Vision, Mission & Beliefs

Our Vision

To love Jesus and love all peoples in joyful community so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings salvation, reconciliation, justice, and mercy to Kirkwood, St. Louis, and beyond.

Love Jesus

To love Jesus means that we long to be a church consumed with a passion to love He who is the source of our
identity, our motivation, our joy, and our hope. Compelled by gratitude, humbled by His grace, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we love Jesus only because in His infinite mercy He has called us to seek and serve Him forever.

Matthew 22:36-38; 1 John 5:3; Romans 5:8

Love all Peoples

To love all peoples means that we strive to model our ministry based upon the authority of scripture and the pattern set by Jesus, going into those communities and to those people that are familiar to us and to those that are not as an expression of His unceasing love for us so that all may together experience the joy of life in Christ for eternity. We intentionally seek to serve others spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially due to our desire to be united as brothers and sisters in Christ so that here on earth we may be part of the worship of Jesus Christ as described in Revelation 7:9 – that people of every tongue, tribe and nation may come together united in their love for Him. In that vein, we intend to be, as a church body, a place where people of different economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds can feel comfortable to hear about and get to know Jesus.

Matthew 22:39-40; Revelation 7:9-10

Joyful Community

To live in joyful community means we are the family of God called to love, forgive, care for, encourage and serve one another. Together in both large and small gatherings, we celebrate the incredible gift it is to be called by God as we collectively praise, mourn, worship, bear one another’s burdens, and rejoice in the fact that we are allowed to serve God and His peoples in humble response to His goodness to us in all circumstances.

Acts 2:42-47; Nehemiah 8:9-12

Salvation

To be messengers of salvation means that we proclaim to all peoples through word and deed the good news that Jesus lived, died, and rose again as His expression of unceasing love for us so that all may experience the joy of life in Christ for all eternity and join in His redemptive, restorative work in this broken world.

John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4-5: Romans 10:9

Reconciliation

To join in the work of reconciliation means that the gospel of Jesus Christ makes it possible for all relationships to be put right – with God, with ourselves, and with others. Therefore, we rejoice that the love of Christ has broken down the walls that divide individuals, ethnic groups, and social classes. Because we have first been forgiven by God’s grace, we seek to be peacemakers as we pursue unity with all people in all situations.

Colossians 1:18-23; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Justice & Mercy

To be advocates of justice and mercy means that we will see those around us the way Jesus does, using a gospel lens to view all cultural, social, and economic issues as we seek to respond to opportunities for righteousness, love and reconciliation in all our relationships. Because of Christ’s mandate to love our neighbors, we have a hunger – not a duty — to humbly love, defend, serve, and fellowship with the poor, the forgotten, and the lost as our brothers and sisters in Christ to heal the systemic brokenness in society and the brokenness within our own hearts.

Micah 6:8; Isaiah 61:1-3; James 2:14-17

Kirkwood, Saint Louis & BeyonD

To serve Kirkwood, St. Louis, and beyond means that we are a people who use every gift we have been given in every locale we are placed in every sphere we have influence so we can produce, promote, and see a glimpse of the world as God created it to be.

Matthew 20:28; Acts 1:8

Where do you fit in?

We all have been given spiritual gifts, and the work of implementing the vision is not the work of the staff alone. Often, living out the vision will occur far beyond the walls of Greentree. In many cases, we may never know how the vision is in play because it will be independently and uniquely worked out in the lives of you, the members, of the church. Our prayer is that you are empowered with an understanding of your role in fulfilling the vision in your personal sphere of influence under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The vision of Greentree Community Church has both a collective and personal application for those who call Greentree their church home.

• Collective
  • Collectively, we seek to embody the principles of this vision, and we commit to prioritize and evaluate everything we do as a church — staffing, ministry, and budget — according to the key components of the vision.

• Personal Application
  • The vision has a personal application as well. It will be independently and uniquely worked out in the lives and individual ministries of the members of the church who have been empowered with an understanding of their gifts and role in fulfilling the vision under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, a critical work of the church must be to equip its members to serve God in joyful obedience in whatever area of contact and influence to which each individual has been called.

Our Mission

To know Jesus Christ, to serve him in joyful obedience, and to make Him known by growing disciples, planting churches, and renewing communities.