The Mission
We are a spiritual oasis, where people connect into lasting relationships with God and a faith community.
guiding principles
Life Giving Water – Jesus offers the Living Water of God’s Spirit to all who come to him (John 4: 13-14 & 7: 37). In a spirit-filled oasis, the healing streams of this water are open to all who come. The source of our life and our strength is the never-ending, abundant stream of life giving water that the Spirit within us provides.
New Life – Every Day – Because of Jesus – A life with Jesus is a life of new beginnings and fresh starts. We experience this at our baptism. We experience it when we fall short and find grace. We experience it when give grace to others. We experience it when we mature and deepen our faith and understanding. And we celebrate it together in community bound together by this life that is only possible because of Jesus (2 Cor 5: 16-21).
The Vision
The shepherds stand resolute in our mission of becoming a spiritual oasis where people connect into lasting relationships with God and a faith community. We believe that our guiding principles of life-giving water and fresh starts that we have through Jesus (John 4: 13-14, John 7:37, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21) form the basis for our confidence and direction. Further, compelled by God’s commission (Matt 28:19-20) to extend God’s love and redemption to the world by being his witnesses (Acts 1:8) and ambassadors as God makes His appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20), we are led by our core values of simplicity, becoming, compassion and authenticity. As we follow the Holy Spirit in this call, we believe that God will use us to grow the Kingdom, and be a blessing to our community.
Core Values
Simplicity – The Gospel of Jesus –Jesus is the Son of God, he became fully human yet lived a sinless life, was crucified, raised to life on the third day, ascended to heaven, and is returning – gives life. Following the lead of the apostles (Acts 15), we should make it easy for others to come to Faith in God by making it easy for them to find belonging in a spiritual oasis.
Becoming – The Gospel compels us to become more and more like Jesus, embracing the life-giving power found in humility and meekness (Phil 2: 1-11 & Mt 18: 1-5). The life and faith of a disciple continually matures. Faith is not a set of beliefs but rather a process of growth and transformation that creates within us Jesus’ heart for putting others above ourselves (Jonn 13: 12-15).
Compassion – We are called to serve not from obligation or for the hope of reward, but rather genuine love and compassion. Jesus teaches that following in his footsteps of genuine compassion (Mt 9:35-36) for the lowest and the least is the fruit of a transformed life (Mt 25: 34-40).
Authenticity – As we become like Christ, we are called to connect to life-giving community, which is best expressed in authentic relationships. In order to fully experience, celebrate, and share the life found in a spiritual oasis, we must live vulnerably and honestly in community as we continue grow in our faith. As we build and embrace authentic relationships, we become the body of Christ (Eph 4: 1-7).