Purpose: “To Be Happy in God”

Our chief purpose at Evergreen Community Church is to be happy . . . in God! Now for most of us, the idea of happiness and God in the same sentence may seem a bit odd. But it is appropriate and it is good news that we all should celebrate. As a matter of fact, we are convinced that believing in the reality of God’s love towards his people is foundational to experiencing real life and true happiness. Now, please understand that we are not happy because we have gotten our lives together, because we are very religious and moral, nor because we perform lots of good deeds. Actually, we are far from this.

Yet, in spite of our many flaws, we have hope because of Jesus. His life is good news for imperfect people because he has changed how God views his children. There is no more tenacious expression of God’s affection for his people than what we saw in how Jesus lived, and how he died. He set his face and accepted great agony on our behalf (so that we no longer bear God’s justice for our wrongs), and with his resurrection (against which historians have no contrary answer) we have an entirely different way in which we can approach God NOW. We can know and experience God as a loving father who reaches out to immoral, irreligious, and broken people with a generous hand, a forgiving heart, a smiling face, and tender words that offer a second chance and a fresh start.

One final thing: Our purpose of seeking our greatest happiness in God does not mean that we are world-deniers. We love the beach, sunsets, and mountaintops. We love the genius that builds skyscrapers, seeks a cure for cancer, and produces great works of art. We love those who pursue justice for the poor, the homeless, and those who have no voice. And we love the tenderness of a young child, an AIDS worker in Africa, and the tears of reunited lovers. However, all of these things point to a beauty, a genius, a justice, and a tenderness far greater which is found in the person of Jesus Christ. At our core, we simply desire to be known as lovers . . . lovers of Jesus and lovers of struggling people around us who need to be connected to him. He is the lover we have yearned for in the midst of our loneliness; He is the object we have hungered for in the midst of our materialistic consumption; He is the noble theme hidden in every novel and the story that stirs our hearts; and He is the hero longed for but missing in every human tragedy. HE IS THE SOURCE OF OUR HAPPINESS. Therefore, our chief purpose is to be happy in him.

Mission: “To Awaken People to Real Life in Christ”

Our mission is to Awaken People to Real Life in Christ. At Evergreen, we are on a mission, driven by the urgency to share our happiness with others. We want to challenge the empty way of life that’s been handed down to us by our culture and our world with a call to new life – to REAL LIFE. Therefore we will treasure God-honoring biblical theology while remaining relevant and accessible. We will treasure authentic relationships and rejoice to welcome others to our family. We will treasure dynamic, God-exalting worship and passionately draw those among whom Christ is not yet known. We will treasure Christ and the obedience of faith while mourning the continuing presence of sin, frailty and brokenness in our midst. As result we are emboldened to be honest with our failures, graceful with other’s weaknesses, hopeful in our outlook, and transformational in our impact.