Purpose: Why do we exist?
Christ Church exists to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
Vision: What do we hope to accomplish?
Christ Church is a worshipping community that seeks to announce and embody the story of Jesus that brings about changed lives, social healing, and cultural renewal in Berkeley and Oakland, and through these, the world.
Mission: What will make our vision a reality?
God Exalting
We seek to honor God’s worth as our king by gathering for weekly Sunday worship services that are focused on his grace through the means of Scripture and sacraments (baptism and communion); that are rooted in the historic Christian faith and the Christian year; that are relevant and edifying to the committed worshiper; that are intelligible and engaging to the curious and skeptical seeker.
Story Telling
We seek to boldly and humbly tell the story of Jesus to Berkeley, Oakland, and the Bay Area through organic and intentional relationships with our friends, neighbors, and co-workers with whom we live, work, and play. We hope to give the reason for our hope by helping the curious and skeptical feel intrigued, invited, and included in various venues for conversation about Christianity.
Community Building
We seek to create a welcoming and vibrant community by developing mid-week Newcomer Groups and Neighborhood Groups. Joining a Newcomer Group (6 weeks) is the primary way to get introduced to other new-ish folks at Christ Church and interact with the vision and mission of Christ Church. Joining a Neighborhood Group (15 weeks) is the best way to connect with other people at Christ Church and explore what it means to love God and neighbor.
Church Shaping
We seek to teach the Scriptures, lead corporate prayer, offer the sacraments (baptism and communion), govern the church, and develop a community of servant members and servant leaders so that our church is formed in the faith, hope, and love patterned after the image of our crucified Lord.
Peace Making
We seek to form partnerships with social service providers through Project Peace in order to extend mercy, justice, and peace. Our service seeks to restore the weak (compassion), re-neighbor our divided neighborhoods (community), reclaim God’s creation (conservation), and redeem our experiences with goodness, beauty, and truth (culture).
Kingdom Expanding
We seek to build relationships with existing churches, develop new churches, and support campus ministry at UC Berkeley in order to expand the mercy, peace, and hope of God’s kingdom throughout the Bay Area. Globally, we seek to partner with indigenous church developments and university ministries that share affinity with UC Berkeley.