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About Us

Our Vision | Values | Beliefs

We strive to be a church where:

Everybody is Welcome  | Nobody is Perfect |  Anything is Possible

 

This guides our mission:

  • Everybody is Welcome - so we reach out to the whole community with the Gospel (good news) & invite them to join our church family  [win the lost]

  • Nobody is Perfect - so we do discipleship, working to grow in our Christ-likeness & embracing each other with grace  [build the faithful]

  • Anything is possible - so we equip our church family to find their calling and serve God… everyone is a “minister”  [equip everyone for ministry]

 

Our Values:

  • Jesus changes everything - everything we do, our corporate worship, our service, our relationships is centered on what Jesus has done on the cross - it transforms lives as well as communities

  • everybody has a "calling" - God actually calls us to be great engineers, teachers, artists, lawyers, managers, moms, clerks, musicians, directors, dads, etc.  The goal of being a great Christian is not to become a "pastor" - it’s to figure out and live into the calling God has given you where you are.

  • authentic living in the burbs - nobody has it all together, we are broken people in a broken world and that is who Jesus came to save

  • it's about who, not what - what really matters is relationship - our relationship with God is more important than perfect beliefs, and our relationship with each other is more important than our programs

  • everyday justice - making an impact on the injustices of our world and community through simple, strategic choices

  • church happens in your neighborhood - being a Christian means being a good neighbor - living out our faith in our community

  • all truth is God's truth - worshipping God with our hearts and our MINDS - we look for God's truth in all areas of life, the arts, media, and relationships. At the same time, we reject a Christianity with easy answers and look for the truth behind the truth (because there is always a question behind the question).

  • the story matters - everything about who we are as a church, as families, and as individuals is shaped by the Bible - the story of a God who created everything, offered us relationship and entered into our world to pursue us

  • joining the family - we are always looking for ways to invite others into our community and into God's story - especially people who would consider themselves, "un-churched" or "de-churched"

Presbyterian

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While most of our people would not say they personally have any denominational affiliation or background, we are a Presbyterian Congregation. This gives us an amazing foundation in a family of faith that has deep roots in the story of Christianity.  At the same time, the principles of "Presbyterianism" or the "Reformed tradition" enable us to fully engage today's culture. Simply put, Presbyterians are Christian and hold to the same ancient creeds (or beliefs) as other Christian traditions - but we emphasize a few key areas...

 

  1. We believe in a big God with the power to change lives, in fact, a God who has authority over the whole world (technical word is sovereignty).

  2. We believe that God chooses us before we choose him (the theological term is Grace).  God makes the first move and pursues us even when we are broken and don't have our life together (technically predestination).

  3. We don't think that one person should make decisions for the whole church - so the authority in the church is not held by the pastor, but by members of the congregation who work together on a team (this is actually what the word Presbyterian means - led by elders).

  4. We believe scripture has authority for our lives.  However, we don't believe in easy answers. We think that the Bible should be studied carefully and that our beliefs should be approached with both faith and thought.

 

LiveOak Church is part of the family of Presbyterian churches called PCUSA.​

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