Gospelcentricity
The gospel (which literally means “good news”) is good news because it is not a message about what we must do or what we ought to do. The gospel is good news because it is a message about what someone else has already done on our behalf. Specifically, it is the message of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done in order to bring us to God. This message is the center of the Christian faith and, consequently, the center of who we are and what we do as a church. The gospel shapes our mission, vision, values, strategies, sermons, songs, gatherings – everything – because the gospel is the only cure for unbelief, the only cure for sin, the only means of Christian growth, and the primary way in which God is glorified.
University
As God unites us to himself through the gospel he also unites us to one another as a new people – his own people – that exists for his glory and for our good. This newly united community is a diverse community consisting of people of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. This unique unity in diversity serves as a picture of God’s coming kingdom and is something the church should seek and protect. According to Jesus, the Church’s unity in diversity points to the truth of the gospel message.
City
God does not unite people to himself and to one another that they may escape the culture but that they may redeem the culture for his glory. Just as the Father sent Jesus to bring people to himself so Jesus sends his Church to do the same. The church community is to humbly live in the city, love the city, and serve the city by both declaring and demonstrating the gospel to those who are estranged from God.