MISSION Jesus made the mission of the church very clear: As we go, Jesus tells us to: be apprentices, help other people become apprentices to Jesus, include these apprentices in community life, and teach them the lifestyle necessary to thrive in this new community of faith in Jesus. This is often called the Great Commission because this is the Mission the church is participating in with Jesus. Horizon isn’t special. The mission of the church is the mission of Horizon. VALUES More than anything else, we value family. A church is a family; if it’s not a family, it’s not church. We’re committed to keeping Horizon from becoming an institution. We want to live as a church that genuinely sees God as our father and each other as brothers and sisters because trust, mutual submission, and mutual care are all we have. LEADERSHIP The leaders of the church are the Link Group Leaders. Each and every Link Group leader has been affirmed by their Link Group as a person who has humbly and practically committed their lives to helping other people follow Christ. It’s kind of like we have a network of unpaid pastors. They are friends with the people in their Link Groups, and they are friends with the other Link Group leaders. They are the glue that binds the Church. There is no hierarchy in Horizon beyond our Link Group leaders. Our two paid staff (Clay & Leslie) are a part of the leadership team because they are Link Group leaders. The Link Group leaders help make decisions for the church, and we make those decisions unanimously. If just one Leader feels uncomfortable with a direction we’re going, we’ll all take time to pray about that decision earnestly and come back together to see what God is telling us. We move forward together. This is not an efficient leadership model and we’re ok with that. We treat resources efficiently, but leaders aren’t resources. They’re people…they’re family. And it’s never a good idea to treat people efficiently. BELIEFS We come from many different Christian faith traditions, and we are eager to learn from each other. We believe wisdom is found when there is agreement between scripture, reason, experience and the person of Jesus Christ. We make every effort to be generous with each other as we work out what life with Jesus looks like. All Christians everywhere agree that the core of Christian theology can be found in the Nicene Creed. This early affirmation of the faith was composed to combat a wide range of heresies and provide the church with a brief statement of essential Christian understanding.
