Last week, Pastor Seth, Lead Pastor of Evergreen Community Church published Evergreen’s CODE, a series of statements that illustrate Evergreen’s core values; the common thread being our vision; to share the story of Jesus with Relevance, Imagination, Compassion and Excellence. Evergreen staff work very intentionally and unapologetically to feed lost souls the R.I.C.E. of Jesus.

WE ARE A HOSPITAL NOT A CATHEDRAL. We believe Jesus came for average, broken, addicted, messy people; not religious people. Therefore everyone is welcome, no one is perfect and anything is possible. We are a safe place for a dangerous message.

All over the gospels the Word of God tells of who Jesus hung out with, what he was sent to accomplish and who he was sent for. Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values. At Evergreen we try to look through Jesus’ views, NOT WORLD VIEWS. Anthropologists John Monoghan and Peter Just explain religion as,

“it seems apparent that one thing religion helps us do is deal with problems of human life that are significant, persistent and intolerable.”

Is religion bad? Of course not! There are lots of good practices and tips and habits that we can learn, adopt and practice to improve our lives. For instance, the Oprah Religion has many positive attributes. But religion isn’t Jesus Christ. And if churches are not preaching Jesus Christ, if they are not adopting the values of Jesus Christ, then they are just another talk show. EVERGREEN IS NOT PART OF A RELIGION. IT IS PART OF A MOVEMENT OF GOD.

We attempt to meet people where they are at and allow Jesus to move them so they don’t stay where they are at.

Who is ready to put on a candy striper uniform and join the movement?