The Well Church of the Nazarene

Better Than Right

While sin exposes our desperate need and the bad news of separation from God, Christ’s atonement restores us into right relationship with Him. To live UpStream means embracing this countercultural truth: salvation is not earned, but freely given—and in it, we rediscover the joy of God’s salvation.

Pulled Under

We often talk about sin as if it's about them, but in Romans 1-2, Paul makes it clear--it's about us. Sin is not just bad behavior, it's exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Let us reflect upon, lament, and confront our own brokenness. 

Seeds

"Evangelism" can be an uncomfortable word, but at the heart of our purpose is recognizing the transformative power of saving grace. We are called to scatter seeds. And sometimes that means redefining the way we do church and rediscovering the church God wants us to be so we can answer the questions of our culture today.

Serving Babylon

Serving "Babylon" means showing up faithfully in a place that may not cheer for us, because our loyalty is not to the crowd, but the Kingdom. We plant gardens, love our neighbors, and do good--not because Babylon deserves it, but because God has called us to it.

Embracing Exile

The heart of God, his intent and instruction, is the essence of what the prophet Jeremiah told his people in exile, and it's the essence of what we see God do through Creation and the formation of His people! When we are fruitful and increase, when we work for the "good," for peace and prosperity of the people with whom we live--especially in exile--we wade into the confluence of the sacred and secular. The physical and spiritual. And this has always been God's purpose for his people. 

Resident Aliens

When we live in exile, one of our tasks is to raise "resident aliens” - to teach the next generation how to remain faithful to God in  a land that is not our own. One of the most powerful tools that we have to do this effectively is our story. Consistently telling the story of God at work in and through us 1) Roots our identity, 2) Explains our rhythms, and 3) Gives hope in exile. 

More Than a Story

Faith is confident trust in what God has said, even when it's not visible. Exile sharpens our dependency on God's promises, not culture's affirmation. When we feel displaced or pressured to conform with competing stories, our roots must go deeper into God's story, not ours. 

Becoming "Strange People"

We are part of a real-life story that is going on around us, but many of us haven't yet realized our role in God's story. To be a holy people is to be an intentional, loving people, with a purpose--to bring others to Him. We are now the place where heaven and earth intersect and from which the glory of God radiates out into the world. We are the people of God.

Strangers in a Strange Time

We may not be strangers in a strange land, but we are strangers in a strange time. As Christian influence wanes, exile helps us evaluate our lives, and, like Jonah, discover that God is up to something powerful among us. There is hope even in the belly of a fish--and God wants to use us to bless our Babylon.

Room at the Table

We see in John 4 how a single invitation lead "many more" to become believers: the woman at the well encountered Jesus, and she HAD to share the news! Likewise, millions have heard and/or shared this same gospel invitation, but... there are millions of others who have not.

As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to take that invitation into our communities--the places that are familiar to us as well as those where we are not welcomed and do not want to go. To do so, we need to see every single person we come in contact with as "table mates" and make room for them to sit and join us.

In other words, we have to adopt the heart and passion of the woman at the well to share our relationship with Christ with everyone we encounter--even those who may have offended or hurt us. And it starts with one small conversation.