God’s love is radical and all-inclusive — We recognize that God loves us in a radical, all-inclusive way that leads us to healing, wholeness, and hope, and it propels us to respond. Knowing that God actively loves and works in the lives of those around us as well as ourselves, we answer the invitation to participate in that work, trusting that God can use our efforts for the good of all involved.

We want to be the kind of community that reaches out to others the way Jesus did — Jesus showed us how to reach out by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and ultimately bringing people to know God’s all-inclusive love. As Christ-followers, we aspire to be like he was and to reach out like he did.

In this faith community, our outreach ministry seeks to uphold dignity in every interaction — We recognize that historically, the Church’s efforts at “outreach” have been tainted with a sense of superiority and arrogance (“white savior complex”) and we have to work constantly and deliberately to avoid that. Outreach without dignity causes harm instead of help and leads to toxic charity (when a well-meaning attempt to address a need is done in a way that ultimately causes harm). We uphold dignity by:

• Listening well (asking what is needed instead of assuming we already know).

• Recognizing and valuing the skills and resources someone already has.

• Finding opportunities for two-way exchange instead of one-way giving.

Foster Connection — Christ calls us to welcome the stranger, which is to invite our fellow humans to connect with us on a human-to-human level.

• We recognize connection is a fundamental human need and we look for ways to include connection as part of our ministry. Even brief, simple interactions can be meaningful.

• We remember that healthy relationships include both trust and accountability. We need to place a level of trust in others as we connect with them (“no strings attached”) but we also need to maintain a level of accountability at times. (Absence of either trust or accountability leads to codependence and/or power imbalance.)

Foster Collaboration — Collaborating with other people and organizations enables our efforts to be far more effective, holistic, and impactful. Our goal is not “what can WE do to fix this situation” but “how can we work TOGETHER to address these needs”. 

• With humility, we seek to come alongside individuals and organizations that are already doing good work and support them in ways that reflect our own abilities and resources.

• We also look for ways to collaborate with the people we are trying to serve (for example, working together with a parent to put a bed frame together for their child.) Collaboration is another way of sending the message of dignity—that everyone has something to offer.

Respond with discernment — We trust that God is already at work in the lives of our community, and we seek God’s guidance in each situation as we pay attention to how God might be calling us to participate.

• The needs around us can feel endless and overwhelming. We need to be careful not to fall into the erroneous expectation that it is our responsibility to solve all the problems around us. That is not our calling. Instead, our calling is to look for how God is already working and join in that work out of the abundance of what we have. This is the process of discernment.

• Discernment also helps us distinguish between crisis and chronic need. A crisis requires immediate relief, but a chronic need requires a long-term solution that addresses underlying barriers and challenges (i.e. poverty, mental health, addiction…). We work to determine when to “give someone a fish” vs. “teach someone to fish.”

Meeting moments of crisis with compassion — During a crisis, normal coping is temporarily overwhelmed and immediate intervention is required before long-term sustainability can be addressed. All of us experience crises at times, and reaching out for help is part of what it means to live in community. When we encounter someone in crisis, we seek to respond with curiosity, empathy, sensitivity and generosity.

Address chronic needs — Chronic needs are often mis-identified as crises. Treating a chronic need with immediate relief ignores the underlying barriers and prevents or delays the person from finding a genuine solution, which results in disempowerment. 

• Addressing chronic needs requires shifting away from the “quick fix” mentality and toward finding ways to foster long-term development. Long-term development is less glamorous, more complex, less common, and (often) more needed. 

• Finding ways to come alongside organizations that are already engaged and knowledgeable about addressing chronic needs, and helping to meet the needs they identify, is an essential part of our ministry.

Empower our neighbors — Jesus made it clear that our neighbors include people that society often pushes to the margin because of race, gender, sexual preference, culture, faith, age, wealth, opportunities, circumstances, etc. Jesus constantly sought out and ministered to people who’ve been marginalized, and our goal is to do the same.

As we journey together — We recognize that each of us are on our own journey toward healing, wholeness, and hope. As our paths intersect with those of our neighbors, we strive to persistently encourage healing, wholeness, and hope in one another.