Every church has a unique personality just as people have personalities. The following section will help you better understand Northview’s vision, mission, values, and beliefs.
Northview’s Why: To make Jesus known.
If we lose our why, we lose our way. Jesus changes everything. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Jesus makes life better, and Jesus makes us better at life.
Northview’s What: Leading people from where they are to where God wants them to be.
Jesus got on the inside with outsiders. He had a willingness mindset: whatever, whenever, wherever, and whoever. We are committed to connect before we correct, for “kindness leads to repentance” Romans 2:4. Since Jesus is above us, nothing he did is beneath us. Jesus meets us where we are but does not leave us there. Everyone has a next step. Going deeper is the key to going higher.
Northview’s How: Loving people towards Jesus through gatherings, groups, and generosity.
We believe that our demonstration of the Gospel should match our declaration of the Gospel. The Church should be both incarnational and attractional, and discipleship begins and ends with evangelism, so our teaching determines our reaching. The best way to make a difference is to make a disciple. A broken world needs a brave church and significance is found on the path of service. We believe that a church is best measured by its sending capacity not its seating capacity. “Whoever wants to be great among you must first be your servant.” Matthew 20:26
-When it comes to GATHERINGS, we are not building a crowd, we are building Christians.
-When it comes to GROUPS, we are not building programs, we are building Christians.
-When it comes to GENEROSITY, we are not building budgets, we are building Christians.
Northview's Values:
GRACE
The church is most attractive when grace is most apparent. If we don’t know who this grace is from, we won’t know who this grace is for (John 3:16). If we don’t know why we received this grace, we won’t know why we should share this grace. If we don’t know how we received this grace, we won’t know how to share this grace. G.R.A.C.E. is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is empowering, not enabling (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). If we are ambassadors of Christ, the Church is the embassy of heaven.
GROWTH
We are called to make disciples, not just decisions (Matthew 28:19). God is more concerned with the strength of our growth, then he is with the speed of our growth. The three stages of our faith journey are: Salvation (Freedom from the penalty of sin), Sanctification (Freedom from the power of sin), and Glorification (Freedom from the presence of sin). Salvation happens in a moment and sanctification happens over a lifetime. Salvation gets us to heaven (glorification) whereas sanctification gets heaven through us (Isaiah 40:27-28).
GROUPS
It is hard to live out the Christian faith without leaning on Christian friends (Acts 2:42-47). Groups live out what the sermon calls out (Galatians 6:9-10). The Christian life without Christian friends is difficult. The Christian life without Christian friends is confusing. The Christian life without Christian friends is boring (Hebrews 10:25). Strong commitments and convictions are not enough (John 13:34-35). The Christian life requires strong connections. Our “with”ness is key to our witness.
GENERATIONS
As a church, we are focused on helping people start early and finish strong in the faith (Psalm 71:17-18). We want our kids to be safe and successful, but God wants our kids to be brave and significant (Acts 2:17). The church should be a multi-generational community of visionaries and dreamers (2 Timothy 3:14-16). Three things that every generation needs are a standard worth achieving, a community worth having, and a faith worth reproducing (Daniel 4:3). It takes all kinds of people to reach all kinds of people.
GENEROSITY
Generosity is a genius way to live (2 Corinthians 12:15). The tripod of godly character is integrity, humility, and generosity. Giving and serving are the two sharpest tools in the discipleship toolkit (Isaiah 55:8-9). God tends to be clearest in the areas we find to be the hardest. A lack of generosity isn’t a giving problem. A lack of generosity is a Gospel problem. Every spending decision is a spiritual decision (2 Corinthians 8:7). The better you get at giving, the better you get at living (1 Peter 4:10-11). Being a Christian isn’t doing God a favor, it’s doing yourself a favor. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to do something for someone else. Serving is a delight, not a duty.
Northview’s Beliefs: The goal of theology is not knowledge but worship.
About the Bible | We believe the Bible is inspired by God and that His Spirit directed men to write His words; therefore, we believe that it contains no errors. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)
About God | We believe that there is only one God who exists in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22)
About Jesus | We believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, that he is both God and man, that he never sinned, and that he performed miracles. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead so that sins can be forgiven. Jesus is now with the Father in heaven but will someday return to earth in power and glory. (John 1:1; Philippians 2:5-6; Luke 1:26-38; Hebrews 7:26; Acts 2:22; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Matthew 28:6; Acts 1:9-11)
About the Holy Spirit | We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every Christian and that He provides the power for living a life that pleases God. The Holy Spirit guides the believer to what is true and strengthens him to resist what is not from God. The Holy Spirit gives every believer spiritual gifts for the building up of the church. We are filled by the Holy Spirit when we yield to God's authority in our life and ask Him to fill us. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13; Ephesians 5:18)
About Mankind | We believe that all people are created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sin, rebelling against God's will. Therefore, a person is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his or her own effort alone. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:8-9)
About Salvation | We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, only those who place their faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will be saved. When a person believes in Jesus, God--the Holy Spirit, gives that person a brand new life--he or she is born anew. (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Galatians 4:6)
About the Christian Life | We believe that all Christians should live for Christ and not for themselves. By obeying God's commands as found in the Bible and by yielding daily to the Spirit of God, every believer should mature and be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:20-26; John 14:23-24; Romans 12:1-3)
About Eternity | We believe that those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ will live eternally with God (heaven), and that those who have not placed their faith in Jesus will live eternally without God (hell). (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:1-15; Revelation 21:8)
About the Church | We believe that the Church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the Church are those who have placed their faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God by loving Him and by making Him known to the lost world. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; Matthew 28:18-20)
Positional Statements
About Sanctity of Life | We believe in the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. (Genesis 9:5-6; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16)
About Marriage | We believe in the holy institution of marriage between one man and one woman, rooted as it is in God’s creation of man and woman in His image and in relationship between Christ and His Church. (Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:22-33)