mission: vision

As a community of believers we started with our theology answering the question, 'What is the Gospel' and moved into directing our values toward new community life. This brings forth our ministry philosophy where we experience the Gospel going into a culture, contextualizing in order to communicate, gathering new believers into this new community called the church, and sending them back into the culture in order to transform and heal through the message and the work of the Gospel. We now come to a particular vision that is birthed from this process.

 

The City

Portland is a city with a sprawling suburban landscape to its outskirts. The greater Portland population as of the last census, was somewhere near the 1.9 million mark. Of that, 600,000 people live in the inner metropolitan area of Portland. The church population of that 1.9 million is estimated to be around 60,000 people. In the inner metro area that number decreases dramatically because of the growing churches in the outskirts. All but a handful of inner metro churches are in decline and no longer effectively reaching their mission field.

The inner cities of America are dark and broken places. It is in these urban areas where darkness intensifies. Imago Dei seeks to have God's heart for the city and not to abandon it; to go into the darkness and there let the light of the Gospel shine. In doing this we must continually come back to the Gospel in dependence so that we might go forth in power. Not to be entertained or entrapped by the city, but to engage the city for Christ.

 

How do we respond?

We must therefore posture ourselves in a special way toward the city. We are not to despise the city and thus withdraw from it, nor are we to reflect the city in a complete blending like a chameleon without distinction to the environment, nor are we to simply use the city, but rather we are to love and serve the city as good neighbors and aliens.

 

The broken city

God created cities of refuge for criminals, animals, marauders and the like. Cities thousands of years later still reflect places of refuge. It is here in the city that minorities can live together in areas and form cultural tribes, the poor can band together and eke out an existence and the refugee can find shelter. The dominant majority often doesn't like cities because with them comes sin and danger. The village or suburb is not a place of great diversity. The city also becomes a place to hide from God and to run from God. Those with sinful lifestyles can band together in the city because it breeds a tolerance to sin. In paradoxical fashion it also breeds violence and intolerance between the different groups.

 

With this in mind we see that Portland is clearly a broken city.

Economic Brokenness:
-Homeless men, women, families and teens
-The working poor

Sexual Brokenness:
-Gender identity confusion
-Sex Industry
-Prostitution

Relational Brokenness:
-Family
-Ethnic Segregation
-Addiction

In all of this the Gospel message is to be delivered by the church into the culture to bring repentance and healing in the name of Christ and the power of the cross. God loves the city and as we see in the book of Revelation we will end up in the city whose builder and foundation is God, a city where every tribe and tongue gathers to worship our Great God and King.

 

Cultural Hub

The city is also a stimulus for cultural and human development. It focuses the gifts, capacities and talents of people; showing their deep potential in their God ordained creative natures. It gathers diverse people from other cultures and perspectives through art, industry, music, fashion, vocal expression of thoughts, expressions of ideas in writing, speaking and protesting and the like. In a positive way these create opportunity for the Gospel in the arts, music and conversations in the city. In a negative way the city creates an exhausting pace, and through seeking an identity in the city rather than God, people miss true meaning and purpose. Bad or good, the city brings out whatever is in the human heart.

 

Spirituality

The city is also a place of spiritual pluralism where spiritual seekers gather to build temples and create God in their image. From the early city of Ephesus to our modern day Portland, the city has always been a place of great spiritual hunger. In its appetites for experience and meaning and its hatred for organization and religion in general, it creates a climate of relative spirituality. New Age thought, bits and pieces of world religions and their own creative ideas allow many city-dwellers to compile their own spiritual landscapes. The church has several large buildings, but to most people they speak of a day gone by.

 

The Gospel

In every culture there are redemptive windows through which the Gospel speaks to the heart of the people. In Portland we see those windows in many areas.

-Brokenness: In the hurting hearts and lives of the people, Christ brings healing and hope. In the loving community of God, they can experience unconditional love and grace.

-Arts: The city looks to and listens to messages spoken in paintings, music, and literature. There is an ingrained respect to hear what others say. Christ-following artists have great opportunity to live and speak the Gospel through this window.

-Community: The relational brokenness that exists is painful and it is here that God promises to be a father to the fatherless, the church to be their mother and the community to be their family.

-Truth: The pluralistic climate creates an appetite for meaningful truth. While it seeks to bring validity to all faith practices, it backfires for many as the human heart longs for an anchor of truth. In Christ we have The truth, and thus we invite people to an experience of life change and assurance. In the security of Christ we proclaim that God is alone in the heavens.

