Our Vision
Uniting generations and cultures,
pursuing fully alive relationships,
free in fearless faith,
reaching out, walking with and serving,
as Christ serves us!
A vision is not a statement of ‘who we are’. It is who we believe ‘God calls us to be’. We are not there yet and we need your help as leaders to keep this vision in your heart and help make it happen.
Intergenerational: “Uniting generations and cultures”
When we worship together we see old and young leading alongside each other. We believe the future includes all ages working together in Christ. We also believe that the Sunshine Coast is becoming more multi-cultural. We will embrace newcomers with new cultures and cater for them in new ways.
Relationships: “Pursuing fully alive relationships”
We dream of our being a community where people come alive because they are loved and accepted – where people can be honest about their fears and hurts. The words ‘fully alive relationships’ were chosen because it’s how Jesus talks in John 10:10. To be fully alive is to have real relationships.
Boldness: “Free in fearless faith”
We dream of our congregation fearlessly taking bold steps of faith! We dream of a community where people are unafraid of trying new things – where there is an openness to faithful risk taking.
Mission: “Reaching out, walking with and serving”
We dream of a future where members of Immanuel put direct engagement with the local community first. We first ‘reach out’ then ‘walk with’ people. It’s about genuinely getting to know our wider community and walking with people and serving them directly ‘where they are at’.
Centred On Christ: “As Christ Serves Us”
Christ has made it all possible and that Christ continues to serve us through his word of grace, through worship, through the sacraments, and through each other. The word ‘as’ means a whole lot:
– We serve “because” Christ first saved us! (1 John 4:19)
– We serve “in the way that” Christ served us! (John 13:15)
– We serve “while” Christ continues to serve us. (1 John 4:13,16)
Our Core Values
Everything starts with prayer.
This speaks for itself. We believe prayer should be the place where our hearts become aligned with God’s Spirit and God’s grace. Every ministry, worship time, meeting and act of service must come from prayer.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Grace changes people.
People don’t change by being told, commanded, manipulated, forced or made to change. They change through the unconditional gift of God’s love – we call this grace. We do not believe that the ‘law’ changes people – it points out our failing and need. Real change comes through God’s Holy Spirit.
“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son.” – Romans 8:3
Compassion calls us beyond ourselves.
Our church does not exist for itself or for its members. We are here for the wider world. God’s compassion calls us outside our comfort zones and our homes – to serve and give of ourselves. Going beyond ourselves is the way of Jesus!
“For God “so loved the world…” – John 3:16.
Generations grow deeper together.
For people to grow into deep and mature disciples (apprentices) of Jesus, it takes all ages. Young people grow deeper when they learn from the faith of older disciples. Older people grow deeper and get deep encouragement from exploring the faith of younger generations. Jesus is intergenerational!
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” – Hebrews 13:7
Jesus is the way.
The path, road, journey and destination is Jesus – the way. He is our goal and our future. The only reason that such a diverse bunch of people called “Immanuel Church” can work so well together is because we are unified by Jesus Christ. Jesus brings us together as a family and he gives us a reason to work for something greater.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life…’ – John 14:6
“Christ is the image of the invisible God…” – Colossians 1:15
And We’re Lutheran?
Immanuel is a Lutheran community. This means that we are Christians first, but that we have a special history about how we got here and some culture that we value. If you’re interested in how it all started why not read the first confession of Evangelical Christians written in 1530AD. It might be called the first ‘Lutheran’ document. It’s available here… The Augsburg Confession
