first and foremost we hold to the Word of God as authoritative and true. scripture, through the Holy Spirit, reveals the truth about Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for our sins. faith is a response to God’s grace, salvation as a gift to us complete in Jesus. we know it is not about what we do but about what God has done in us, through Jesus. everything we do is about sharing Jesus, infused by the Holy Spirit, rooted in the love of the Father, that reveals the truth established in scripture.
(2 Timothy 3:16, John 14:26, Ephesians 2:8, John 14:6 )
we believe that church should be fun because it is about an encounter with the living God as we experience the grace of Jesus through worship, discipleship, and outreach. we hold tight to the belief that fun and truth go hand and hand and, therefore, aim to make all we do as attractive to those outside of the church as possible. we see it as a joy to serve the Lord and share Jesus with others, so laughter and celebration are a big part of our church. Fellowship and Friendship are a top priority at illuminate. We aim to create spaces where deep bonds and lasting friendship are formed. Here, community matters greatly.
(Psalm 147:1, Galatians 5:22, Romans 15:13, 2 Corinthians 7:13)
church should be relevant to all ages and people because Jesus is relevant. we all need God’s love and grace, so presenting the truth in a relevant way is essential to the church. the gospel has the power to overcome differences and transcend culture as it unites us in love, grounds us in grace, and fuels us in faith. the truth never ceases to be relevant in our life and as the church of Jesus Christ it is our role to share God’s truth with the world, trusting the Spirit to do the work of transforming hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. we present a timeless truth in a creative, cutting-edge way.
(John 8:32, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 12:16, Galatians 2:5)
we believe the whole of humanity to be created in the image of God. humanity as a fallen creation is separated from God by sin. since sin separates all people from God, all people are in need of redemption. God offers redemption to all who will repent of their sins and believe in Christ. the ground at the foot of the cross is even for all humanity. salvation is offered to all equally, with no distinctions based on race, gender, ethnicity, ability, age, or socioeconomic level. therefore, within the body of Christ there is no hierarchy of value based upon these areas of difference. taking our lead from the example of Jesus we seek to be a church that affirms the equality found in the diversity of human creation. believers share not only a common humanity but a shared bond in Christ, the true image of God, by means of the Holy Spirit.
(Gen. 1: 26-28; Matt. 28:18–20; Luke 24:47; Acts 10:27–28, 34–35; Acts 15; Gal. 2:6–14; Eph. 2:13–19; 1 Cor. 12:12–20)
we believe that the church is called to be a primary participant in the fulfillment of the great commission (Matt. 28: 19-20). as such, we believe the church must be an active pillar of the community with a unique understanding of the surrounding demographics, geographics and psychographics. in turn, we maintain that the church should maximize it’s resources, at times in tandem with other organizations, to build short and long term bridges in the surrounding communities and world at large. we commit to work side by side with those in our community to demonstrate the love of Jesus.
(Romans 12:5 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 3:6)
we believe that the church should equip parents, guardians, and loved ones to become primary discipling influences in the lives of their children. the church as an equipper should aid in identifying and communicating discipling resources, tools, and programs to support both generic and unique family needs. in addition we aim to create opportunities for parents to connect with their spouse, children, other parents and the church in order to build a strong sense of community and relationship.
(Deut. 6:4-9, Eph 6: 1-4, Ps. 78:1-4)