Who We Are

MISSION

We are an alliance of leaders and churches fully engaged in the life and mission of Jesus.

The pastoral leaders and churches that make up Alliance NW are all about following Jesus. Our mission flows from his life and is compressed into his last words to the first church. We work together to balance both the “being” and “doing” sides of leadership, and we know that our efforts to influence in our region and specific places internationally are multiplied when we work together. Our mission, history, convictions, and theological beliefs all shape our core practices. 

History

The Alliance NW belongs to an international evangelical movement called The Christian & Missionary Alliance (cmalliance.org). We began at the turn of the century when a Presbyterian pastor named Albert Simpson began organizing people to meet the neglected needs of immigrants flooding into New York City. With a deep commitment to the life and mission of Jesus and a heart to proclaim Him to the world, Simpson’s work quickly expanded. It attracted followers of Jesus from a wide range of backgrounds who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, began to train leaders and start churches across the United States and around the world. Today the Alliance is working in over 50 countries meeting in over 17,000 churches. Our call has not changed. Our passion is to introduce people to Jesus, train leaders, start churches, and send church planters to unreached and receptive people worldwide.

Convictions:  Periodically, we articulate values we most want to guide us as leaders and churches. They represent what we believe is most important given our current circumstances – and they drive us stay focused. Our core convictions are:

Jesus: We must find our life and mission in relation to Jesus and recover God’s passion for a lost and broken world.

Spiritual Formation: A leader’s health and effectiveness demand the practice of intentional spiritual formation both personally and in community.

Leadership Development: A leader’s capacity and influence require life-long learning and the mastery of specific skills.

Mission: A healthy church is actively and relationally engaged in establishing new churches both regionally and internationally.

Church Renewal: Churches in need of renewal are called to rediscover full engagement in the life and mission of Jesus. They typically need outside perspective to identify their issues and move toward full engagement.

Next Generation: Our best future is assured when the next generation is empowered and released into ministry.

Theology

These statements frame our thinking and point to our motivation. They are summary statements of how God has defined reality and are taken from his word to humanity – the Bible. 

• We believe all people are created in God’s image and are exceedingly valuable to Him. Central to the message of the Bible is that God loves all people, and is inviting us to live in communion with Himself and in community with each other. Genesis 1:26-27; John 3:16-17; Acts 2:42-47; Colossians 3
• We believe there is only one God, creator of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each fully God yet each personally distinct from the other.  Genesis 1:1; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:15-17
• We believe Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully human, and lived a sinless human life. He willingly took all of our sin(s) upon himself, died and rose again bodily, and is at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and mediator. Someday, He will return to fulfill the eternal plan of God.  Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:1; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25
• We believe apart from Jesus Christ, all people are spiritually lost and, because of sin, deserve the judgment of God. However, God gives salvation and eternal life to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and in His sacrifice on his or her behalf.  Salvation cannot be earned through personal goodness or human effort. It is a gift that must be received and is secured by humble repentance and faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross.  Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1-11; Ephesians 2:8-9
• We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and draws people to Christ. He dwells within all followers of Jesus and is available to empower them to lead Christ-like lives, and gives them spiritual gifts with which to serve the church and reach out to a lost and needy world.  2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:18
• We believe all who follow Jesus are members of the body of Christ, the one true church universal. Spiritual unity is to be expressed among Christians by acceptance and love of one another across ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national, generational, gender, and denominational lines. Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:15; Colossians 1:18, 3:11; Ephesians 3:17-19, 4:13-16
• We believe death seals the eternal destiny of each person. At the final judgment, unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. Followers of Jesus will be received into God’s loving presence and rewarded for their faithfulness to Him in this life. Matthew 25; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; 1 Corinthians 3:10-14
• We believe the local church is a community of believers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, and leadership development. Through it, followers of Jesus invest time, energy, spiritual gifts, and resources to fulfill the Great Commission. Baptism and Communion are practiced as key identifying symbols of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Acts 2:38, 42-47; Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 6; Hebrews 10:25; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 Corinthians 11:23-36, 12:7; Acts 1:8.
• We believe the Bible is God’s unique revelation to people. It is the inspired, infallible Word of God, and the supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches. No other writings are vested with such divine authority.  Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:105-106