Simplicity

As Americans, we live in one of the wealthiest nations on the planet. We enjoy an untold number of luxuries as part of our everyday existence: cars, houses, computers, safety, and nearly unlimited opportunities for entertainment and advancement.

However, we live in a relational wasteland. We can survive without relying on others, depriving ourselves of a deep human need for community. We are never satisfied with our riches, never thanking God for our many simple blessings. We are so surrounded by wealth that we think money buys happiness, and so we abandon people and greater purpose for the acquisition of the next greatest thing.

We commit ourselves to live simply - taking no more than is necessary from what God has given us in order to sustain our lives. We want to experience true wealth: a life not built on the backs of others or by abusing creation, one that experiences community to its utmost, and one that can take greater pleasure in a good book, a beautiful day, or an evening spent with friends.

Living With the Marginalized

In many church circles, the marginalized have become an idol, a target demographic; served and visited, but rarely lived with. It is not enough to simply be concerned with the marginalized, to be with them in spirit, or to advocate for them while safely sequestered away in pleasant places, returning for the occasional visit in the form of a mission trip or service project. To be "for" the marginalized, one must be "with" the marginalized, living amongst them.

We don't live with the marginalized because we think they need us, but because we need them. We don't live with the marginalized so they can find Jesus, but so that we may find Jesus, who is most clearly in their midst. This means living in their neighborhoods, forming relationships, sharing their hopes and struggles, and learning from them about what it means to follow Jesus.

Hospitality

Hospitality is not merely a passive activity - an open door - but a lifestyle; going out to welcome people where they are. It means that our space is also community space; that our resources exist not solely for our good, but for the needs of the community as well.

We commit to practicing radical hospitality: inviting people into our community, helping people who need help, and using our gifts and resources to uplift the members of our community.

Communal Living

Following Jesus is never an individual activity, but is rather a communal journey. Walking with Jesus means walking with others.

We commit to living together as a community, much like the first Christians. The Book of Acts tells us that they "were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." (Acts 2:44-45)

We commit to share our resources in common. We commit to a shared ministry in the neighborhood where we live. We commit not to following our own paths, but being obedient to the community's direction and discernment.

Shared Spiritual Life

Our life together is a common calling from God. It is not our ideals, our personalities, our shared aspirations, that drive this community, but a common desire to follow Jesus.

It is in our shared spiritual life that we lift ourselves up as a community to God and are forced to confront each other; in good times, in bad, in celebration, in anger, and in reconciliation.

Much as the early Christians who lived and prayed together and much as the early Methodists who met in groups to support one another in following Jesus, we commit ourselves to come together daily to lift ourselves, our ministry, our community, and our world up in prayer, so we can keep our focus on the one who makes this community possible.