Vision
The vision is Jesus: to love Him, to know Him, and to see all things as He sees them. Everything else is the overflow. He is our focus, our ambition, our pace-setter, our inspiration, our friend. His are the rhythms of grace.
It is a movement of the Holy Spirit, fuelled in prayer and warfare, undermining the structural and personal work of darkness in every hurting life — unto their salvation, healing, transformation, liberation, and participation.
It is to become a sacrificial and interdependent community, and a community of communities, that pulsate with love, honesty, forgiveness, honour, and authenticity, who travel together in the real questions and pains and joys of our lives.
It is to learn to worship and pray corporately, intimately, expectantly, joyfully, freely, and with eyes that perceive the ever-present potential of His beautiful Kingdom.
It is to see transformed communities, economics inverted, poverty contended, addicts liberated, sex workers beloved, asylum seekers honoured, single people and families finding belonging and family together, the hungry fed, and orphans drawn into our homes.
It is to live with material simplicity and yet celebration of everything beautiful, delicious, and good. It is to embody prophetic generosity with our money, possessions, people and gifts. It is to steward a culture of love, honour, creativity, laughter, rest and authenticity in our leadership and teams, modelling a contagious new way of being to our city.
It is to espouse grace-modelled parenting, healthy lifestyles, and ethical shopping — to be a loud and effective voice in society for justice, anti-trafficking, aid and development locally and overseas, for peace and reconciliation in the conflicts of the world. It is to become a sending and receiving hub of missionary work, effectively and relationally linked to the nations.
It is to be an inspiration centre for the artisan and the entrepreneur, hosting an atmosphere of empowerment, courage, and reconnection to our God-given creativity. It is to enable every one of us to journey on the winds of the Spirit as partners with the very imagination of God.
The vision is to see miracle-bringers on the streets, in the offices and warehouses and shopping centres and back gardens of a city, inviting the Lordship of Jesus to transform the pains of the ordinary into His vibrant fullness. It is to see oh so many join this vision of the pursuit of Him, recognising in joy and clarity that He is alive, that He reigns, and that He calls us to friendship, to daughtership and sonship, and to partnership in His cosmic work of healing.
This vision is not ours, but has been inspired in us through meeting the Great Visionary; the One who truly sees what our souls and our city could be. The One whose values are more beautiful and ability more complete and love more radical than any other power or personality upon the earth. None can be compared with Him. He is our Visionary, our Leader, our Lord. He is our Origin, our Way Maker, and our Destination. He is our Source. And His name is Jesus.
For the unending glory of His name, so may this be.
Values
The Story of God, from beginning to end, show us the consistent heart of God for His people through the ages:
God’s presence with God’s family, expanding God’s kingdom.
These core values give shape and clarity to all of our activity.
Presence
At the centre of everything is God. From beginning to end, the Story of God calls people back to lives centred around Himself, Him present with us at the centre. This means that all of our activity begins and launches from time with Him — in prayer, worship, obedience, trust, and learning to walk in obedience to the sound of His voice. He is both our leader and our strength, directing us as a community and leading us into activity beyond our strength or abilities. While everything we do centres on His presence, Monday Night prayer & worship is a great place to lean into this (every Monday, 7.30-8.30pm).
Family
Wrapped around His presence, we gather as family. Intercultural, intergenerational, loving, connected, family. This means we lean into relational depth, building friendships of authenticity and trust, and that we recognise the value of every single person’s contribution to the unfolding plans of God. As part of this, we gather regularly around meal tables in different areas across the city. We call this practice table. The table is a place of depth and laughter, mess and beauty, tears and stories, old friendships and new connections, all gathered around a table full of good food. You can find out more about a table near you here.
Kingdom
God desires that His Kingdom — of beauty, peace, truth, healing, justice, honour, and love — expand relentlessly into new territory. He yearns for everyone to hear of and experience His Story and His character, and He aches to see every pain in our city and beyond transformed into the healing that comes when His kingdom breaks in. We, then, are a sent (in biblical language, apostolic) people, going into the city each week, purposeful to bring His kingdom in all that we do: through our work, relationships, and obedience to His lead on the streets. Everything we do, then, is an explosion outwards, that His kingdom may come.
What we believe
Rea Church subscribes to the core tenets of the Christian faith as set out in the historic creeds of the Church.
The Scriptures are our lead authority in all matters of doctrine and practice, with the Evangelical Alliance statement of faith a good summary of our position. We hold a firm belief in the dynamic renewing presence of the Holy Spirit; a devotion to a missional church that looks beyond itself to the needs of the city; an orthodox/historic view on sexuality and gender; a belief in the role of both men and women in roles of leadership in the church; an understanding that while God doesn't cause suffering, He sometimes allows it as a context for our inner renewal; and a deep commitment to the revealed goodness of the Father. The Gospel we preach centres on the inbreaking reign (Kingdom) of God through the power of the Cross of Jesus. While valued members of our church family have diverse views and lifestyles, senior leaders stand with unity in these matters.