Vision
In Knoxville
as it is in heaven
In Knoxville as it is in heaven is a phrase we use a lot (and plaster on most everything we hand out) to describe how we feel called to live as a church. It’s very unoriginal; we stole it directly from Jesus’ famous “Lord’s prayer” and just changed the word “earth” to “Knoxville.”
But in just a handful of words, it describes the goal of followers of Jesus living in our city. We want to see God’s kingdom come, his will be done in Knoxville, as it is in heaven. What we want for Knoxville is what God wants: that people would come to know him, follow him, and devote their lives to making him known.
So we invite you to join us in living with this simple, yet profound vision: in Knoxville as it is in heaven.
We exist to be a
Jesus-centered family
on mission.
Jesus-Centered
The word gospel literally means "good news." Before Christianity is a religion or a way of life, it is first an announcement: Jesus has paid for our sin by dying on a cross, and set us free from our sin by rising from the grave. Through this good news, God reconciles individuals to himself, and begins restoring the world to how it should be.
Everything we do as a church is motivated by and centered around the good news of Jesus. Our Gatherings, our LifeGroups, our events, our relationships–everything begins and ends with the gospel.
Family
In the New Testament, the primary metaphor used for the church is that of a family. Through Jesus, we not only have right relationship with God, but also get to experience right relationship with each other.
When God becomes our Father, we also get a lot of new brothers and sisters. In all of our relationships, we seek to interact with one another as a healthy family. We care for one another, hurt with one another, celebrate with one another, and sacrifice for one another.
Through the gospel, God has made us a family.
Mission
The Church has been given the task of inviting more and more people into its family. Through building relationships with people in our world, we seek to show the truthfulness of the gospel in word and deed.
Our hope is that people would see the way that we love one another as church family and be drawn to the message of the gospel as a result. In every way we can, we hope to represent Jesus well in how we do life together.
We want good for our city because we are an active part of our city.
What we do and how we do it is a natural result of pursuing our values.
We are Bible saturated.
We want every member of City Church to have a knowledge, understanding, and love of the Scriptures–Old Testament and New.
We are outward oriented.
We want every member of City Church to have a burden for the lostness in our world, and a personal commitment to connecting friends, neighbors, coworkers and family members to Jesus.
We are Spirit led.
We want every member of City Church to have an intimate, bold, and obedient relationship with the Holy Spirit.
We are discipleship driven.
We want every member of City Church to have at least two people they are persistently spiritually investing in, and at least one person persistently investing in them.