our vision is to be:
A growing community demonstrating the love of Christ to the world
Vision for a church is much more than a catchy phrase. It’s a process, a journey, an adventure, into a future that God has set before us. We know our ultimate destination is the future described in Revelation 22:1-5, but the means by which we get there is for us to discover. It’s like God has given us a compass - a direction to follow, but not a map.
The vision of Fareham Community Church is entirely motivated by God’s passion for all people everywhere, and His call to the church to be a source of good news. Jesus came to bring life (John 10:10b) and so we as a church believe that we are called to continue the work of Jesus on this earth. We are therefore called to be carriers of God’s life into all areas of our society - using a range of ways and means to provide the life of God to all we encounter. God desires for us to follow him - to live faithful and fruitful lives, loving one another and learning what it means to be part of the family of God along the way. This God given vision ultimately fulfills God’s purposes, for God’s glory, on God’s earth. We understand that on our own we can achieve nothing but with the help of the Holy Spirit all things are possible.
So who are Fareham Community Church?
- We are a church that anyone can come to just as they are (Matt 11: 28-30)
- We are a church that equips “ordinary” people to be extraordinary for God (Exodus 3: 1-10)
- We are a church that influences and shapes culture and communities (Matt 5: 13-16)
- We are a church with a purpose - to go out of our way to spread the good news of Jesus in culturally relevant ways. (Matthew 28: 18-20)
- We are a non religious church that sees celebration, fun and excitement as a natural outworking of following Jesus (John 10: 10b)
- We are a church called to take risks, to pioneer and to lead the way. (Genesis 12: 1-5)
- We are a church called to hold in equal balance the call to mission (Matthew 28: 19), worship (Luke 4: 8), discipleship (Mark 1: 17), and community (Acts 2: 42-47).
our values are:
FORWARDS
We have great confidence that God will restore all of creation under the authority of Christ. We believe that every church has to ask the question: "What does it look like for us to live out that future reality today?" We are constantly exploring, questioning, and wrestling with new and creative ways to live out and communicate the teachings of Jesus. Because we see faith as a journey, change is assumed, innovation is expected, and rebirth is welcomed.
BACKWARDS
We affirm the central truths of historic orthodox Christian faith, seeing ourselves in a long line of generations taking part in the endless conversation between God and people. We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to pass along their poems, stories, accounts, and letters of response and relationship with each other and the living God. To know where we're going, we have to know where we've been.
INWARDS
We believe that God wants to bring about a new humanity by redeeming every part of us. We embrace the salvation Jesus offers as the only hope for the healing of our relationships with God, each other, ourselves, and creation. We believe that all of life is spiritual, and that all of our fears, failures, and brokenness can be restored and made whole. We value the inner journey because we want to be fully integrated people—mind, body, and soul, emotions and experiences all offered together to God.
OUTWARDS
We believe that Jesus is God in human form and that the Church is God's ongoing presence in the world. Led by the Spirit of God, we are passionate about relieving suffering and fighting injustice, joining the God of the oppressed in living out the transforming message of the resurrected Jesus. Jesus calls his Church to be a compelling force for good in the world, and we believe that the Church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves, caring about the things God cares about. We were created to live for something larger than ourselves.
UPWARDS
We take great joy in partnering with God to change the world, embracing the truth that all of life is sacred, hope is real, and tomorrow can be better than today. We celebrate the divine in the daily, pursuing lives of hope, gratitude, and worship. God invites everyone everywhere into this way of life, and we believe it is the best possible way to live.
TOGETHER
We value the image of God in all people, everywhere. We believe that we were created to live deeply with one another, carrying each other's burdens, sharing our possessions, to pray for and confess our sins to each other, to suffer and celebrate together. It's in these honest, loving relationships that God transforms us and truth becomes a reality. The way of Jesus cannot be lived alone.