Our 8 Core Values
Exhibiting Authenticity
In a city suspicious of the veracity of the message of the church and cynical about its purpose, we value openness and honesty. We welcome believers, seekers and skeptics alike to gather in community with us. This honesty reflects itself in Life Groups where lives are shared, in worship where there is not pretense and formalism but transcendence and joy, and in mission where we truly serve Manchester by the way that we live.
Seeing the people of Manchester, NH, freed to worship Christ authentically in community and to seek together the transformation of the city through the gospel in word and action.
Speaking Truth
We value the absolute truth of God’s word, the Bible, and accept unequivocally the truth God reveals to us in it. We believe that the truths of man’s sin and God’s holiness and grace need not be sacrificed in order to reach the people here. Rather, Manchester needs truth spoken in love in order for people’s lives, families and social structures to be transformed. We will speak truth in a way that Manchester residents will understand, using a variety of methods that meet them where they are.
Showing Integrity
In a New England culture that has been jaded by the immoral actions of a few, we value honest integrity that, by God’s grace, lives what it believes. In our ministries we stress accountability and responsibility toward those within and without, for God calls us to character and faithfulness.
Embracing Diversity
Because God created all human beings in his image, we value people of every race, language and nation. We seek to serve those entering our city from across the nation and the world and to model the love of Christ in ways that they can understand and through which they may embrace Him as well.
Demonstrating Love
The gospel calls us to not only speak truth, but to live it as well. We value the tangible expression of God’s love in acts of mercy and justice to the broken and hurting in Manchester . We seek both to meet immediate needs and to help them toward self-sufficiency so that those receiving mercy may, in time, become agents of mercy themselves.
Multiplying Disciples
Jesus called us as the church to “make disciples of all nations.” In light of that commission, we value the active sharing of our faith in a relational manner. As people come to faith, we seek to teach them the truths of scripture so that they may, in time, teach others. As this happens, we will seek to plant disciple-making churches around the Manchester area and across Northern New England .
Modeling Dependence
We believe that all that we have, both as members of the human family and as Christians, comes by the grace of God. Both our status as children of God and our living out God’s commands come as a result of his saving and enabling grace. In light of that, we value strength expressed in dependence on God and his work in Manchester . We are unashamedly committed to prayer for God to work in the lives of people here, and rely on Him even as we work for Him.
Living in Inter-dependence
As a community of faith, we value each other. We recognize that our effectiveness in glorifying God as we work for the transformation of Manchester is proportional to our dependence on one other. We are committed to meeting regularly in small communities together, to team-oriented ministry and to mentoring relationships in discipleship so that we may live faithfully as the body of Christ in Manchester.
Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision
Seeing the people of Manchester, NH, freed to worship Christ authentically in community and to seek together the transformation of the city through the gospel in word and action.
Our Vision in Action
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- Bringing glory to God through worship that is both ancient and modern.
- Creating a community that cares for each other in small groups.
- Multiplying disciples and disciplers individually and in families through the preaching and teaching of God’s word to affect the city, the region and the world.
- Planting gospel-driven churches throughout Northern New England.
- Living out the gospel through acts of mercy that equip the needy to show mercy.
Our Mission
To establish, by God’s grace, a gospel-driven, disciple-making, ancient and progressive expression of the body of Christ that God will use to transform this city for His glory.
Our Beliefs
About Salvation
- Grace Alone (Sola Gratia)
- Through Faith Alone (Sola Fide)
- In Christ Alone (Sola Christos)
- As Revealed in the Scriptures Alone (Sola Scriptura)
- To the Glory of God Alone (Sola Deo Gloria)
About The Church
Church of the Redeemer is at the same time catholic, evangelical and reformed. When we say “catholic,” we don’t mean Roman Catholic. We mean that we share beliefs that are “universal,” not restricted to the church of one nation or denomination. These truths have been held by the true Christian church of all ages.
Why We’re Catholic
Our catholic beliefs can be summarized in the following two creeds:
- The Apostles’ Creed (popup): Although not written by the apostles, the Apostles’ Creed is a concise summary of their teachings. It originated as a baptismal confession, probably in the second century, and developed into its present form by the sixth or seventh century.
- The Nicene Creed (popup): The Nicene Creed originated at the Council of Nicea (325), and an expanded formula was adopted by the Council of Chalcedon (451). It was formulated to answer heresies that denied the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity and of the dual nature of Christ.
Why We’re Evangelical
Our evangelical beliefs are what mark us out as preaching the “gospel,” which comes from the NT greek word euangelion. These can be summarized with the following:
- Man is sinful and in need of transformation.
- The Bible is without fault (inerrant) in its original manuscripts.
- Salvation from our sin comes only through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We see reality in light of scripture, rather than looking at scripture in light of reality as we understand it. (We do not discount miracles, supernatural healings and acts of God that are beyond rational explanation simply because they cannot be explained.)
Why We’re Reformed
While our beliefs and heritage as a Church are ultimately rooted in God’s Word, we also believe that we are indebted to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century for its understanding of the Bible. Beginning with the work of Martin Luther and continuing on in the life and work of John Calvin (along with other “Reformers”), we believe that the Reformation was a “Back-to-the-Bible” Movement where God intervened in human history to draw many people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. It was really the recovery of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (written in 1647) is one of the foundational documents for understanding the Scripture as understood by many of the Protestant Reformers linked to John Calvin. The WCF teaches the sovereignty of God in salvation from beginning to end. The confession also teaches the Biblical idea of covenant. Because his agreement (“Covenant of Works”) with Adam and Eve was broken through their sin, God made an agreement (“Covenent of Grace”) with his son Jesus Christ to give his life for sinful people. This Covenant of Grace was progressively revealed throughout the Bible in “sub-covenents” with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. It is ultimately fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection, the “New Covenent” that is the reality to which the Old Testament points.