life on life . life in community . life on mission
Our Vision
Jesus replied: "Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments".
Matthew 22:37-40
Our vision has been developed over many years of life experience and research. This vision is also rooted in how God has used small group communities to deepen our own love for Jesus and His word (the Bible)! Because of being driven to help others experience what we have, Neighbors House is committed to helping people to know and follow Jesus and for them to help others do the same. We believe that God is calling us to do that by developing neighborhood missional communities committed to helping each other and helping others know God better, grow in their relationship with Him and each other, and to sacrificially represent Jesus by serving their neighbors and their communities. We believe the best way to develop missional communities is an intentional and ruthless commitment to creating environments and experiences conducive to; life on life, life in community and life on mission.
Life on Life
In the process of becoming better at helping others grow in their relationship with God, we need to have people who are up close and personal and committed to helping us grow. When people are committed to living in close proximity they begin to really know each other and how to best encourage and strengthen one another. Life on life discipleship requires us to invite others to have a front row seat to our lives. This will allow them to really know our struggles and brokenness so that they can gently help restore us into everything God has created us to be.
Life in Community
Jesus spent significant time in life on life relationships with a few of his disciples. But he primarily developed his followers while they experienced life together in community. We all need community. We all need to live among people who will model, encourage and equip us with the gifts they have been given by God. In this way we have all been given a role in the spiritual development of one another's lives. When we interact with each other around God's Word, we expect to strengthen one another by sharing how we have applied it to our lives.
Life on Mission
We fulfill the mission of making disciples most effectively when we are on mission in community. In Matthew 4:19 we read Jesus' initial challenge to a group of fisherman. He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men". Jesus called his disciples to join him on the mission with him. He trained them to be disciple-makers ("I will make you fishers of men). The best training for mission happens while on mission. We believe that the mission starts with loving our neighbors. We are committed to living life on mission as we love and serve our physical neighborhoods.