Although theologically, we are orthodox, much of what we prioritise is distinctive. 

• We exist to provide safe spaces where people can explore the life and claims of Jesus in an encouraging, supportive, and grace-filled environment that allows people to express and wrestle with their doubts.
• We desire to be a community where questions are as important as answers, and the journey matters more than the destination.
• We practice a non-hierarchical leadership model. We do not have a lead pastor, rather we have a leadership community which  empowers others through mutual submission.  

Grace-Based, rather than Guilt/Fear/Shame-Based 

We serve a God of love, not a God of wrath. We do not use guilt, manipulation, fear, or shame. We desire to connect people with Jesus. We meet people with grace, forgiveness, and encouragement to learn what God is saying to them. We recognise that many among us have been deeply hurt by the church and its leaders, and we seek to help everyone find healing and forgiveness. 

Centred set rather than bounded set 

We are centred set in our thinking. We view life holistically and believe that life is a journey, not a destination. Churches often function as bounded sets, using behaviour, assent to belief statements, giving, or other external factors as a convenient means of determining “who is in and who is out“. Rather than having these types of boundaries, our focus will be on helping people orient their lives toward Jesus and move closer to him throughout their lives.  

Disciple-making rather than church planting. 

We believe that when you focus on making disciples, a church will be a natural outflow. However, building a church does not guarantee disciples. We will focus our early efforts on disciple-making and building that into the very DNA (culture) of who we are. Our desire from the very start will be to make disciples who will love and serve Jesus, their community, and each other. 

Invite people to join God’s mission rather than attend meetings 

Churches often focus on how many people attend on a Sunday  (in person or via Zoom). We believe “What you draw people with is what you draw people to.” Rather than drawing people to be passive spectators at a religious service, we will invite people to join Jesus’ mission in Dublin. We believe that the gathering of the church is important. However, we desire to create a model that views what happens on Sunday (or another day) to be a small part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, not the most essential part. 

Parish-based with multiple locations rather than regional 

We know the word “parish” carries some baggage, but we want to  change that image. When we say parish we  think of an area that is large enough to live in (work, live, play) but small enough to be known.

We believe faith is an integrated part of our everyday life, so we desire to start faith communities where people actually live.  

A common church model is to be in a central location with the expectation that people will travel for a Sunday gathering. This often means that there is limited gospel presence where people live. We believe that is not ideal. Our focus will be on embedding in local communities and empowering people to be the church where they live and work.  

Story-based rather than rules-based 

God has invited us to be part of his story of Good News. As we live that out, we invite others into that story. We do not have a list of dos and don’ts that we expect people to order their lives around. We want to help them order their lives around Jesus and help them discover their identity in him and his story.