Who We Are

The Bible: We believe the whole Bible is the perfect, inspired word of God given to teach, train, and equip us in everything we need to know about God, how to live like he intended, and when studied correctly it will not lead us astray (2 Timothy 3.16-17, Psalm 8.30).

God: We believe God is the eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present creator and sustainer of the universe (Genesis 1.1, Psalm 139.1-18). We believe that God did not just begin time, created everything, and sat back to watch things unfold but is actively making himself known and is at work in our world (Romans 1.20, Ephesians 1.11).

People: We believe that God created humankind in his image (Genesis 1.27) to love and follow God and to do good for others (Ephesians 2.10). To love is a choice, and so God gave humankind free will to choose God or to rebel against him, a choice that the Bible refers to as sin (James 1.14-15). At some point we all have made the choice to sin, which results in physical and spiritual death and separation from God (Romans 3.13, Romans 6.23).

Jesus: Because God did not want us separated from him, God sent his son, Jesus, fully God and fully human (Colossians 2.9) to save us from sin, death, brokenness, and an eternity separated from God (Titus 2.11-14). Jesus came to show us a better way to live, to die as a sacrifice for all people, and rise again from the dead (Acts 2.23-24, 1 Corinthians 15.17) so that people can live a full, abundant life starting now (John 10.10) that will continue into eternity (John 3.16).

Salvation: We believe that salvation is a free and unearned gift by God’s grace given exclusively through Jesus (Acts 4.12) to every single person who chooses to accept and follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior (Romans 1.16). We believe that God’s expectation is for us to express our decision to follow Jesus by repenting (turning away from sin), telling others that we follow Jesus, and being baptized (Acts 2.38, Romans 10.9-11).

Holy Spirit: We believe that God’s Spirit, known as the Holy Spirit, is a gift to every follower of Jesus (Acts 2.38) to comfort and encourage us (Acts 9.31), make us bold in order to share Jesus with others (2 Timothy 1.7-8), to convict us and strengthen us when temptations arise (John 16.8,13), and to provide God’s gifts for the common good of the Church (1 Corinthians 12.7).  

The Church: We believe the Church is not a building, but a movement
of believers dedicated to making disciples of Jesus who make more disciples of Jesus (Matthew 4.19, 2 Timothy 2.2). The Church comes together united in mind and spirit, to live and worship in community, to live generous lives, and use the spiritual gifts God has given us to serve others (Acts 2.42-47). The Church is also a place where we can safely confess our struggles to each other and bear each other’s burdens (James 5.16, Galatians 6.1).

Church Leadership: We believe that God established elders to oversee the
health of the Church, to keep unity in the Church, and partner with the church staff to equip the Church for service (Acts 20.28-35, Ephesians 4.11-13). They mutually share in responsibility and authority in the church. They also enact discipline as necessary, having the tough conversations with or removing from ministry those trying to tear the church down, yet doing so with love and humility so that the Church is ultimately strengthened (Galatians 6.1).  

Jesus Changes Everything: We believe that Jesus makes life better. That Jesus brings hope to the hopeless and healing to the broken. Jesus changes our lives, the Church (1 Peter 2.9-12), and the world (Isaiah 11.1-10) for the better. And not only does Jesus make life better now, he is also making eternal life better for those who trust Jesus with their lives (Revelation 21.1-5).

We are about Jesus. Everything we do is done for him and by his power. We are fully dependent on Jesus and seek his direction in our lives in every way, every day. We make his thoughts our thoughts and his actions our actions (John 12.26, Ephesians 1.22-23)

Jesus loves people and so do we, especially those who are hurting, hopeless, and far from Him. We are going to show everyone, no matter their background, both in our community and around the world, the unrelenting love of Jesus (Matthew 28.18-20, John 3.16-17, Luke 15).

Jesus is constantly challenging us to grow in our faith, whether we have been following him for five minutes or fifty years. No matter where we are on the journey, we all have a next step to take, and we encourage and enable each other to take it (2 Peter 1.5-8).

We are intentional about raising the next generation of leaders at every level in the church by helping people identify and use the gifts God has given them. We are also intentional about not only showing kids and teens the love and grace of Jesus, but also encouraging and equipping parents as the main disciplers of their families (2 Timothy 2.2), Psalm 145.4, Deuteronomy 6.6-7).

Because Jesus has given his all for us, we give our all for him. We give him the very best of us, our creativity, our energy, and our excellence. But we are also authentic. We are not always going to run at 100%. Somedays, we are 10% or 70% and that's okay! Whatever percentage we are at, we are real about it, and give 100% of whatever percentage we are at (Colossians 3.23-24).

Located along the banks of the Elkhorn Creek in Carroll county Ohio, our mission is "Leading people to encounter Jesus Christ by providing environments that will unite and transform lives". 

Our Children’s Residential Center provides a safe structured environment to meet the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs of children from all across Ohio who have been abused, neglected and traumatized by the people they should be able to trust most.

We're Extend International, a non-profit organization currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand in order to holistically serve those in Southeast Asia.