Story

At the center of our people has always been the story. It reveals the character of God, memorializes what he's done and teaches us where to he can be found. It's significant to us that we remember the Scriptures are a story. It says so much about the nature of our God that he's preserved such core aspects of life inside a story, not a set of doctrines our list of instructions. It remindes us that his relationships with people are authentic and dynamic. So we value story; his and ours. We're always looking for the ways they intersect.

Peace

The peace of God is something that confounds the understanding of the world, it comes in relationship with him. We want the Cross Orlando to be a place where we run into that peace on a regular basis. It ought to be a marker of our congregation. Toward that end, we regularly encourage one another to remember the deep truths of the gospel. As those truths become guiding principles for our lives, we experience God's peace. It can overwhelm the areas of anxiety, fear, addiction and sadness in our lives. We can become ambassadors for God's peace just as our people have always been.

Lineage

The story didn’t start with us. As obvious as that may be, it’s easy to forget. But when we remember its ancient roots, it broadens the scope of our lives and communities. For generations and centuries Jesus’ expansion, explanation and fulfillment of the Jewish scriptures have been preserved and applied by families and followers. We enjoy being deeply rooted in those generations. Our community is built on three historic chief parts: the ten commandments, the Lord’s prayer and the Apostles Creed. Our understanding of those are informed by theology that emerged during the European Reformation and was outlined most clearly by theologians like Martin Luther and Martin Chemnitz. Our modest gathering started in September of 2010. Our mission is to bring Jesus to everyone by meeting the needs of the community and growing the faith of all who believe. We are partnered in the mission with four other churches in the area: Holy Cross, New City, the Cross East Lake and the Table of West Volusia.

Life

Most of us don’t know exactly how we ended up here, but we’ve decided that it was no accident. For us, this city won’t just be the place where we live. It won’t merely be buildings we walk in and out of and streets we drive on. If our mission is to live with love and joy, then Orlando will be our mission field. We will engage the people and structures of Orlando with the best parts of ourselves. We’re doing that as we start companies and non-profits, advocate for local businesses, raise children, cultivate friendships, serve, love, contribute. Orlando will be different because we’re here. We’ve found that we come by this attitude naturally. Our people have always contributed to the good of the places where they live. In our scriptures, we found the encouragement to, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the City to which God has taken you.”