The PURPOSE:

• To be a healthy faith community serving as an example of the inclusive grace of God.

The VISION:

• To be an inclusive, progressive and innovative Christian community in structure, leadership and worship, known to others as a voice for social justice and a place of spiritual nurture.

The MISSION:

• Northwest Community Church is a progressive Christian faith community, seeking to spread the inclusive grace of God through innovative worship, spiritual nurture and social justice.

Northwest Community Church has eight core values that define who we are and provide the foundation for the decisions that direct the ministry of NCC. The eight core values are defined as:

Inclusiveness

• We value being and Open and Affirming faith community where the inclusive grace of God is portrayed through loving acceptance that moves beyond mere tolerance of differences and diversity to complete acceptance of all people, believing this to be the way of Jesus Christ.
• We will not exclude people from full participation based on gender, race, sexual orientation, sexual identity, marital circumstance, ethnic origin, age, theological perspective, physical or mental challenges.

Justice

• We value people and make decisions based on love in the pursuit of justice for all people. It is only when justice is done to all, that any individual truly experiences justice.
• We seek to pursue justice in social relationships within our faith community, our local community and throughout the world (Amos 5:25 ". . let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream")
• God not only loves justice, and seeks justice, but God does justice, therefore, we will seek to do justice (Isaiah 61:8 "I the Lord, love justice")
• We are to do justice, love kindness, and seek mercy striving to bring about a sense of wholeness to the community (Micah 6:8, ". . And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?")

Diversity

• We value and embrace diversity.
• We value the diversity within our world and will intentionally incorporate into the life of this faith community racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity which is indigenous to our community, understanding this to be a sign of the inclusive grace of God.

Spiritual Nurture

• We value the process of spiritual formation
• The Christian faith journey is not a solitary journey but a life lived in a covenant relationship with God, and with others, recognizing a dependence on following the Spirits leading.
• We will continuously seek to create sacred space that nurtures healthy spiritual formation through traditional avenues of worship, meditation, prayer, scripture, music, baptism, and communion as well as innovative ways that enliven the awareness of God's presence in our life as a faith community participating in covenant relationships.
• We recognize seeking justice and acting justly, to bring about the realm of God, as an imperative spiritual practice in the life of this Christian community.

Healthy Relationships

• We value safe space for everyone - known through clear values, open communication, appropriate use of power, health in relationships with self and others and intentional safeguards.

Innovation

• We value a faith community that is innovative in structure, leadership and worship
  We will endeavor to create versatile ways of actively sharing the inclusive grace of God so that others may know God's love.

Progressive Thinking

• We proclaim Jesus Christ as our gate to the realm of God;
• We recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the gateway to God's realm;
• We understand our sharing of bread and wine in Jesus' name to be a representation of God's feast for all peoples; We invite all to join in our worship and in our common life as full partners, including (but not limited to):

Believers and agnostics
Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics
Homosexuals and Heterosexuals
Females and Males
The despairing and the hopeful
Persons of all races and cultures
Persons of all classes and abilities

• We think that the way we treat one another is more important than the way we express our beliefs
• We find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute certainty in the questions than in the answers;
• We see ourselves as a spiritual community in which we discover the resources required for our work in the world: striving for justice and peace among all people bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers;
• We recognize that our faith asks costly discipleship renunciation of privilege and conscientious resistance to evil: As has always been the tradition of the Church.
• We value theological reflection, ethical dialogue and responsible contemporary biblical scholarship.
• We believe the Holy Scriptures are the unfolding story of the relationship between God and the people of God. The Gospels and the letters of Paul are insights of the way to God in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Quality in All Aspects of Ministry:

• We value a faith community with healthy relationships that support long-term growth and continuous improvement.
• We are committed to quality in everything we do. This quality is achieved through:
  Shared authority, ownership and responsibility among pastoral and lay leadership in the decision making process.
• Continuous strategic planning processes by pastoral and lay leadership including an annual review and evaluation.
• Commitment to being a healthy mission driven church reflecting our core values in all our decision making.
• Faithful lay and pastoral leadership that understands the importance of, and participate in, spiritual nurture.