THE FOCUS OF OUR WORK

Coming together under a common commitment to provide a place to address what faithfulness to Christ and His mission might look like for the churches of North America in the face of several new cultural challenges, we commit to work together on:

Doctrinal Issues
  1. What is the missio Dei and the Sending nature of God? We seek to understand the implications of God’s Triune Sending Nature for the practice of the church in North America.
  2. What is God’s salvation in Christ in the world and how might we understand it in a way that honors substitutionary atonement yet places it within the whole context of God’s work to set the world right? We commit to working out what this means for conversion and sanctification of the individual believer as well as his/her participation in the Mission of God in the whole world.
  3. What is the Kingdom of God and its relation to Jesus Christ as Reigning King? We commit to working out the implications of this truth, especially in terms of what role the church has in bringing in this Kingdom into the world.
  4. What does it mean to say the Bible is true and possesses ultimate authority for the church and the believer? We seek an understanding of how that authority is played out in both the church and its relation to the world.
  5. What does it mean to engage culture in a manner that seeks the transformation of the city, our neighborhoods and our local context whatever that might look like? We seek a robust understanding of the church’s relation to culture for the practice of demonstrating and proclaiming the full gospel in each context we live.
Cultural Issues
  1. What does it mean to lead congregations and shape theology amidst our multi-cultural environment? We seek to develop a more fully representative alliance of evangelicals that includes the diversity of cultures present in our wider mission field, recognizing that the church of the future is a heterogeneous church which more accurately reflects the kingdom of God and His reign. We seek to provide pastoral and theological formation for this more culturally diverse church.
  2. What does it mean to say women are full participants in the ministry of the church alongside men? We seek to understand the New Testament elevation of women to full authority in the church.
  3. What does it mean to offer the redemption of God in Christ to the sexual brokenness of our age? We seek to understand the complexities presented by the new sexual identities of our culture within the understanding that God has come in Christ to sanctify, transform and redeem marriage, sexuality and life in the body towards His ‘Kingdom purposes’ in the world.
  4. What does it mean for Christians to dialogue in/with religions, postmodern cultures and conflicting assumptions about truth under the Lordship of Christ? We seek to understand how God is working in the religions of the world and how to enter relationship with other faiths under the conviction that “Jesus is Lord.”
  5. What does it mean to say that God is at work for justice in the world in and through Jesus Christ? We seek to understand how justice is determined by Jesus and His reign both in and outside the church.
  6. What does it mean to say God has called Christians to steward His creation. We seek to understand how creation is being redeemed in God’s Kingdom and what the church’s role is in the ushering in of that redemption.
  7. What does it mean to disciple believers amidst the consumer market forces that challenge our life in Christ together for God’s Mission in the world. We seek to form practices that will enable communities of faith to cultivate a vibrant life in Christ through the power of the Spirit.