CORE BELIEFS
These are the beliefs that drive the mission and vision of Venture Church, they describe what we are. However, they fall short of describing who we are. The best way to get to know us is to come to one of our Gatherings on Sunday. So we hope you will read this statement, then come check us out!
What We Believe About Truth
- We believe that there are things that are absolutely True or False, both in the physical world and the spiritual.
- We believe that the whole Bible is the inspired , infallible and authoritative Word of God. Consequently, it is our rule of TRUTH. 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 | 2 Peter 1:20, 21 | Matthew 5:18 | John 16:12, 13
What We Believe About God
- We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that they are co-eternal in being and co-equal in power and glory. Even so, we recognize that each member of the Godhead has appropriate roles within the redemption of creation and humanity that involve submission and sacrifice. Deuteronomy 6:4 | Matthew 28:19 | 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 | 2 Corinthians 13:14
- We believe in God the Father who is Creator, Ruler and Sustainer of the universe. Genesis 1:1 | Nehemiah 9:6| Revelation 4:11
- We believe in Jesus Christ, who became human without ceasing to be God. We believe in His sinless life, in His miracles, and in His vicarious and atoning death for our sins. We believe in His bodily resurrection, in His return to the Father, in his advocacy as our Priest, and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe that He is the only way of salvation and reconciliation to God. John 1:1–2, 14 | Luke 1:35 | Romans 3-8 | 1 Peter 1-2 | Ephesians 1:7 | Acts 1:9, 10 | Hebrews 7-9 | 2 Timothy 4:1
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We believe that He is the Agent of regeneration and sanctification, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. John 16:8–11 | 2 Corinthians 3:6 | 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 | Romans 8:9 | Ephesians 5:18
What We Believe About People
- We believe that humans are the pinnacle of God’s creation; that they are made in the very “image of God;” and thus embody His attributes, morality and purposes. Genesis 1:26-27 | Psalm 8:3-8
- We believe that people are born broken; that is to say that each and every part of their being is damaged by Sin. But, we do not believe that they are totally broken! Because we are all made in the image of God, we all have the capacity for beauty, courage, selflessness, and creativity. Because we are all broken, we sadly also have the capacity for ugliness, cowardliness, selfishness, and to be spoilers of the creation. Genesis 1:26, 27 | Romans 3:22, 23 | Romans 5:12 | Ephesians 2:1–3, 12
- We believe that all people are in need of reconciliation to God. We are meant to be united to the Father, the Son and the Spirit – we exist to be in relationship with our Creator. Sadly, our inherent brokenness separates us from them and there is no way for us to repair the relationship. There is no spiritual path of enlightenment or self-realization that can reconcile us to God. That is why the Godhead chose Jesus to pay the penalty for the reconciliation of their creation. Ephesians 2:8–10 | John 1:12 | Ephesians 1:7 | 1 Peter 1:18–19
What We Believe About Life
- We believe that life is precious and has purpose. All of us have been created by a loving and intimately aware Father with specific gifts and abilities to serve the world and His Kingdom. Ultimately, the purpose of every life is that it is reconciled to God, transformed into the likeness of Jesus and lived with vitality, joy, beauty, faith, hope and love. Genesis 2:15 | Jeremiah 29:11 | Romans 8:28-30 | 1 Corinthians 12:7
- We believe that life is for community. It was not good for Adam to be alone and it has not been good for any other person since. We are made to be around other people. Heaven will be full of people in perfect community. The Church, as a reflection of that hope, is our gift, our proving grounds, our school, our comfort and our picture of things to come. That is why Church must be part of every Christian journey. Genesis 2:21-24 | Acts 14:27 | Acts 18:22 | Acts 20:17 | 2 Corinthians 11:2 | 1 Timothy 3:1–3 | Titus 1:5–11 | Revelation 21
- We believe that life has an ending; that we will all die or be raptured, that we will all be judged for our lives and that we will all live eternally in either heaven or hell. Matthew 6:20 | Luke 12:33 | Ephesians 5:5 | 2 Thessalonians 1:9 | Revelation 20:11-15
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
CULTURE STATEMENTS
This is my tribe and I am proud.
Everything is an experiment.
Playing it safe is risky.
Pray like it depends on God,
work like it depends on you.
Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.
Everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable.
Every Sunday is the Super Bowl.
You cannot out-give God.
We are All-In & On Mission.
Irrelevance is irreverence
Go the extra mile.
Expect the unexpected.
The Church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
Maturity does not equal conformity.
