The Vision and Mission of The Well

Our vision and mission statements are based upon Scripture, as Scripture defines for us the purpose and function of the church. At The Well, our vision and mission define us. It is the criteria by which the leadership and the body make decisions. Before we undertake a particular project or course of action, we ask, “How does this fulfill the vision and mission of The Well?”

Our Vision: God and His Gospel

Our vision begins with God. He was at the beginning and he will be at the end. He created all things (Genesis 1) and he fills everything in every way (Ephesians 1:23). Scripture is God’s revelation of himself to his people whom he created for his glory (Isaiah 43:6, 7).

The word “gospel” translates from the Greek as “good news.” But what “good news” are we speaking of when we say the word “gospel?” The answer in the simplest of terms is “the person and work of Christ.”

Our emphasis on the gospel is once again tied to the glory of God. God is a consistent God, and he can never violate his own nature. God is both just and merciful, and at the cross God reconciled his justice and mercy toward us. In his mercy God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross, and God’s desire for justice was satisfied. This was God’s greatest demonstration of his glory toward man.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

Our Mission: Teaching gospel truth, joining in gospel community, and living on gospel mission, for God’s glory, until the return of Christ.

Gospel Truth

As we gather together during our weekend services or during the week in community groups, we seek to proclaim, explain, and apply the gospel to all of life. Our hope and prayer is that we are a community of believers that is continually growing in our understanding of, our passion for, and our obedience to the gospel.

Gospel Community

God never intended for us to be discipled in isolation, nor can we be fully effective Christ-followers without others. Christians need other Christians. We need one another for encouragement, strength, accountability, and support. And Christian community is one of the main ways in which the truth of Christ is communicated to the world.

Gospel Mission

God has called us to be on mission (John 15:16; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 12:7). He has given us gifts, skills, training, experience, resources, and desires to be used in his service. Attendance at The Well is not to be an end in and of itself; the work of the Kingdom of God for God’s glory is what we are called to give our lives to.

Until the Return of Christ

The return of King Jesus will mark the end of our labor. While all our efforts will bear fruit, the completion of gospel mission will be done by Jesus. He will bring history to a close, raise the dead and judge the world (John 5:28-29), impart to God’s children their final glory (Romans 8:17-18; Colossians 3:4), and herald a new heaven and earth (Romans 8:19-21; 2 Peter 3:10-13).

Statement of Faith

  1. We believe the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are fully inspired, without error in the original writings, sufficient to reveal to us all that God requires us to believe and do, and are the final authority for what we believe and how we live (John 17:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
  2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, 26; Exodus 3:14; Matthew 28:19).
  3. We believe in the absolute deity and full humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his sinless life, his miracles, his substitutionary and atoning death, his bodily resurrection, his present mediatorial work, and his glorious return to judge the living and the dead (John 1:1; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Corinthians 15:3-9; Hebrews 4:15; Romans 3:21-26; Romans 8:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:16).
  4. We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit. He convicts of sin, regenerates, sanctifies, fills, guides, gifts, empowers, and seals all true believers (John 16:5-15; Acts 4:31; Ephesians 1:13).
  5. We believe that man was created sinless. Tempted by Satan, he fell into sin, thus alienating himself and all of humanity from God. We believe that man is completely unable to remedy his lost state, and is in need of redemption. Without faith in Christ, man will be righteously judged for sin in eternal punishment (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1; Revelation 20:10-15).
  6. We believe that man is saved solely through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is an unmerited gift from God and a glorious display of his grace and mercy. Salvation will ultimately be consummated in the new heaven and new earth, the eternal blessed state where God will be “all in all.” (Ephesians 1: 3-10, 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 35-56)
  7. We believe that the church is made up of all true believers in Jesus Christ. The church’s purpose is to love, know, and worship God, make disciples, and serve our fellow man – to the praise of his glorious grace (Matthew 22:36-40; Ephesians 1:6, 5:25-31; 1 Corinthians 12:12; Mathew 22:36-40).

Sundays at 10:00 AM
1734 NE 1st Avenue
Portland, OR 97212

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