What We Believe

What is a NazaRENE?

Throughout the New Testament, the Son of God is known as JESUS THE NAZARENE.

Why was he called a “Nazarene,” you might ask? Well, let's just say it was NOT A COMPLIMENT.

Nazarenes during the time of Jesus were people from NAZARETH, a city in Northern Israel. Nazarenes were known as people who were UNWANTED, UNWEALTHY, and UNWORTHY.

That's who Jesus IDENTIFIED with; those are the people he sought out.

At LifeBridge, we are a Church of the Nazarene. In other words, we are a CHURCH FOR THE NAZARENE: for anyone who doesn’t belong anywhere, whom the world says is unwanted, unwealthy, unworthy, and simply "not-good-enough."

No matter who you are, or what you've done, or what you will do tomorrow...God loves you.

God believers you're WORTH DYING FOR. And so do we.

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Purpose, mission, vision

a deeper look into Lifebridge

Purpose

LifeBridge exists to:

Embody Jesus & journey together through life.

mission

Our mission is to Encounter, Experience, & Build, and to help others do the same.

ENCOUNTER (the grace of Jesus) (Rom. 8:1, Eph. 3:16-21)

EXPERIENCE (transformation in Jesus) (II Cor. 5:17, Rom. 12:1-2)

BUILD (bridges to Jesus) (Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 15:19)

Core Values

Core values are a list of fundamental beliefs and priorities which drive an organization's behavior & culture.

At LifeBridge, these are the core values that we believe are vital to our mission.

We define greatness as Jesus does: the last shall be first. Jesus said that the greatest in the Kingdom of God is the servant. If we are going to find greatness, then we must become servants of everyone. (Matt. 20:26-28)

Christians are called to "walk in the light" not only when we are doing the right thing, but also when we are doing the wrong thing. Walking in the light (i.e. vulnerability) means being kept accountable in every area of life so that sin doesn't have a place to hide in our lives.

We are called to generously welcome people not only into our homes, but also into our lives. Reverse hospitality means that we don't simply love people to make them feel welcome at church or in our homes, we are called to love people where they feel safe, where they feel at home, and where I may feel uncomfortable or inconvenienced. It's a pattern of living that echoes Jesus words to Zacchaeus: "I'm coming to your house today."

Building relational bridges can be difficult . . . especially when only 1 party wants the bridge to be built. Therefore, at LifeBridge, perseverance is vital. God didn't give up on us, and so we also don't give up on people around us who have not yet encountered the grace of Jesus or experienced transformation in Jesus.

Spiritual disciplines continually point our hearts back to God. Bible study, prayer, fasting, and gathering for worship, encouragement and accountability are a few examples of these exercises that keep us spiritually healthy.

At LifeBridge, we are learning to value our SENDING capacity more than our SEATING capacity. We want to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples, and that may or may not look like a large, full worship gathering on Sundays.

THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

This is the specific branch of Christianity that we IDENTIFY with and BELONG to.

Here are some specifics on what Nazarenes believe:

CHRISTIAN PEOPLE

(We follow Jesus.)

(We believe in the Bible.)

(We're not the only ones.)

MISSIONAL PEOPLE

(Jesus is bringing heaven to earth.)

(We get to partner with him.)

HOLINESS PEOPLE

(God is holy love.)

(We were made to reflect God's character.)

(We believe it's possible through Jesus.)

(For a full version of Nazarene beliefs, visit: nazarene.org/who-we-are/articles-faith)