Venture Family has its privileges.
LEARN THE LINGO
It can be confusing finding your way around any new group of people and one of the most common hurdles is not knowing what they are talking about. So we have included this simple guide to what we mean when we use these terms. We will keep updating the list to best reflect our meaning. We hope that just looking at a few definitions helps you understand us better and makes it easy to feel welcome here.
Church
The Church is the people who love and follow God. That’s it. The building they meet in might also be called the church, but it is not a church until it’s full of people!
Central Campus
Venture Church is made up of a Central Campus in Mill Creek and campuses (see below). The Central campus anchors the region and may support up to as many as 10 campuses.
Campus
A satellite campus is supported by our Central (main) campus. A satellite has its own pastoral staff, but the primary teaching comes from the Central campus. Satellite campuses allow us to fit into communities instead of building bigger churches to draw people into. A campus could be a school, a traditional church, a shop or warehouse.
REACH Initiative
Over the lifetime of Venture Church, we hope to help plant 100 more churches, all over the world, full of people who love God and are reaching others. Each year, Venture Church derives all of its resources from the faithfulness of those who attend church here. Regular tithes and offerings support the operations of the churches and then annual REACH pledges helps us serve, love, build, plant, acquire and improve more locations for more churches for more mission!
Guest Stop
Is located by the main entrance of every campus. It is the best place to get more information, meet pastors, and ask questions about Venture Church and our programs. We hope to see you there after a service.
All In & On Mission
Describes someone who has totally committed (emotionally, spiritually, financially, and practically) to advancing the work of Jesus Christ at Venture Church to see the whole world reconciled back to God and worshipping Him in joy. Often used to describe our Venture family.
Baptism
Simply means to change the fundamental nature of something by immersion in water. Baptism is the oldest rite of the Christian Church. Jesus himself was baptized by John to establish its sanctity. Since then billions of Christians have likewise been dipped or sprinkled with water as an outward sign that they share in the death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Communion
On the night before Jesus gave His life on the cross for our behalf, He gathered all His closest companions and shared a Passover meal with them. During the meal He took the bread and wine and taught His people that the bread was a symbol of His body that would be broken, and His blood a sign of his grace and salvation by faith. We do not believe we are eating actual flesh and blood, nor do we believe Communion conveys some ability to wash away sin. We do it so that we never forget what our freedom cost and never fear that it was enough to save us.
Salvation/ Saved
To be saved means to be at peace with God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This life is saved to be lived with purpose and joy in intimacy with your maker. The next life is saved from condemnation and delivered into a new and perfect eternity in fellowship with God, unity with humanity, and creativity unleashed from brokenness.
Repent
To repent literally means to turn around and move in a new direction. To be sorry is one thing, to genuinely turn away from it and pursue what is right – that is repentance.
Sin
Sin literally means “missing the mark,” borrowed from a first-century archery term. It suggests our innate inability to get it just right. Sin is a problem because it denies God, hurts us, and sows destruction in the lives around us. It makes perfect sense that our loving Father would want to keep us from “sinning.”
Unchurched
Unchurched simply means those who have no experience with the church at all. It’s not derogatory, it’s simply descriptive. We want the unchurched to come check out the church at Venture.
Worship
Is the act of adoring and honoring God. In truth the Bible calls on us to make our whole lives worship, but in the church the word is often reserved for corporately singing songs and praying to God. At Venture Church, you will notice we start nearly every service with this kind of worship, to unite us together, to focus are hearts and minds, and to create an atmosphere where God is welcome and we are aware of him. At Venture, we love to worship.
Year(s) of Suck
A time in your life where it seems like anything that can go wrong does. We believe that if you will faithfully walk through the suck, God will often reward your faithfulness with great insights about who He is and how He works in your life. If you are willing there are many invaluable lessons included in the Year(s)-of-Suck.
Do Hard Things
At Venture, we never want to settle for where we are at right now. We want to constantly look forward and push ourselves towards excellence, setting God-sized goals and doing things that are hard but that also ‘move the needle’ for the kingdom of God. From finding financial freedom, to tackling a new skill, to setting difficult physical or intellectual goals, we want to have to rely on God to make a way. At Venture we dream big and we DO HARD THINGS.
Venture Family
If you have any church background, you have likely heard the term "membership.” Being part of the Venture family would be a similar concept to being a member at another church, however, we like the imagery associated with family better.
Here at Venture, we are committed to each other. We love and care for one another and we are in this together!