1. GOSPEL-CENTRALITY

The gospel is the joyous news that God has accomplished our salvation through Jesus Christ in order to bring us into relationship with Him, destroy all effects of sin in the world, and make all things new. There is nothing we can do to earn this, it can be only received by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ.

Because the gospel is the answer to humanity’s deepest need and is the power of God, it drives everything we do: it’s the foundation for Sunday worship, community life, and loving those in our city. And because the gospel is not only the means of entering God’s family but it defines the entire Christian life, it shapes how we work, love, hope, teach, learn, sing, disciple others, and live in the mundane. It gives us a stable identity rooted in the merit of Jesus Christ, not in how we perform on a given day. It lifts us up out of pride and self-pity and gives us hearts of humility and gratitude.

The gospel has the power to change lives and renew neighborhoods. Its goal is not only a saved people but a redeemed creation, all to the glory of God. In short: the gospel changes everything.

2. TRUTH

The winds of culture shift continually. The givens of one generation are seen as obsolete by the next, and our current culture is starved for truth. Only the Word of God has stood the test of time in illuminating humanity’s greatest problem (sin) and the only sure solution (Jesus Christ), along with providing an all-encompassing worldview for navigating the vicissitudes of life. All of the Scriptures point to Jesus Christ as Savior and King, and give us everything we need for walking in wisdom, knowing God, and being transformed. Therefore, we hold to the Word of God as the pillar for holding and growing our church. We’re committed to Word-centered preaching, Word-centered singing, and Word-centered discipleship and evangelism.

3. HOSPITALITY

We were once strangers to God and outside His family, yet through Jesus Christ and at infinite cost He brought us into His family to know Him and eventually live with Him for eternity in a renewed creation. Because of this, we open up our hearts and homes toward others just as Jesus first did for us. Corporately, we welcome those who are different than us into our midst with a warm and glad heart. We display deep sympathy toward those who are skeptical, doubting, spiritually disengaged, or hostile toward the Christian faith, fostering a community that’s committed to truth yet generous and respectful toward those who don’t believe what we do. As individuals, we desire every person who calls Doxology their church home to be hospitable toward their neighbors and coworkers, befriending them and inviting them into their lives to display Jesus through word and deed.

4. DISCIPLESHIP

God calls us to glorify Him by making disciples who image and reflect Him. Therefore, we desire to follow His Great Commission by making disciples who follow, walk with, and live like God's Son who imaged and glorified Him perfectly. Christian discipleship is rooted in union with Christ and in the sufficiency of Scripture and transforms people by teaching them to apply Gospel truths to every aspect of their lives. This sounds simple, and it is, yet it's often overlooked and is more difficult than many realize. This is foundational to the culture of our church and we pray our pastors do this in their sermons and members do this in their relationships with one another. Education and social programs are important, but nothing changes a human heart, a neighborhood, or a city more than being made new by the Gospel, growing as a disciple, and then teaching others to do the same. By God’s grace, our church will embody this culture of discipleship by multiplying disciples of Jesus who make new disciples of Jesus for God’s glory.