The 10 Anchors of Union Church are theological convictions and philosophies of ministry that we are tied to in order to remain faithful to our core values of Gospel, Community and Mission. These Anchors inform everything from our partnerships and budget to our church government and Sunday liturgy. We believe that a strong commitment to these Anchors will create a culture that will bring God glory and us joy.
Anchor # 1 - Holistic Discipleship
We are committed to holistic discipleship – a method of training that assumes the total and integrated surrender of every single area of life to Jesus’s kingship. When Jesus speaks of obedience, he defines it as loving God with all of your heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27). When he speaks of discipleship, he says disciples should be totally immersed into the ministry and identity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Paul echoes this idea in 1 Thess. 5:23-24.
The implication is that obedience to Christ is total and holistic – with no category of life unaffected by His lordship. Therefore, discipleship cannot only be intellectual by digesting doctrine alone. It cannot be privately sustained, but must be lived out in healthy community; and it cannot be activist – only interested in progress and production, unattached to orthodox motivations. Holistic discipleship engages the "head, heart and hands," specifically through a steady diet of Gospel, Community and Mission. This approach ultimately leads to the development of the foundational Christian identities of Gospel Learners, Family Members and Kingdom Ambassadors.
We are commissioned to make disciples in the name of the Son; making us thoughtful Learners of what the Son accomplished for us on the cross (the gospel). We pursue gospel fluency (maturity) through a lifelong devotion to and study of the Scriptures in an effort to love the Lord with all our mind. (Col. 1:9-10, Josh. 1:8, Deut. 6:4-15)
We are commissioned to make disciples in the name of the Father; making us a diverse Family of adopted sons and daughters – brothers and sisters, committed to loving each other inside a safe and nurturing community where we are free to love the Lord with all of our heart and soul. (2 Tim. 5:1-2, Eph. 2:19, Gal. 3:26)
We are commissioned to make disciples in the name of the Spirit; intentionally sent out into the world as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, acting as servant-missionaries, verbally declaring but also physically demonstrating and the gospel with our hands. (Matt. 28:18-20, 2 Cor 5:18-21.)
We believe that when the head is reoriented around the gospel, the heart is cared for by the family and the hands serve in mission, we more closely resemble who Jesus created us to be.