You are Welcome Here

Real Life Community Church of the Nazarene is a safe place to question, be real, and grow toward God. As we all try to figure out what it means to follow Jesus, we believe it is important to acknowledge where we are, ask good questions about Scripture and life, and listen closely to those around us as we open ourselves up to be changed by God through these interactions.

parking is Always Free during Sunday services!

Our parking lot was recently converted to a paid lot by the landlord, but Sundays are always free, so come on down and join us this Sunday starting at 10:00 as we talk about Real Life!

Real Life began in the Fall of 2001 with the hope of becoming a place where people could gather together, no matter where they found themselves in life, and discover the love of God in ways that bring healing and growth.

Our services may be different from others you have attended. We rotate preachers almost every week to learn from many different voices, and often have discussions or responses to the message through writing or artwork. We believe worship is not a spectator sport and we invite you to join us on Sunday for some great conversation.

What We Believe

Real Life Community Church is part of the Church of the Nazarene. Our roots are found in the Protestant tradition and our theology is centered around an 18th Century pastor and theologian from the Anglican Church named John Wesley. Wesley taught that through the Holy Spirit, God’s transforming love changes both the hearts and minds of people, but also how they live and serve our broken and hurting world.

In other words, we believe that God is at work in us, shaping us, so that we can reflect the loving God we serve. Following Jesus is not simply about depositing our souls in heaven. We believe it profoundly transforms our identity and this world in which we live.

We believe that every human has an inherent sin problem which breaks our relationship with God and others and interferes with God’s loving work in the world. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can come to know and experience God and become part of God’s reconciling plan for the world. We are invited to participate in the work of reconciliation by first, confessing our sin and yielding our lives to God’s Spirit to be shaped and formed to look more like Jesus. All of these things are done in community as we are guided by scripture and the Holy Spirit and hold one another accountable to live lives that are loving, kind, and just.

We are distinctly not a fundamentalist church in either our beliefs or culture. We believe that not all of the Bible should be interpreted literally (things like genre, historical context, and original language matter). We believe in free-will and do not affirm the idea that human action or salvation is already predetermined. We also believe in open and civil dialogue, the empowerment and ordination of women, our responsibility to care for God’s creation, and the belief that the primary characteristic of God is love.

Core Values

The Core Values of Real Life Community Church are rooted in the entirety of Romans 12, which begins “So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” These beautiful words and those that follow are where we find our home as we seek to live out these Core Values.

Real Life

We are a community of

Real People | Real Questions | Real Love

We are people created by God and working to figure out what it means to love as God loves, and so we come together on this journey with all we are, without pretense. We do not claim to know all the answers and we enter into life and conversation as authentic people whose greatest connection comes through loving God and loving others.

Community

We live life together through

Service | Struggles | Celebration

We are created to do life together. We are only complete when the diverse gifts and graces of all are brought together. With these gifts we strive to serve our community, support each other in struggles, and celebrate the goodness of life. We truly experience the fullness of God when we share the fullness of life with each other.

Church

We partner with God as we are

Gathered | Shaped | Sent

We are people created to live in partnership with God. God gathers us to learn Christlikeness, to confess where we fall short, and to grow together in love, so we may fully reflect God’s loving image to the world. As we gather, God shapes us more and more into God’s image and sends us into the world to share God’s love.