In a few weeks, R2 will celebrate its 3 year anniversary.  God has honored us and elevated us.  One of the reasons, I think, is our doctrinal creed.  I get asked all the time, “What does this new church actually believe?”  Well, here you go:

R2 is a church made up of a lot of people from a lot of places, and we don’t expect to all look, act, think, and believe the same. We’re not robots. Because God is just so big, people will always have different perspectives, opinions, and attitudes about who, what, and how God is. With that said, there are a few basics that unite us at R2, some principles that keep us on track and focused on our goal of bringing people far from God back to God so that they can know life change. Put simply, we believe in God; we believe in you; we believe in us.

WE BELIEVE IN GOD. We believe that proof of God is obvious and that you don’t have to look very far to see that God is real. God is in the seasons changing. God is in families healing, in the feeling you get when you listen to your favorite song, in finally getting the big job, and God is even in the sound of a baby crying. God is bigger than all of that; in fact, he created all of that. God is more powerful than anything; God knows everything; and God is everywhere. God, though, refuses to sit on a throne somewhere far away, keeping you at a distance, keeping you from ever getting to know who he is. In fact, God wrote the Bible, inspiring regular, everyday people to tell you about him. The Bible is God’s authoritative word to us. But more than just you knowing about God through words on paper, God wants to be your best friend.

WE BELIEVE IN YOU. We believe that you were created to have intimacy with God, but through sinful disobedience, we all have been separated from the same God who wants so desperately be with us. Jesus, God’s son, who is completely human but also completely God, repaired that separation by living a perfect life so that, as our substitute, he could satisfy God’s demands for perfection. Jesus allowed himself to be killed by people who didn’t understand him, but he defeated death in his resurrection so that we can have a full life – that’s a full life right now while we live here on Earth and, eventually, a full life forever with God in Heaven. It is only through Jesus that you can know, talk with, cry to, and even scream at God, and God talks back. In fact, as you grow closer to God, you will hear God talking about you, revealing that you have a unique destiny. You are meant for great things with God, and R2 will support you and walk with you as you achieve those great things.

WE BELIEVE IN US. We believe that we, as a church, have the responsibility to spread this good news of Jesus to society, to our workplaces, schools, gyms, neighborhoods, and beyond. To help us accomplish that goal, God’s Spirit which lives inside of every Christian, excites us, encourages us, gifts us, fills us, and guides us. It is not enough, though, simply to tell others about Jesus. No, we must actually show Jesus to every person we encounter. Like Jesus, we must help people, love people, and refuse to judge people. You have a role to play in all of this. The church will never be all that it can be without you in it and doing your part. God has specifically designed a role for you to fill, a place for you to be in the church. When you find that role, that place, we know that your life will make more sense than it ever has.