and resurrection — so that we can have peace with our Maker once again. The perfect life of righteousness He lived (which we could not achieve) is credited to our account through faith; in His death, He took upon Himself the shame, grief, and punishment for all our sins; in His resurrection, the reign of sin, death, and Satan were completely defeated. Heaven, and the Father therein, was opened wide. Now, all our hope and all our happiness is this saving work of God in Christ Jesus, who will one day return to complete and perfect His restoration process. This good news is offered to all and is received by sheer faith, not by works or merit.

* What place does it have in life? This good news is surely more than our introduction to life with God; all of life is beautifully transformed by the redeeming love of Christ. The Redemption community, families, and individuals seek to connect the deep implications of the gospel to every corner of our hearts and daily lives. What God has done through Christ on our behalf heals our relationships, lifts our burdens, satisfies our deepest desires, breaks the bondage of sin, reveals our idols, and wonderfully points us back to our peace with God in Christ, morning after morning.

II. COMMUNITY

Our life in faith cannot be in isolation. When God calls us into Christ, he calls us to be part of something bigger than ourselves. The Bible spells out our adoption and gives us a name: a family, a body, a house, etc., to indicate that we belong to something new. Even though we attend church in a building, church is something we are. The believer’s life is meant to be interwoven with other believers. This is where encouragement, admonishment, and help are regular occurrences. This community is a testimony to the grace of God in Christ which brings all types of people together in their pursuit and worship of Him. It is a living illustration of the grace and fellowship of the gospel.

III. MISSION

Jesus said, “That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). We were saved to to know, enjoy, and honor our Redeemer and King, that our joy would be full, overflowing. And we dare not keep this joy to ourselves. God is, even today, saving His people from every nation and is furthering His renewal and restoration process. It is our honor and joy that God allows us to be a part of this process. At Redemption we do this by preaching God’s Word, proclaiming the gospel, building relationships in our community, pursuing church health, and making disciples who go and make other disciples, both locally and abroad.

This is what Redemption is striving to be: a community of people embracing Christ’s gospel together and revealing it to a world that desperately needs to hear it.