Mission:

Our purpose (The “Why” of our existence) and mission is based on the biblical references of Matthew 28:18-20 (The Great Commission) and Mark 12:30-31 (The Great Commandment)

Matthew 28:19-20 19So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.”

Mark 12:30-31 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There are no commands more important than these.”

To aid us in the fulfillment of this purpose (The Why) we have 7 core values/guiding principles to identify the “how”. These are the non-negotiable tenets that describe “how”.

Core Values

1. Prayer –We believe that all we do should start, run, and end thoroughly saturated in prayer.

2. Authentic Disciples –We believe the true measure of faith is demonstrated by one’s obedienceand that we need to have healthy avenues of accountability in our walk with Jesus.

3. Every member a minister and a missionary – We believe God has called every person to proclaim the message of Jesus to the lost and serve in team ministry using their God-given resources.

4. Transformation through Cell Groups – We believe the best place to experience life change, meaningful relationships, and effective mission is in cell group.

5. People matter to God – We believe in the value of every human being and take seriously the mission of reaching people for Jesus, locally and beyond.

6. Intentional radical acts of Kindness – We believe the best way to share the message of Jesus is with intentional and radical acts of kindness done in Jesus name to express his love.

7. Culturally Relevant – We believe we should try to reach people in a way they understand.

8. Whatever It Takes – We believe that Jesus set an example and called us to fulfill our mission whatever it takes, no matter the cost.

C3:

This Purpose (Why) and 7 core values (How) can be summed up in 3 practical points, what we call the 3C’s. This is our vision …

C1: Community through Cell Groups
The Bible teaches that the kingdom of God is like a Body. We use this analogy to understand the structure and function of Open Arms. As a body is made up of many parts the most basic unit of the body is a cell. Cells live in community with other cells where they connect, communicate, assist others, and then together accomplish a larger work than any one cell could accomplish on it’s own. It is in the context of a cell group (a small group of people consisting of between 12 to 18 people) that we experience love, encouragement, accountability, and friendship. It’s in this Cell setting that we experience shared life together. Our Cell Groups are known as A12’s and have a unique approach to discipleship and community and are based on a Bible reading schedule that enables you to read the Bible in a year. Our Cell groups spend time discussing the scriptures they have been reading, the activities of God in their lives, pray together, hold one another accountable, and have fun.

C2: Celebrate through Corporate Worship
As in a body, cells gather together to form a larger part. This gathering of cells enables the cells to accomplish something together, on a larger scale, than they ever would have been able to accomplish on their own. It takes a gathering and a unifying purpose.

At Open Arms our cell groups gather together corporately to celebrate what God is doing among us and to contribute to the larger work being done by the body as a whole.

We train our young, we celebrate God, we have time to learn and be encouraged in the vision, and we honor the Lord with our wealth to support God’s Kingdom work here on earth.

C3: Care through Compassion
As individuals and as a body God has uniquely gifted us to make a difference in the world around us. We are called to love and serve God and we serve God by loving and serving others, meeting their needs, and reaching out into the world around us. Our goal is for this church to be a church of servants on every level…as a corporate body, as a Cell Group, and as individuals.

Our desire is not to take people out of the world and create a little subculture that is disconnected and insignificant to society, but instead to keep people connected in the world and to see themselves as ambassadors of God to the world around them and to see their lives as a force for good.

Our desire is not to take people and make them religious, churchy, legalistic, critical hypocrites, so the methods of evaluation are as follows:

Our Method of Evaluation:

The fruit / evidence of effectiveness are:
1. Salvation experiences and baptisms (Matthew 28:18-20)
2. Increase in the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
3. Increase in the Gifts of the Spirit (1Cor. 12:7-11,31)
4. Increase in Knowledge of God (John 17:3)
5. Increase in service (Ephesians 4:12-16)
6. Increase in witness (Matthew 28:18-20; John 15:8)

In a nutshell we are looking for transformed lives. Transformed into what? Nothing less than the likeness of Jesus.

Vision

We understand the Church to be more than a place to hold worship services. It is something alive, something active and moving, something spiritual and exciting, and something practical.

We understand the Church to be the assembled people of God. This assembly/gathering is not without purpose. The purpose of the Church is to honor God in this world by loving and serving others.

We see the church as a source for not only meeting spiritual needs, but addressing issues of poverty, disease, education, and leadership. We see the Church as a catalyst for transformation: personal, local, regional, national, and global. As such we believe the Church should be a leader on the forefront of every aspect of life (political, social, business, education, etc.).

Our vision is to be a non-religious people that are sold out to being the people the Bible tells us to be, to keep our Christian faith alive, spiritual, and experienced in every day life.

Our vision is for Christian faith and spirituality to be a part of our every day lives in such a way that it is lived out and experienced in our homes, neighborhoods, workplace, and schools.

Our vision is to infiltrate every level and place of society with the transformational love and truths of Jesus Christ and to live these out with passion, commitment, and perseverance.