To follow Jesus is to be his disciple. We understand a disciple to be a learner; a student. As the servant leaders and partners of Garden City, we are first and foremost, lifelong students sitting at the feet of our Master Teacher.

Jesus spent 3 years teaching, eating, sleeping next to, modeling kingdom living, and practicing the way of life with his disciples. Toward the end of their time together he called them to continue to live as he had lived; to keep walking as people of the way. In Matthew 28, Jesus gathers his students and says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We believe that attentive students obey their Master Teacher and seek to live out all he commands. We are told in the book of James to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In light of this call in Scripture, as those who are embodied and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we believe that disciples of Jesus seek to take all that he commands and models and strive to live as citizens of his kingdom. This occurs through practicing his way of life as well as teaching and walking alongside other people as they grow as disciples of Jesus. 

We believe that God moves powerfully and mightily through his word. This begins in creation (Genesis 1), extends to the calling of a people out of nothing (Genesis 12), and finds it’s ultimate culmination in the sending of the Word became flesh, Jesus of Nazareth (John 1). 

As we come to the Scriptures, we see that God has provided humanity with a clear picture of his heart and intentions for the world. The Lord has provided the Scriptures that we might be taught, admonished, corrected, and trained to grow in our ability to image our creator (2 Timothy 3:16). Given this clear and concise picture regarding the nature and purpose of the Scriptures, we believe that one of the most important things we could commit ourselves to as a church is studying, learning, asking questions, faithfully teaching, and seeking to practice the word of God. Our conviction is that the faithful, exegetical teaching of the Scriptures will consistently point us to the one who has given us everything we need for life and godliness as we grow in our knowledge and experience of intimacy with the Lord.