Grace Hill's Vision, Mission & Core Values
Vision
To be a church community that engages Hillsborough, NW Chapel Hill, Orange County and beyond with the grace and truth of Jesus Christ so that we are transformed spiritually, socially and culturally.
Mission
To live a hopeful, credible, Biblical picture of God's grace and truth in Jesus Christ and to grow together in maturity and mission.
Core Values
Christ-focused
Our highest value is Christ and the life with God that he brings. His loving initiative heals our alienation from God. We participate in the community he creates and defines. He empowers our life of faith with God. He is the center of the great exchange that uniquely brings us to God: taking our brokenness and failings, he gives us his rightness and faithfulness. Both grace and truth are found in Christ, enabling us to live the reality for which God has created us. He does all this because he is God incarnate: Emmanuel, God with us.
Grace
In a world of “you are what you produce” or “you are only as good as your last deal,” Jesus creates for us a stature and vitality that flourishes and remains based on what he has done for us. God looks not for our offers of goodness but for our faith in the goodness Jesus has and shares. This works beautiful, humble confidence in us. Grace is not a “less filling” message, a mere social connection, or an excuse to do as we please. The grace of the gospel leads us to God, shows us where and how to walk faithfully with him, lifts us when we fall, and satisfies our hearts and minds.
Community
The core of Christianity is God calling individuals to himself through Jesus into a community. Grace Hill is a community where you can be known and missed, and welcomed and encouraged. We invite all kinds of diversity, but the most important is spiritual. We believe that our community is for old-fashioned bible-believing church-goers, but we also believe that skeptics, people without church backgrounds, and people who are not currently active in a church community make our community more vibrant and more complete. We think that we are a good community for liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and progressives, rich and poor, singles, families, men, women, children and just about anyone else. In a community lead by Jesus, all are welcome, encouraged and challenged. Come with a sharp mind and an open heart.
Engaged
Real belief cannot be reduced to mere "caring and doing," but it is incomplete without it. Growing faith in Jesus leads us to value and pursue purpose in our vocational callings, in communicating grace and truth, and in living out faith amidst the needs of our communities. Creativity and stewardship are integral in a life of faith, since God is creator and has made us to be “sub-creators.” There are a variety of places we can practice mission: community, family, vocation, world. "Right-sized" mission means we serve and create out of our gifts as much as possible and that we seek to neither bury our talents nor make our lives revolve around them. We believe we are changed and matured as we serve Christ and make his Grace known in the various creational and redemptive avenues God gives us. The Gospel of Jesus means we must be concerned for those in need in Orange and Durham county, and around the world, even as it also means that the solutions are spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social.
Some of the organizations we partner with include Orange Congregations in Mission, Justice Matters, and Samaritan Health Clinic in Durham. We are also committed to supporting the planting of new church in the U.S. and abroad.
Our highest value is Christ and the life with God that he brings. His loving initiative heals our alienation from God. We participate in the community he creates and defines. He empowers our life of faith with God. He is the center of the great exchange that uniquely brings us to God: taking our brokenness and failings, he gives us his rightness and faithfulness. Both grace and truth are found in Christ, enabling us to live the reality for which God has created us. He does all this because he is God incarnate: Emmanuel, God with us.
- Q: Have I found spiritual life, health, salvation and satisfaction in Christ? Am I continuing each day to find these, and many more, things in Jesus?
Grace
In a world of “you are what you produce” or “you are only as good as your last deal,” Jesus creates for us a stature and vitality that flourishes and remains based on what he has done for us. God looks not for our offers of goodness but for our faith in the goodness Jesus has and shares. This works beautiful, humble confidence in us. Grace is not a “less filling” message, a mere social connection, or an excuse to do as we please. The grace of the gospel leads us to God, shows us where and how to walk faithfully with him, lifts us when we fall, and satisfies our hearts and minds.
- Q: Am I living before God and others that my worth, value and hope come from what I do, or am I connecting the harder but more solid reality that these come from what God in Christ has done for me?
Community
The core of Christianity is God calling individuals to himself through Jesus into a community. Grace Hill is a community where you can be known and missed, and welcomed and encouraged. We invite all kinds of diversity, but the most important is spiritual. We believe that our community is for old-fashioned bible-believing church-goers, but we also believe that skeptics, people without church backgrounds, and people who are not currently active in a church community make our community more vibrant and more complete. We think that we are a good community for liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and progressives, rich and poor, singles, families, men, women, children and just about anyone else. In a community lead by Jesus, all are welcome, encouraged and challenged. Come with a sharp mind and an open heart.
- Q: Where are my longings: to be more self-referencial or only with my self-identified tribe, or to be part of growing group where Jesus is changing us and calling us to His great plan for all of creation?
Engaged
Real belief cannot be reduced to mere "caring and doing," but it is incomplete without it. Growing faith in Jesus leads us to value and pursue purpose in our vocational callings, in communicating grace and truth, and in living out faith amidst the needs of our communities. Creativity and stewardship are integral in a life of faith, since God is creator and has made us to be “sub-creators.” There are a variety of places we can practice mission: community, family, vocation, world. "Right-sized" mission means we serve and create out of our gifts as much as possible and that we seek to neither bury our talents nor make our lives revolve around them. We believe we are changed and matured as we serve Christ and make his Grace known in the various creational and redemptive avenues God gives us. The Gospel of Jesus means we must be concerned for those in need in Orange and Durham county, and around the world, even as it also means that the solutions are spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social.
Some of the organizations we partner with include Orange Congregations in Mission, Justice Matters, and Samaritan Health Clinic in Durham. We are also committed to supporting the planting of new church in the U.S. and abroad.
- Q: Am I finding the joy of God's Spirit using the gifts God has given me to serve Him and those near and far in His way and for His glory?
