Mission

Our mission is to nourish spiritual growth by helping people experience God, follow Jesus, love each other and serve the world.

Experience God (Spirituality) - We believe God is active in the life of every person, and that real spirituality is about growing and being transformed by encountering him in a personal way.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:13

Following Jesus (Discipleship) - We believe that Jesus is still alive today, and that he calls every person to follow him in a unique and personal way. We believe that he is God, and that he demonstrated the best possible way to live through his life and teachings.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. - Jesus in John 8:12

Loving Each Other (Community) - We believe we were created to live in meaningful, healthy relationships, and that a church community should be characterized above all by the surprising depth of its love.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. - 1 Thessalonians 3:12

Serving the World (Service) - We believe that a church is a tremendous force for good in the community and in the world, and that followers of Christ should live surprisingly generous lives of service.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:4

Vision

In the winter of 2017/2018 several members of our leadership spent many hours discerning next steps for our church, seeking God in prayer, and discussing ideas in community. We used a book called God Dreams by Will Mancini and Warren Bird to help guide our thinking around vision, looking at both short-term and long-term vision (and everything in between). We presented the vision to the church (view the service here) and it was overwhelmingly affirmed by the congregation, and now serves as a guide for us as we move into the future.

Our long-term vision is to expand our influence across Muskoka and Almaguin, spreading the message of Jesus and the love of God into every nook and cranny of our region. We want to see localized, tangible expressions of our church (missional communities) take root in towns, communities, and neighbourhoods. Our Port Sydney location will function as a "hub," but not the focus of ministry. We will work from a centrifugal model of ministry (seeking to send people out from the centre) rather than a centripetal model (seeking to attract people into a centre).

When we adopted this vision in 2018, we had some ideas of how we might move forward with it. However, as often happens, our plans were derailed by unexpected circumstances including pastoral transitions and the global pandemic. We continue to seek God’s direction for what is next!