Different Church is a community of questioners committed to faith in Jesus, love for our neighbor, and inclusion for all.
How We're Different
We're radically inclusive
We are open, loving, and radically inclusive. We also affirm that no matter your age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, socio-economic background, or belief, you are welcome here, and celebrated just the way you are. Yes, Different is affirming of the LGBTQ+ community, and you will never find a ceiling or barrier here. We believe it is our responsibility (and privilege) to clear the way for all people to come to church. In a sea of churches that discriminate, or cloud their beliefs in confusing language, we strive for love and clarity.
We think the bible is amazing... And kinda weird.
The Bible is an ancient library that presents a variety of viewpoints about God and what it means to follow God. The Bible has been a part of Christian faith for a long time, and it’s not going anywhere. Even with it’s challenges, odd tales, and faraway context, it has the power to pull us into the story of God and humanity and inform our faith. We believe that the Bible is a place to meet God, and that it points readers to deeper trust in God.
We love the Earth
We live on an incredible, inspiring, beautiful planet, and we consider ourselves lucky to be Earth's caretakers. Before a single word was written about God in the scriptures, God’s glory was already written in the skies. We think one of the most important things we can do is to care for this wonderful creation called Earth.
We're financially transparent and responsible
Our culture has some complicated feelings about money. Those in charge of churches, businesses, and the government seem to consistently disappoint us in regards to financial ethics. We want to make it easy on you by being totally honest about our finances and where our money goes. We also commit to paying staff members a living wage.
We talk like humans
Spending time with a church-goer can feel like hanging out with an alien. Phrases like: being led, convicted, following a calling, doing life, unspoken prayers, bearing fruit, and surrounding your friend with a hedge of protection...that all sounds pretty strange to us. We promise to talk like humans and ditch the weird Christian lingo whenever possible.
We like to hang out
Take faith, theology, and growing as a person out of the church equation for a moment. Even if all those things didn't exist, the local church still has one incredible thing to offer - the chance to find "your people". We take hanging out seriously. Even if you aren't really sure about God, you can still come find a friend.
We're music fans
No, we're not just talking about worship music. We love to use all kinds of music in and around our church. Some of it can be considered worship, but not all of it. This may surprise you, but we find holiness in all sorts of songs. Sad songs you hear on a Spotify playlist. Music about helping your neighbor. A song about hope on mainstream radio that doesn't even mention God? Yeah, we'll jam to that too. We also love to throw in an old hymn now and then. The point is, we believe God is interested in all our emotions, and we don't want to limit what music we can use to explore that.
We definitely don't have all the answers
How's that for a core value? There are many churches (with opposing beliefs!) that all claim to have THE direct line of truth to God. Our view is, we're all in the same boat, trying to figure out this beautful thing called life. We try our best to ground everything we do on Jesus. We think we have some pretty cool ideas about faith, and we're really excited to explore them together.
