In casual conversation, we usually say that The Core is a new church in downtown Springfield. But honestly, we don't believe that there is such a thing as "a church". We believe in The Church, which is the global Body of all Christ-Followers. Over the centuries, the Christian experience has come to be focused on local divisions of this great Body, and division is now our greatest problem. That's why we consider The Core, first and foremost, to be a "Community", not striving to stand out from the Church, or opt out of the Culture, but to live out the love of Christ in everyday life. Following are a few concepts that characterize The Core. They are also listed in the right-hand column.

The Core.  God is at the core of reality, and should be placed at the core of every life. Although tradition and culture are valuable, they often add layers to God’s eternal truths that make them more difficult to identify. As we peel away these layers we can discern between the core truths of scripture, and that which man has ordained. Also we are called to live in, work in, and reach out to the core of Springfield, Missouri.

Holistic.  The life of the disciple is holistic, encompassing every aspect of his or her life.  Our lives are not a dichotomy of secular vs. sacred, or physical vs. spiritual.  Everything is sacred and every value, priority and decision should be guided by God’s Word and submitted to God’s will.  Therefore, our goal as a church is to help people connect God’s revealed Truth to every arena of their lives, so as to become “complete and mature, not lacking anything.” (Luke 2:52; James 1:4, James 1:22; Matthew 6:24, Matthew 28:20; Mark 8:34-36; Colossians 1:28-29)

Missional.  We are a people on mission.  Disciple-making is the method of building the Kingdom that Jesus instituted and the mission he gave us to embark on until his return.  Jesus’ mission was to glorify the Father by “seeking and saving that which was lost.”  Our mission will be primarily accomplished through involving every believer in discipleship via small groups, accountability, and mentorship.  Because our vision is to be a church-planting church, we will always be in the process of training several pastors to go throughout “Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” and plant new churches.  This philosophy is woven throughout the New Testament.  We see it modeled by Jesus throughout the Gospels, the Apostles in the book of Acts and sporadically throughout the Epistles, and the Church throughout history.  (The Gospels; Acts; the Epistles; Matthew 6:10, Matthew 11:12, Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 19:10)

Relational.  Life is all about relationships, first with God, and then with others. God is calling us to build these relationships around the central feature of love. God is love and He is most clearly seen by others when we love one another as Christ loves the Church.  For this reason, we believe that the Body’s first responsibility is to love and sharpen one another.  From that, evangelism will be enabled.  However, we believe that, as Christ came to serve, heal, and set people free, we are to be known by our extravagant love for all people, demonstrated through service.  Our desire is to be a community in which people can let down their guards, be themselves, and have their deepest needs met; sometimes the only way to meet the deeper needs is to meet the more obvious ones.  (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31; John 13:34-35, John 15:12; Romans 12:9, Romans 13:9-10; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Peter 1:22)

Incarnate.  We recognize that people don’t care nearly as much about the words we say as the lives we live.  We believe that the Gospel lost its true meaning for many people with the rise of Enlightenment philosophy in the Church, such that the Christian faith became primarily a matter of intellectual ideology, whereby we reasoned ourselves into a relationship with God.  The aftermath of this movement was that the Church entered into an “Age of Argument” with the world, constantly battling to prove the validity of its existence.  Consequently, the Church lost its historic emphasis on the incarnational nature of living Truth.  We believe that the world needs to see the Good News lived out as much as, if not more than, it is proclaimed.  (John 1:14; James 2:14-20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Community.  We are a physical community of Christ-followers modeled after the First- Century Church, as described in the book of Acts.  Community is necessary for our survival as families, and subsequently, as a church family.  It is ironic that, in a society that is becoming increasingly globalized and connected on a larger scale, people are becoming increasingly fragmented and disconnected with one another on more meaningful levels.  On top of this, the Church is becoming increasingly stretched and strained by the demands of a modern, consumeristic, individualistic society, which values economic productivity and personal comfort above virtually all other goals. Our calling is to help people develop and implement creative solutions to the challenges presented by society.  We believe that these solutions all lie somewhere within the margins of Christian community.  (Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:3-16, 1 Corinthians 12:7-27, Philippians 2:1-4, Hebrews 10:24-25)         

Urban.  Over the past 30 years, Western Christianity has thrived in the expansion of suburbia, but drastically waned in urban communities.  Recently, however, God has been revealing his heart for urban communities all across the nation, and he has given us at The Core a special burden for center-city Springfield.  In the midst of substantial growth and revitalization of downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods, we believe God wants to revive the heart of Springfield.  As a people who highly value the arts, authentic community, diversity, history, efficient living, and localized business, we feel a strong connection to those who have also chosen the urban lifestyle for these reasons.  But we are also compelled to reach those living here who have been caught in the cycle of poverty.

