We start with the reality that we are a community. We aren't a community because we all look the same or think the same or like the same things. We're a community because God brought us together to love Him and love others.

We try to be a real, living community: knowing others and being known by them, loving others and being loved by them. So we eat together, worship together, work together, and serve others together. As we live this way, community changes us. And in time, it can change others, too.

When we're honest, we admit that we aren't perfect. We're flawed, we're hurting, and we're lonely. In short, we're broken people. All of us. Although we bear the image of the God who created us, our relationship with God has been ruptured. And we need help from beyond ourselves. Self-repair, however earnest, is not enough.

This single truth is the heartbeat of who we are: although we're broken, God still loves us. God's love isn't based on how good we are or how good we promise to be. God's love is a free gift that comes to us through Jesus Christ. It is food for the hungry, light for those in darkness, healing for the broken, and life for the dead. It means that despite how bad we are or how bad things seem, the good news of God’s love is always better.

Not only does God love us as we are, He rescues us and sets us right. The unshakeable reality of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection means that we are restored in mind, spirit, and soul. But because we encounter our brokenness in new ways every day, we need to be renewed by Christ every day. That renewal always comes the same way: through faith in Jesus.

Our life as a church would be incomplete if we were not sent out by God into our city and into the world. Just as God sent Jesus to restore us, so He sends us out to bring that restoration to others. The blessing we've received from God ought to overflow as a blessing to others. That's why our posture as a church cannot be strictly inward. We must face outward. And we do so in partnership with others who share that same vision.

Our chief purpose is to honor God and to enjoy Him through worship with all that we are. Narrowly, worship describes what we do on Sunday afternoons for an hour—admitting our brokenness and directing our honor to God. Broadly, it describes seeing the goodness of God in every facet of our lives.

We never want to be a church that just talks about God and talks about love. We want our love and our God to be visible in the things we do. Because Jesus himself didn't come to be served, but to serve, we follow his example in serving each other, serving our neighbors, and serving our city. Because we have been blessed by God, we want to be a blessing to others, making a faithful impact in our world.

We are unashamedly a church in, with, and for the city of Richmond. We are conscious of the city’s past and aware of its present challenges, but also passionate about what its future can be. Richmond is a beautiful, broken city and we are people who want to be fully involved in every aspect of the city’s life. Although our interest doesn’t stop at Richmond's city limits, it begins here where we live, work, and play.

Work implies that the Christian life isn't wholly passive. We use all the things that have been given to us by God (resources, talents, time, opportunities) to honor Him, serve others, and care for this good creation. We cultivate and create things in this world because God has given us the ability to do so. That's why we roll up our sleeves and work for God, for our city, and alongside others who are doing the same.

We believe in renewal through Jesus not just for ourselves but for all things. Since brokenness is evident everywhere, we desire that renewal be everywhere, too. As we are renewed by God's grace, so we work for all things to be made new, restored, and made whole. Renewal like this doesn’t come as an outside force imposed from above, but from within, spreading from the inside out.