core purpose statements

God’s Core Purpose for the Church

(BCP Catechism, p. 855)

“The [Core Purpose] of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.”

God’s Founding Intentions for Christ Church

(May 2023)

Christ is to be central in all aspects of parish life and service.
To be a Spirit-led, purpose, vision, and mission-oriented outpost of God’s Kingdom in south Denver.
To offer Spirit-filled worship.
To welcome God’s desire for and help to lead CCD’s members into authentic, generative, creative relationships with Him.
To have a deep commitment to the Sacramental life of the church based in Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
To have a solid, biblical foundation and focus through a commitment to the teaching of Holy Scripture and being steeped and literate in the Bible.
To enable parishioners of all generations in the CCD community to develop deep connections amongst themselves and with God as they journey through life and grow in faith.

CCD‘s Core Practices and Guiding Core Beliefs

(June 2023)

Core Practices: Each practice has a corporate and individual manifestation

Regular Worship and Prayer
The engagement of Holy Scripture as the authoritative Word of God
Valuing and living in Christian community
Discipleship: learning/growing in the Christian Faith
Caring Service both inside and outside the CCD community

Guiding Core Beliefs:

Jesus is the Head of the Church.
The Holy Spirit leads and guides the Church through its leadership and its people.
The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God and are authoritative over the life of the Church and of the individual believer.
The grace of God is predictably dispensed through the seven Sacraments of the Church.
Baptism and the Eucharist are the chief means through which we are united with Jesus and each other as brothers and sisters in Christ on a regular basis.
The local church is an outpost of the Kingdom of God in the world and is the chief means through which people come to faith and are formed as disciples of Jesus.
The gifts and fruit of the Spirit are manifest in and through the Church and its people as a witness of God’s presence and power in the world.

CCD’s Core Behavioral Values

(October 2023)

We commit ourselves to these Core Behavioral Values to guide our actions as we pursue God’s Purpose, Vision, and Mission for Christ Church, Denver:

Christ Centered: Keeping Jesus at the center of our life together and of our outreach to others by seeking and being guided by the mind of Christ.
Spirit Led: Openness to the leadership and movement of the Holy Spirit amongst us individually and as a community.
Spirit-Filled Worship: regular engaging, vibrant, and reverent worship.
Joyful, Intergenerational Community: offering life-giving opportunities; meeting new people; enjoying fun together; and investing in meaningful relationships in an accepting, supportive, multi-generational community.
Bible Based: Remaining rooted in Holy Scriptures as the authoritative Word of God.
Genuine Caring: Deeply caring for the welfare of one another in the CCD community and for those we serve in our local ministry area and beyond.
Welcoming: Providing an embracing and enduring welcome to those seeking a spiritual home at CCD.
Spiritual Formation: Nurturing the spiritual growth and development of all parishioners through quality orthodox teaching, age-appropriate programs, life groups, spiritual offerings, and a variety of effective ministries.
Fruitful Lay Ministry: Affirming, valuing, and encouraging each person at CCD by inviting them to offer their spiritual gifts in impactful, Spirit-empowered ministry.
Unity: Living our lives reconciled with God and one another.
Striving for Excellence: Putting forth our best intentions and efforts in worship, ministry, pastoral care, spiritual formation, service, and in the rest of our life together at CCD.

In addition to above, as clergy, staff, lay leaders, and teachers at CCD, we commit to…

Purpose, Vision, and Mission Driven Leadership: serving and teaching with humility, dedication, joy, collegiality, generosity of spirit, and theological clarity while remaining aligned with and empowered by God’s Purpose, Vision, and Mission for CCD.

God’s Vision for Christ Church Denver

(as amended on 9/12/23)

Christ Church Denver desires to form a community of deeply committed whole-life disciples of Jesus for the world, by learning to Be With, Become Like, and Live Like Jesus.

God’s Mission for Christ Church Denver

God has blessed Christ Church Denver with a Vision to be a community of deeply committed whole-life disciples of Jesus for the world. If we are faithful to living into this Vision, we believe that in the year 2030, through the grace of God, the following points will describe the Christ Church community and our congregation will have more than doubled our 2023 size with at least 600 people worshiping at our main campus each weekend plus hundreds more joining us on line.

In the year 2030, we will…

Be an expanded life-giving, joy-filled community of faithful disciples of Jesus from all ages, stages, and conditions of life.
Continue to strive for excellence in our worship of the living God in spirit and truth through the time-honored patterns and practices of the Church.
More intentionally and overtly be Christ-centered and directed in our personal lives and in our faith community.
Be a community of disciples of Jesus who have been transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit’s manifest and active presence in our worship, ministries, and personal lives.
Be formed, informed, and guided by the truth of the Bible as we pursue holiness personally and as a faith community.
Have a comprehensive process for formation as a whole life disciple of Jesus.
Be intentional and openly prayerful, caring, compassionate, and generous in our ministry and service to each other, our local community, and the world.
Support and encourage one another as we humbly seek to be aligned with Jesus’ desires for us personally and as a faith community.
Continue to draw people from our immediate neighborhoods, the Denver metro area, and across the country through our in-person and digital offerings.
Warmly reach out to and welcome all who are drawn to know God more fully and invite them to join us in our community of deeply committed whole life disciples of Jesus for the world.
Learn from and be a gift and resource to other Christian churches by sharing our mutual experiences, knowledge, and resources, so that we can thrive together.

ccd’s mission statement with strategic plan

We will… ( * indicates points from God’s Mission Statement for CCD)

Worship and Faith Formation

✶ Continue to strive for excellence in our worship of the living God in spirit and truth through the time-honored patterns and practices of the Church.

✶ More intentionally and overtly be Christ-centered and directed in our personal lives and in our faith community.

✶ Be a community of disciples of Jesus who have been transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit’s manifest and active presence in our worship, ministries, and personal lives.

✶ Be formed, informed, and guided by the truth of the Bible as we pursue holiness personally and as a faith community.

✶ Have a comprehensive process for formation to become a deeply committed whole-life disciple of Jesus for the world.

Goals

Re-evaluate and reimagine the worship services to engage people at different points in their lives and/or with different worship preferences.
Develop a comprehensive process for whole-life disciple formation
Invigorate CCD’s Ministry for Children, Students and Families.

Community and Fellowship

✶ Be an expanded life-giving, joy-filled community of faithful disciples of Jesus from all ages, stages, and conditions of life.

Goals

Provide opportunities for deep and abiding relationships and community
Grow, engage, and incorporate our current digital community.

Ministry and Service

(Ministry is activities inside the parish and Service is activities outside the parish)

✶ Be intentional and openly prayerful, caring, compassionate, and generous in our ministry and service to each other, our local community, and the world.

✶ Support and encourage one another as we humbly seek to be aligned with Jesus’ desires for us, both personally and as a community of faith.

Goals

Develop ministry to different groups within the congregation.
Develop assessment tools and processes for people to offer gifts in ministry and service.
Develop opportunities for service within our local area.
Expand Pastoral Care Ministry.

Evangelism, Incorporation and Ecumenical Engagement

✶ Continue to draw people from our immediate neighborhoods, the Denver metro area, and across the country through our in-person and digital offerings.

✶ Warmly reach out to and welcome all who are drawn to know God more fully and invite them to join us in our community of deeply committed whole-life disciples of Jesus for the world.

✶ Learn from and be a gift and resource to other Christian churches by sharing our mutual experiences, knowledge, and resources, so that we can all thrive together.

Goals

Engage and serve those in our immediate neighborhood.
Develop and implement a comprehensive and effective year-long Evangelism/Incorporation process:
Develop our engagement with other Christian churches.