We follow Jesus
into hope, healing, freedom, and flourishing.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
Good Things Grow Here
GOOD NEWS
The Bible tells a compelling story of our human origin. It begins in a Garden designed to be full of goodness. However, evil soon introduces a counteroffer. What follows is shame, blame, envy, and murderous hatred. The Creator who made the world intervenes, offering hope and promising to make everything good again. That promise and the others God made come rushing together in the Person of Jesus. He is the long-awaited One who comes to rescue and heal.
At first, people are shocked by this scandalous Messiah. He’s not what they expect. When He finally ends up on a Roman Cross, absorbing the world’s shame, blame, envy, and murderous hatred like a broken black hole, most abandon Him.
They couldn’t see how he was also pouring out hope, healing, freedom, and flourishing until they gazed into an empty tomb. They could scarcely believe it when Jesus presented Himself alive to them. But the more they walked, talked, ate, and cried with Him, the more they trusted.
The closer they followed, the more they believed.
Jesus gave them His Spirit, and they started doing what He did: They told others about Jesus, His teaching, and the Resurrection. They prayed, worshipped, and healed others. Finally, they wrote down His story, inviting more and more people into a new reality that Jesus called “My Kingdom.”
IS IT FOR ME?
This would simply be a good story if it weren’t also our story.
We are designed to be like that first beautiful garden: fresh, unspoiled, and full of growing goodness. Sadly, evil persists. We learn that the world, for all its beauty, is broken. We learn another awful truth, too. We harbor this same brokenness even before it is thrust upon us.
Our rescue is the same as that of those first Jesus followers, and our healing is like theirs. First, we behold Jesus. We see who He is and what He does. We start to belong in a community that trusts and follows Him as Lord. Sooner or later, this trust becomes ours. His Spirit makes us more alive than ever. We start to become who we were always meant to be. Finally, we move beyond our comfort and self-concern to share this new life with others. This is the life of a disciple, a follower of Jesus.
As we follow Him, the good things he restores — hope, healing, freedom, and flourishing — begin to grow in the garden of our lives. And then, all that Jesus provides is ours to share.
Learn more about our Foursquare beliefs and find a downloadable copy of our Statement of Faith here.
Four Guiding Principles at B4
We focus on four simple commitments that organize our values and inform our priorities. They give direction to who we are and what we do as a church.
We craft experiences where people can BEHOLD the God who loves them. We make space for people to BELONG in gospel-centered community. We provide resources and tools for people to BE who God created them to be. We empower people to live BEYOND themselves and engage in the mission of God.
We craft well-planned, excellent, spirit-filled and genuine experiences where people can encounter God. We do this through engaging worship, honest prayer, biblical teaching, and compassionate outreach. We are sensitive to the ‘outsider’ while challenging the ‘insider’.
We help people connect with each other in a variety of settings, experiencing the kind of loving, supportive relationships that God intended for them. Whether in a group, a class, or a service project, we contend for relationships that are far more trusting, transparent, honest, and loving because of how the gospel changes our hearts and identities. It’s more than friendship, it’s what we call “Gospel Community” and collectively, it creates a contrast community which people are naturally drawn to.
We invite everyone to nurture a deep, and vital faith in God that embraces Jesus’ teaching and the example of his life. It starts with a God-given desire that creatively refines the way someone lives their life. We provide resources, tools, and opportunities that will allow faith to play a crucial role in how they work, how they play, how they express themselves creatively, and how they interact with one another relationally. We accomplish this by providing practical tools, seminars, and helpful resources in a variety of intentional settings and accessible formats.
We help people find their place of participation in the Mission of God by helping them discover their unique calling and design, engaging them with opportunities to use their gifts and abilities, and by offering coaching and training to maximize their influence and impact.