-Need: The power that God gives believers to love is proof that Christ is real according to 1 John. In the hurting and broken lives of the poor and the needy, the Gospel comes with power, at times without a word. In the hands and feet, the kindness of a smile or a conversation, the Gospel seeds are planted, creating a doorway for proclamation. As the marginalized gather in communities around the city they call out to the church to come and love them in Jesus' name.

 

The Kingdom of God:

The Kingdom of God is a theological theme and reality. It exists in an already/not yet paradox. On one hand it is here among us in the lives of believers and in the manifestation of the church. On the other hand the kingdom is yet to come in its perfection. From the time of Christ on, the kingdom has been in-breaking into the kingdom of darkness (Col 1:13). The church then represents the kingdom. As it is gathered to worship God the church reflects the already/not yet reality of our eternal vocation as worshippers before the throne. Though highly imperfect it should give the world a picture of the kingdom that will come in fullness. As well, the church is scattered to represent the kingdom of God. The church sent into a world governed by the kingdom of darkness. (2 Cor 5:20, Eph 6:20, Math 28:18-20). It is in the sent church that we present the in-breaking reign of God.

 

Gathered

The church gathers for several reasons: teaching, worship, community, service, etc. in both big groups and small groups. At Imago Dei we seek to create expressions of worship that become tangible encounters with God. Through the word, the body, the sacraments, art, prayer, and music we seek to create holy space where people can encounter the living Christ. In the mid-week we desire that people would live out their faith in community: growing in truth, sharing their lives, and living out the values of the New Testament church. As well, we desire to present everyone complete and mature in Christ. In this we will provide studies that are specific to particular needs from addiction recovery to a new believer's class. Finally Imago Dei believes strongly in being a part of the global community. We can learn from others how to live for Christ as we are in relationship with them. While we may provide some financial support to brothers and sisters overseas we believe that we benefit the most from learning about the deep spiritual lives of those who are not like us.

Sunday A.M.
Home Communities
Issue Studies
Global Community

Scattered: As the church moves out from gathering it scatters into the world as Kingdom representatives, joyfully proclaiming the in-breaking reign of God through their lives and voices.

Missional Living is the primary means of evangelism at Imago Dei. It is not a program we do, but a life we live and the responsibility of every believer. God sends us all out to be His witnesses. Your web of relationships is your mission field.

Social Justice: It is our desire that the kingdom of God would shine all over the city through pockets where it has broken into the darkness, and there shines with God's response to the city's needs. In the kingdom of God there is no poverty, no homelessness and no addiction. When we gather to minister to the needs of homelessness or poverty or addiction, the church shines like a sign post pointing to the kingdom of God and revealing God's heart.

Reproduction: The life of the believer is characterized by bearing fruit. The life of Jesus is reproduced in and through us. The normal pattern of New Testament faith was that of reproduction. Believers created new believers, disciples created new disciples and churches created new churches. It is our vision at Imago Dei that reproduction be in the DNA of everything we do.

Ministry Teams exist as vehicles to help the body minister in community.

Church Planting throughout the city and the world. The vision is to be a movement church that is the birth place for the creation of new leaders, church planters and teams that will move into other areas of Portland and beyond.

Ministry Development: Our vision is to present every believer mature in Christ, living out their God-called passion and gifting. Which means that we create pathways of discovery to equip and unleash every believer to be all God intended them to be. With the end result of being able to stand before God and say: 'I have fought the good fight of faith and completed the race.'

 

You:

The bible says that every believer is a priest (1Pet 2:5). In that, every one of us brings a piece of God's vision to the table and there creates a beautiful mosaic called the body of Christ. All of us bear the responsibility and the blessing of service to our King and representing the kingdom. In that we are dependant on one another for the creation of Imago Dei Community. You need to find your place of service where you can employ the gifts God has given you. Your spiritual gift(s) is given to you for the church not yourself. We will help you discover and find a place to employ or create a new ministry for you to lead, but you must obey God in the use of your gifting. Our vision is to see a church in Portland ministering in the heart of the city, transforming it with the Gospel and being transformed by the Gospel; to be a place that represents the diversity and complexity, the love and submission and the beautiful mosaic of God's kingdom; taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole person, to the Whole world.