CHURCH ON THE SOUND, 6718 TWIN HILLS DRIVE WEST

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA 98467

606-305-8703

CHURCHONTHESOUND@GMAIL.COM

Church on the Sound is a family of people learning together what it means to live both BY and FOR THE GOSPEL in the city of Tacoma. We scatter throughout the week as missionaries to serve our neighborhoods through Missional Communities and gather together on Sundays to celebrate what Christ has done and is doing in our lives and our city.

What does it mean to live FOR THE GOSPEL?

Living BY the GOSPEL, is only half the story and it seems to be the half that many people get stuck on. As amazing as God‘s grace through the work of Jesus is, it is not the end of the story. Paul reminds Timothy that he is meant to live FOR THE GOSPEL. 

Core Values

In addition to living BY AND FOR THE GOSPEL, we are guided by our core values. These core values are not a doctrinal statement but rather a way of articulating our church culture.   The church of Jesus is extremely diverse and vibrant.  Each local congregation has its unique cultures,  resources, and ministry philosophies.   It is the task of each local congregation to identify it's strengths and gifts and then best leverage them to fulfill the great commandment and great commission.   We take this seriously and we articulate our ministry culture through a set of core values that shape the way we do ministry.  

1.  We will worship God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.  We will be a worshiping church and will leave no doubt that Jesus is our Lord, and rescuing King. Jesus is the focus of our worship and our gatherings will be marked by the freedom we have in Christ.

2.  We will be spiritual contributors, not just spiritual consumers.  This concept is lived out through our missional lifestyle and missional rhythms. Our call is to be willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel, which can only be accomplished when we contribute.

3. We will do whatever it takes to reach people who don’t know Christ.  Without becoming less Godly and righteous, Jesus left all and sacrificed all to reach the lost and has called us to the do the same.  We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ.  The gospel message is for everyone and we will endeavor to avoid obstacles to the life-giving message. 

4.  We are all about the local Church.  We can accomplish more together than apart!  We believe the local church is the hope for the world.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus. We will love and serve our city like Jesus loves our city.  We will be leaders in meeting the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in our city who desperately need healing. 

5.  We believe excellence honors God and inspires people.  We will strive to be excellent in everything we do.

6.   We will be a people of grace.  We will be known for what we are for, not what we’re against.  There are already enough jerks in the world. The story of Jesus and the power of His spirit at work within us is enough to keep us busy.  We do not have time to tear down, belittle, or rail against things or people who are far from God.   Instead, we pray to be light and salt in our community. Empowered by the Holy Spirit,  we strive to be people who are among the most winsome, life-giving, and uplifting; standing in stark contrast to the cynical, jaded, and angry world around us. 

7.  We will submit, individually and corporately, to the Word of God as the final authority for what we believe and how we behave. The Scriptures are our rule for faith and practice.  The Bible to us is not simply a book of rules, virtues, or heroes to emulate, but it’s a story of redemption, a story of a rescuer, story of a Savior. It is the primary way in which God speaks to us and we affirm our desperate need to live in submission to it.  
 

What is the GOSPEL?

When many people hear the word “gospel“ they automatically think that it is one of those “churchy“ words that they could not possibly understand. The truth of the matter is, the word “gospel“ simply means “good news.“ So what is the good news about God and Jesus and us? Perhaps one of the best ways to understand the good news or gospel is to understand The Story of God as a whole and its Creation / Fall / Redemption / Restoration storyline. 

What does it mean to live BY THE GOSPEL?

When Paul writes a letter to Timothy at the end of his life, he reminds his apprentice to focus on the truth that he lives BY THE GOSPEL.  Paul tells him...

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.               2 Timothy 1:8-10

As we read the words of Paul, we tend to see the words “God saved us” and simply move passed them. We might think that this is more religious jargon, but it is really a summary of The Story of God. As we explore the verse, we discover what these words truly mean. According to the scriptures, this has always been God‘s plan for all of us. Paul says that we did not deserve to be saved because of our sin, but God‘s intentions were to show us his grace (favor that we did not deserve) through Jesus Christ from the beginning of time. In addition, we find that God broke the power of death‘s darkness and illuminated the way to life and immortality. This light in the darkness was the Gospel (or good news) that Jesus came, lived and sacrificed his life to pay the penalty for our sin.

As followers of Jesus, we believe that the Gospel is our source of life. Our belief in the work of Jesus, as opposed to our own work, gives us real life. But the Gospel is also our satisfaction. Our belief in the work of Jesus gives us a life that has escaped the darkness of this world and promises us that a better kingdom is coming. Understanding that we live BY THE GOSPEL, gives us both a foundation to live by and a hope of better things to come.      

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.               2 Timothy 1:8-10

Paul tells Timothy that this privilege to live FOR THE GOSPEL should be visible in the life of a Jesus follower. First of all, we are called to live a holy life. Many would find this to big a task and simply give up, but maybe we need to first understand the meaning of “holy“. Holy simply means to be set apart or be different. A temple in the 1st century was holy because it was different than all the other buildings. We as followers of Jesus, should live lives that are different from those who do not follow Jesus. Now we can immediately talk about all the things that we should not do, but we believe a different, set apart life should be more focused on what are doing. We should live a life that is different from the world around us. Our lives should be saturated with love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Our lives should be different because we serve others rather than ourselves and are willing to share what God has given us. 

But living FOR THE GOSPEL is not simply a call to live a different life. It is a call to live a different life in order to point others to the reason or source of our life. Paul encourages Timothy to never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord, Jesus. He even tells Timothy to be ready to suffer for the sake or purpose of the Good News. Our one purpose after we find life BY THE GOSPEL, is to live FOR THE GOSPEL. We live differently to draw others into sharing life, in order that we might share the Good News of Jesus.