VALUES

GOSPEL

The first thing Jesus did after He was baptized and affirmed by His Father at the beginning of His ministry was proclaim, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The Gospel is the true story about the triune God, creator and sustainer of all things, who has pursued sinful humanity through His Son Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary death, and physical resurrection and is now reconciling all who trust in Him alone. It is this glorious message that the Apostle Paul’s tells the Corinthian church, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2) The Gospel is the message that we are more sinful than we could ever imagine but more loved than we could ever hope. The Gospel is as much for Christians as it is for non-Christians because all humanity is dependent on the grace of God and never moves on from this grace. The same Gospel that saves us into the Kingdom and Family of God is the same Gospel that transforms us into the image of Christ.

Restored Church believes that the center of the Gospel is the glory and grace of Jesus Christ, so we strive to be a church that is centered on the Gospel. We preach the grace of Jesus unapologetically because it is God’s grace that trains us to be holy (Titus 2:11-12). This means we will focus on what Jesus has done for us more than what we need to do for Him. It is when we begin to understand this truth and experience the beauty of what Jesus has done for us through the cross and resurrection that our natural response will be a desire to worship and obey Him.

(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1: 7-10; Colossians 1: 19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3: 11-13; Jude 3-4)

FAMILY

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Among the many different images the Bible uses to describe who the Church is (body, army, bride, etc.) the most dominant one is that of a family. The Apostle Paul uses familial language more than any other metaphor throughout the New Testament in describing who the church is. Because the Church belongs to God and we are his children, the church is the family of God. All Christians have been adopted by God the Father (Rom. 8:15) and are now brothers and sisters of Jesus (Heb. 2:11).

Restored Church believes the church is the family of God, and not a building, place, or a program. Because God is our Father we are brothers and sisters. We want the Gospel to deeply impact the way we treat each other in every area of life. We want Restored Church to be a healthy family where we can celebrate the joyful times with one another and also mourn the difficult seasons together. We want to be a family who is vulnerable about our struggles and our pain in order to get the support we need to experience the restoring work of the Gospel in our lives. As a family, we will be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:3) We will not give up on one another after being sinned against or when we disagree because that is not what healthy families do and ultimately not the way Jesus deals with us. Healthy church families work through difficult times and strive for unity because it is our unity that shows the world a clearer picture of the Gospel (Jn. 17:20-23).

We strive to be a family where we help one another with all of the resources God has given us; time, gifts, money, homes, etc. We believe that as we love one another as brothers and sisters, we will reflect the Gospel to the world in such a way that they will see Jesus more clearly and fall in love with Him.

(Matthew 12:50; Romans 12:10; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 2:9-11)

DEPENDENCE

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus not only created the world we live in, but also holds all things together. (Col. 1:15-17) As Christians, we are completely dependent on the triune God in every aspect of our lives. We are as dependent on Him in salvation as we are in sanctification. Jesus’ power is made perfect through our weakness, so we seek to boast alone in His strength.

Restored Church is a family of children dependent on God the Father. We are servants who are dependent on God the Son. And we are missionaries who are dependent on God the Holy Spirit. We are disciples who walk by the Holy Spirit and are in need of Him daily to point us to Jesus. We are utterly dependent on the Spirit to make disciples and live out the new identity we have been given through the Gospel. We believe the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers and testifies of Jesus, showing us our need of Him and His embracing of us through the cross and resurrection. The Spirit reminds us of the deep assurance we have as children of God and it is this assurance that emboldens us as missionaries and witnesses to San Diego and the nations. We believe that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all Christians for the sake of bringing the church to maturity. We believe that all of the gifts addressed in the Scriptures are still active in the church and ought to be used according to the guidelines given in the Scriptures for God's glory.

(Luke 24:49; John 6:63,15:5; Romans 8:16, 26; 2 Corinthians 12:9-11; Galatians 5:16 )

MISSION

Jesus told His disciples in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Jesus’ disciples are a “sent people.” Jesus has sent us filled with His Spirit to tell the world about the amazing grace that He offers through faith. We worship the God who did not demand us to climb a ladder of good works in order to enter heaven, but sent His very own Son from heaven to fulfill the good works in our place. He is the God who pursues and sends and He calls all of His children to do likewise. All Christians are missionaries, sent ones, imaging our Father to the world in which we live.

Restored Church believes that we are a chosen people who have been sent into the world to proclaim and demonstrate the good news of what Jesus has done and is doing. We believe that effective missionaries are filled with God’s Spirit, believe and know the Gospel story of the BIble, and love God so much that they are propelled to love people by sharing the Gospel with those who do not know Him. As effective missionaries, we study culture in order to know how to best apply the Gospel to the people who live in our community. Restored Church desires to be a church who can echo Paul’s heart, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22) God has called us to be a family of missionaries who live in such a way that the world would see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.

(Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25; 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19; 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)

MULTIPLICATION

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” From the beginning of creation, it has been God’s desire for His people to, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...” While God told Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth through child bearing, Jesus told His disciples to do this through disciple making and church planting. Disciples of Jesus are called to make disciple-making disciples of every nation in order that God's glory would fill the earth. We are to be a people who love, serve, and teach others how to trust Jesus and obey His commands. The result of true discipleship is multiplication; multiplication of disciples, multiplication of leaders, multiplication of gatherings, and ultimately multiplication of churches.

Restored Church believes that if a church is healthy it will be growing and reproducing, as all healthy things do. We are dedicated to making disciples, raising up new leaders, starting new gatherings, Missional Communities, and new churches. We want to cover San Diego, and ultimately the nations, with churches that proclaim the glory and love of Jesus in the years to come. We want to see the message of God’s scandalous grace saturate the hurting world around us and we do this by making disciple-making disciples.

(Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 4:11-14; Acts 1:8, 13:1-3; Titus 2:1-4;)

RENEWAL

In the beginning God created the world and everything was good. There was perfect relationship between God, man, and creation. Things were the way they were supposed to be. But sin was introduced into this perfect world and things are no longer perfect. There is pain, suffering, injustice, and death. The perfect relationship between God, man, and creation was fractured. This is not the way things are supposed to be. But the scriptures tell the story of God redeeming all things through His Son Jesus Christ. The day is coming when God’s kingdom will be fully realized once again and evil, sin, and death are destroyed forever. In our time God is in the process of redeeming and renewing all things! He is restoring all things back to the way He intended them to be in the beginning and he invites us to participate in this work.

Restored Church desires to be a people who intentionally pursue this renewal in practical ways. We desire to partner with God to see His kingdom come everywhere: parenting, marriage, business, sexuality, politics, art, finance, music, EVERYTHING. We desire to see the renewal of San Diego in absolutely every way. Jesus prayed “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We echo that same prayer with extra intentionality towards our city and region, “in San Diego as it is in heaven.”

(Genesis 1:26-31; Revelation 21:1-8; Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 6:9-33; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15)