Christ-Centered.  The supremacy of Jesus Christ will always be the anchor of our faith and the rudder of our practice.  God’s glory displayed through the advancement of his Kingdom is the ultimate aim of all our lives, and thus is the driving motivation of our ministry.  The more God is glorified in his Church, the more satisfied we will be.  And the more satisfied we are in Him, the more glorified he will be.  (1 Samuel 12:22, Psalm 23:3, Psalm 106:8, Isaiah 26:8, Isaiah 48:9-11, Ezekiel 20:44, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:33, John 14:6, Romans 1:5, Romans 9:17, Romans 10:17, Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:4-9, Philippians 3:8)

Disciples.  We are devoted followers of Christ who have been radically transformed by God’s saving love.  We are perpetual students who are constantly striving to grow in our knowledge and love of Him.  We recognize that the call of the disciple is to “leave everything and follow Christ,” so we hold everything God gives us with open hands.  The call of the disciple is to “run the race with perseverance that He has marked out for us.”  God calls us to be good long-distance runners, not sprinters.  Because of this, the disciple must be willing to sacrifice the temporal comforts and pleasures of this world in order to gain what is eternally significant. We believe that discipleship and evangelism are so closely intertwined that they are inseparable.  If disciples are not bearing fruit, then they are going to be ineffective in reaching others for Christ.   On a larger scale, a church full of “baby” disciples will not result in a growing community of believers.  Such a body will always turn to a few “professional” Christians to fulfill the great commission on their behalf, causing the laity to atrophy, and the clergy to burn-out.  Therefore, as a matter of both principle and practicality, our emphasis will always be to ensure that our depth, congregationally and individually, is at least as great as our breadth.  (Matthew 6:24, Matthew 28:20, Mark 8:34-36; Luke 2:52, James 1:4, James 1:22; Colossians 1:28-29)

Mobilizing.  Every Christian is equipped by the Holy Spirit with the ability to fulfill his or her role in God’s story from the moment of spiritual rebirth.  However, God designed the different members of the Body of Christ to help one another utilize this potential by giving them unique giftings, including leadership and teaching.  The Church is not an organization that exists only for the enjoyment of its members.  It is an organism whose very survival depends on training and equipping disciples to fulfill their God-given mission faithfully and excellently.

Engaging.  It is not enough to merely go forth with the intention of fulfilling our mission.  We have to “count the cost” of what it will take to actually communicate the Good News in languages people understand, and through the most effective media for each particular people group.  Paul said we “must become all things to all people, that by all means necessary, we might win some.” We do not hold to the conviction that we must become exactly like the people God calls us to reach, only insofar as we maintain our likeness to Christ.  God has ordained his Church to be a people “set apart” for his glory, distinctive from the rest of the world in its values, priorities, attitudes and behavior.  Much of Western church culture, however, is foreign to the secular world in ways not ordained by Christ.  Part of our mission is to strip away the cultural layers that have been added to Christian culture over centuries, and to revive the essentials of Christian faith in creative, relevant, and profound ways.

All Cultures.  Our mission is not limited to a specific population, but rather it extends to the ends of the earth.  We recognize the place of culture in the expression of faith, and strive to promote a culture of empathy in which diversity is celebrated, not feared.  Jesus’ last commission to the Church while He was still on Earth was to bring the Kingdom to “the ends of the earth.”  Obviously, the disciples He was addressing knew little to nothing about the cultures He had called them to reach, which meant they had a lot to learn about other cultures.  Likewise, the success of our mission is contingent upon our active study and understanding of the cultures God calls us to reach.

Good News.  The Good News is that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, we can enjoy God forever, as we take our place in His Story, here on earth and in heaven.  In fact, it’s the only good news worth speaking of.  Christ was born, lived, was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead to redeem sinful humanity to Himself.  Jesus came to give abundantly joyful, peaceful, meaningful life, not only for the eternal future, but for the present.  To hear more of this story, click here or contact us.

The Core is a...

holistic,
missional,
relational,
incarnate
community
of urban,
Christ-centered
disciples,
mobilizing & engaging
all cultures with
the good news.