Our Mission
We exist to help people live in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus. Here’s how:
01
ENVIRONMENTS THAT FEEL LIKE COMING HOME
We invite individuals and families to find deep belonging in our faith community. This may look like conversations on Sunday mornings, summer BBQs, sitting around the table, chili cook-offs; being known, and knowing others. Jesus talked about his kingdom as one that welcomed home those far from God. We want to do the same.
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EXPERIENCES THAT HELP PEOPLE ENCOUNTER JESUS AND TAKE NEXT STEPS
We desire to be a community that connects people to Jesus. We’re confident that Jesus can meet anyone on any path and transform lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. This may look like joining a small group, Bible study, support group, class, or discovering spiritual gifts; knowing Jesus and growing in him. Our desire isn’t just for a well-planned experience, but rather to create space for encounters with Jesus.
03
A CHURCH OUR CITY AND WORLD WOULD MISS IF WE WERE GONE
We believe Jesus calls us to impact the world around us. South doesn’t exist just for ourselves, but rather to respond to the unique felt needs in our community. This may look like serving in our Food Bank, participating in First Mile Initiative, supporting our local and global ministry partners; loving Littleton and being an outward-facing church. We want to consistently ask the difficult question, “If we were gone tomorrow, would the world notice?”
Our Values
01
PRESENCE
God is here. He’s all around us and dwells within us. We believe there is no greater delight than experiencing God’s presence. Life, peace, freedom, and joy come when we experience and respond to Jesus’ nearness through his Spirit. Our prayer is that of Moses, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Therefore, we posture our hearts to be attentive to God’s presence as we gather to worship and scatter this good news.
02
PRACTICE
Learning grace is the process of transformation. We are convinced transformation happens by grace as we align our lives with the gospel, and ‘tune our hearts to see God’s grace’. It is our desire to be a learning community that embraces spiritual practices with joy. We participate in worship, prayer, scripture reading, memorization, sabbath, generosity, silence, solitude, and more because we believe actively training ourselves through healthy spiritual rhythms directs our whole selves toward being formed into the image of our Lord and Rabbi, Jesus.
03
WHOLENESS
The gospel is hope for healing our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and all creation. Jesus models what it means to be a whole human being and we long to live in his way. We believe God wants to bring about a new humanity by redeeming every part of us and our stories. Therefore, we want to be a colony of hope reminding the world all of life is sacred and all of our fears, failures, and brokenness can be restored and made whole. This means we value being fully integrated people — Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual, Relational, Vocational, Financial — offering all of ourselves to God.
04
RENEWAL
Our church does not exist for ourselves, but to join God in his redemptive work. Jesus calls his church to be a compelling force for blessing in the world and we see ourselves as agents of God’s kingdom for the betterment of His world. We believe the church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves, caring about the things God cares about, and equips people with vision and tools for joining in God’s redemptive plan. That’s why we are passionate about relieving suffering, fighting injustice, and holding out the gospel as the hope of renewing all things.
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FAMILY
We acknowledge and value the image of God in all people, everywhere. We believe all of us are created to live deeply with one another, to carry each other’s burdens, to share our possessions, to pray for and confess our sins to each other, to suffer and celebrate together. In a harsh and often unforgiving world, we believe the church must always be the place where people can find, receive, and give grace. In these honest, loving relationships God transforms us and truth becomes a reality. One of the primary metaphors for the church is that of a family. As family, each person has a part to play and a gift to share that contributes to the whole. The way of Jesus cannot be lived alone – we need people of different ages, backgrounds, and passions to shape our community.
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ROOTS
We affirm the central truths of historic orthodox Christian faith. We see ourselves in a long line of generations taking part in the ongoing conversation between God and humanity. The Scriptures are the voices of many who have come before us, inspired, and carried by God to pass along their poems, stories, accounts, and letters of response in relationship with each other and the living God. We are part of an ancient stream moving toward a glorious future, and always want to remember God’s faithfulness in our stories and in the lives of those who have walked before us.
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WHAT WE BELIEVE
As a community of faith, our mission statement gives the best insight into what we believe. We believe Jesus is the center of all things, and we are determined to live in the way of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus. We believe that human history is written around the one who was before all things and by whom all things are held together. We believe that he is the image of the invisible God. To follow him, we ground ourselves first and foremost in the Scriptures as our guide for life in the way of Jesus and as our trustworthy and historical account of what he did, what he taught, and how he lived.
We also greatly respect the lives and faith of those who have gone before us. Both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed provide an overview of the essentials of our Christian faith, and the doctrine we believe is foundational to following the way of Jesus. While we believe the essentials are contained within the Creeds, we have also articulated our position on a number of key doctrinal issues in our short statement of faith. If you have questions about where we stand theologically or would like to read our full statement of faith, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
All Are Welcome
At South Fellowship Church, we welcome people from all backgrounds and at any spiritual level. Our gatherings are open to anyone interested in exploring the Christian faith. Our aim, in everything we do, is to help people live in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus. We believe that Jesus’ life and death was not only necessary for our salvation, but it was also an invitation to live as he lived. We long to become more like him and help others do the same because that is ultimately what the world needs.
