to our friends and family
it’s been a process
In 2015, God put on our hearts to plant a church. At that time the church we had in mind was a lot like Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. We started planning a launch budget and even looked for places in Nashville, TN.
Fast forward three years later, and we’re a family of three still living in Tulsa, OK. I spent the last 3 years on staff at the church we grew up in and held many different positions from administrative to pastoral. Most importantly, over the last 3 years, God has shown us through His Word what He intended His church to be, and it’s radically different than the church most of us have come to know.
Landon, Kara, & Charlie Wiland
What if there’s more?
We started asking the question, “What if there’s more to church?” What if there’s more to Christianity than going to church once a week and reading our Bibles when we remember to (or when we finally feel guilty enough to dust it off)?
We believe there is.
What if we aren’t supposed to be “culturally relevant,” but countercultural?
What if the church actually looked different than the world around it? What if depression, anxiety, and divorce were not the norm? What if a need couldn’t be found in the church? What if we didn’t need a multi-million dollar budget, a building, and a large staff to reach people? What if the church didn’t require more of man’s wisdom, but less of it? What if instead of using talented worship leaders and celebrity pastors to attract people, we just used the Gospel? What if we were so deeply in love with one another that the world took notice? What if we actually devoted our lives to our Savior?
What if all we really need is more of Jesus?
We believe that’s the case.
We want to be a church that reflects what Jesus and the apostles established over 2,000 years ago: a loving family, devoted to scripture, driven by eternity, gathering regularly, giving generously, and making disciples.
Our goal is not to reach those already deeply connected to a local church, but those who have been marginalized. Those who have been treated as insignificant or peripheral by the church. We basically want to reach the exact people that Jesus ministered to when he was here on earth.
Who we are
a loving family, devoted to scripture, Driven by eternity, gathering regularly, giving generously, and making disciples.
LOVING FAMILY
We are a community of believers that gather under the commonality of Christ’s Lordship. We deeply love one another and do life together. There is nothing more important in this life than people and loving them well.
devoted to scripture
We are sold out to spending time in scripture, prayer, and worship. It’s not just a set time in our day, but it is a life that is consumed with the desire of knowing God and being known by Him.
driven by eternity
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, our focus shifts from the things of this world to the things of eternity. The things of this world are temporary, but souls are eternal. Our lives reflect the belief that we are sojourners.
GATHERING REGULARLY
We gather regularly in homes to celebrate what God is doing in and through us, as well as encourage and build one another up through simple gatherings that put Christ on display. We want to truly do life with one another.
GIVING GENEROUSLY
We see unmatched generosity in the New Testament church with both their time and resources. As individuals coming together to form the Church, we respond to Christ’s ultimate gift by giving generously so all needs in the church, as well as needs in our communities, are met.
MAKING DISCIPLES
Making disciples is the mission of every believer. We are to take the good news of Jesus to the world so that they may also experience the freedom that we have in Christ. We are an every member functioning church. We are about Kingdom expansion and multiplication.
How we’re different
because christ called the church to be different
We love.
Jesus said the single greatest commandment is two-fold: (1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (2) Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus doubles down on this later and says, “love each other as I have loved you.” We don’t want to just say it. We want to do it everyday. We want to love as Christ loves.
We meet in Homes.
We are not meeting in homes because it’s the next American fad. We gather in homes because it’s what we see in the Bible. Sure, we see larger gatherings, but those are not as common. Real growth happens in more intimate settings. Gathering in homes also helps ensure that no one is overlooked or is left doing life alone.
We discuss scripture.
We don’t have a traditional “Lead Pastor.” We were never called to be spectators. We are called to be participants in the church. For this reason, there is no traditional weekly message. Instead, everyone reads and studies the same passages throughout the week. Then we discuss those passages and what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us.
We give.
The average church only gives back 10% of their annual income to those in need, and the other 90% goes toward operational costs. We give back 90% of every dollar to people, and we operate on the remaining 10%. Like Christ, we want to be known for our generosity.
Our Vision
In 7 years
Fill 7 arenas
have 7,000 Homes
give 700,000,000 dollars
Let’s break that down. We want to see people meeting in 7,000+ homes in 7 years (that’s about 100,000 people). We want to have an annual gathering of all those homes across the country and in 7 years, fill 7 arenas to celebrate what God has done. Finally, we want to come together and give $700,000,000 (that’s seven hundred million dollars) back to people in our first 7 years.