Union with christ

We are committed to emphasizing Union with Christ as the fullest description of the gospel. In our Bible Belt context,“gospel” is, in many ways, religious white noise – a term that is so generic and overused that it carries unnecessary connotations. We do not want to abandon this biblical language but as missionaries we need to clarify our terms in order to be both biblically accurate and contextually appropriate.

Union Church is named after the New Testament’s primary way of describing salvation, Union with Christ. The essence of salvation is a permanent, exclusive and intimate connection to Jesus. This attachment is so deep that we become functionally hidden in Him (Col. 3:3), enveloped and protected by His love. This covering, foundation and bond with the Son allows us to participate in His perfect relationship with God the Father.

Our union with Christ allows us to become adopted children, enjoying all the privileges and rights once reserved alone for the “only begotten Son.” As beloved children, who now share the same Father, we view other believers as brothers and sisters, and accept responsibility to care for them as family. Jesus’ death on the cross tore down the veil that separated God and man, as well as the “dividing wall of hostility” that separated people – creating in its place a brand-new humanity called the Church, united with Christ and therefore connected with each other (Eph. 2:14). It was out of a diversity of backgrounds, ethnicities and skills, that the united body of Christ was given the ministry of Christ, in order to produce the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4: 11-13), leading us to holistic discipleship and maturity.

Therefore, the Union Church logo is a magnified view of individual threads intertwining from opposite directions to create fabric. The Church should be a place of diverse unity, a place where black and white, Democrat and Republican, rich and poor, young and old are all “knit together in love” (Col. 2:2) and radically united in Christ (Eph. 2:14). The theology of Union with Christ (doctrine) leads to the reality of union with one another (culture) and displays the beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven.