Northwest Presbyterian is invested in the historic commitments of Christian faith. We believe that God’s love reaches through the chaos and brokenness of our lives and our world in his Son, Jesus Christ. In him we find forgiveness of sins, renewal of the heart and soul, and reconciliation with God and each other. Through his teaching and example we have guidance; through his death we have forgiveness of sins and a healed relationship with God; through his resurrection we have hope and purpose. Through the Holy Spirit, who is a part of each believer’s life and psyche, we experience the nearness of God and are empowered to live significant lives of compassion, grace, joy, and service.

I know the basics of Christian belief; but what are you really about?

Connecting in faith
Discovering with insight
Serving with compassion
Sharing joy and hope


This captures our mission, purpose and values:  We’re here to develop authentic disciples, or followers, of Jesus – to connect, discover, serve, and share.

 

We’re Connecting people to God through faith and worship, but this is only the beginning of an intriguing and engaging journey of Discovery. Faith isn’t static or stagnant - the meaning of believing in Christ always takes us deeper. As his followers, we’re open to the way he challenges our understanding of things and the way he shapes us through grace, knowledge, and obedience. So in our worship, messages, and classes there are always opportunities to think about the Lord, the Bible, or his call in reflective, compelling ways.

The message of Christ is all about the grace of God – his kindness and mercy extended to spiritually needy people. So it’s only consistent that we also emphasize Serving Christ through serving others, showing grace and mercy in all its expressions. Whether it’s through one of our service and outreach ministries or a way we serve one another in the church, this is a central theme and attitude in our church because it helps complete the circle of discipleship. Following Jesus as disciples means we’re interested in discovering our call – his purpose in our lives. How can we, like him, be in the business of building up others?

It comes full circle. What we receive and learn, we put into practice, and we want to Share faith and the goodness of Christ among ourselves and with others. Our motive isn’t arrogance or control, but a desire for everyone to experience the joy and hope that come with following Christ. It’s important to know about God and even to be familiar with him, but our hope is that everyone who comes in contact with Northwest will discover a deeper connection with God through the grace and lordship of Jesus Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the scripture.


These key themes – connect, discover, serve, share – characterize our desire to become an effective church in Woodinville and the Eastside, where the journey of faith in Christ is presented in a compelling, authentic way. You can find a deeper reflection on what these concepts mean to us elsewere on this site.

Evangelical Presbyterian? What’s that?

Northwest Presbyterian is affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a network of like-minded churches around the country.

 

“Evangelical” is a problem word these days. When you hear it in the news, it’s often with a negative tone, associated with political or other agendas and a controlling, harsh attitude, to boot. But for us, “Evangelical” (which comes from a word that means “good news”) refers to our core faith that the message of Christ is good news for the world. It’s important to share hope in Christ, not keep it to ourselves or for ourselves.

We’re evangelical in that sense. Though we believe that God’s word is relevant and Christ’s values in our lives affect how we live in the world, we’re not about politics, we’re not mean-spirited, and we’re not out of touch with the world.

“Presbyterian” also gets some mixed reactions, but it really refers to the way we share leadership in the church. It comes from the word used in the Bible for “elder”, when mature people were looked to for leadership. In Presbyterian churches “Elders” are those the congregation choose and call to lead the church.

Presbyterians have their roots in the Protestant Reformation and share these commitments with other “Reformed” churches:

All is for God’s glory
God is glorious, a far cry from our images of him. And all creation is designed to exist for his honor and glory, to find its meaning and purpose in him. This means that everything – the arts, science, relationships, nature, society, our work – has significance and value to the degree it reflects the fullness and glory of God. It’s not just “religious stuff” that matters to him – it’s all his!

Salvation comes through God’s grace alone. People are broken – morally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. We can’t fix ourselves. God is gracious, meaning he does not give us what we deserve and he gives us what we don’t deserve. Grace means God takes all the initiative to reach us – even when we’re searching for him and seeking him, he’s put the spark of desire there. There’s amazing humility and amazing confidence in knowing that God is gracious.

It’s received through faith alone. Our confidence isn’t in our performance of religious duties or trying to get our good deeds to outweigh our bad deeds (good luck with that). This keeps us from false self-confidence or arrogance when we think we’re doing well and from despair and hopelessness when we’ve failed or lost touch. Our security is in trust in what God has done in and for us in Jesus Christ, not what we can or can’t do for ourselves.

It’s secured through Christ alone. Jesus, uniquely God’s Son, is the culmination of God's redemptive, reconcilling efforts.  He secures our reconciliation with God through his death and resurrection. What he did is sufficient to mend what is broken between us and God, to break down barriers between us, and to give us a new, secure identity as his sons and daughters. Our hope is not in our grip on God, but his grip on us in Christ.

God speaks in and through the Bible to the church and the world – it’s his primary, authoritative voice or revelation, recording his works and ways, tracing the history of his interactions with people. While God speaks to us personally and through other believers, we can be sure we’re in line with his will and not just making things up because the scripture is our unchanging guide.