Why, GodWhy?

Why, GodWhy? Because we have true diversity. We know some people need an organization or church that holds all of their cherished beliefs exactly the way they want them communicated. That is not GodWhy. We have liberals and conservatives, Pro-Gun and No Gun,  pro-life and pro-choice, people of differing faith convictions, and the list goes on. They are at GodWhy because they, like us, believe we learn and grow better with a large group of diverse voices who treat each other with respect even when we may differ on convictions. This is the heartbeat of Jesus’ message and the GodWhy Vision.

Why, GodWhy?  Because we know true acceptance doesn't mean we'll just be nice to you while you attend our services. It means we will honor your journey of faith with no distinction based on what you do, or do not believe. And when it comes to service and leadership, requirements are not based on race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. We look for character, qualifications, and personal calling. The life of Christ exemplifies this acceptance and we follow that example.

Why, GodWhy? Because we never address our culture or people on other spiritual journeys as those who should be feared, or even worse, hated. In age-appropriate ways from kids to adults we stress, the power of Jesus’ words when he said, love God and then love people in the same way that you would love yourself. This is one of the highest values at GodWhy.

Why, GodWhy? Because GodWhy does not define ourselves by what we are against, we define ourselves by what we are for. We don't see the culture around us or other faith journeys as a problem or a threat. We see them as other fellow travelers trying to discern a healthy perspective on life, faith, and understanding of how our human community thrives. What we are for… is grace and compassion, seen in Christ as we seek to gain understanding, guidance, and direction from God's spirit. We examine the timeless truths that are represented in the Scriptures to guide us in the pursuit of God's plan and purpose for humanity today.

Why, GodWhy? Because we don't decide what we think people should believe and then teach as if it’s the only truth. When we address a topic we look at the Scriptures and a variety of interpretations, both past and modern. We look at the ramifications of those different views and then give you the time and space to decide what you discern is the best spiritual application. Of course, we will share with you our convictions as well. We don't expect uniformity of convictions, but we want everyone to have strong convictions and for them to be based on great information. 

Why, GodWhy? Because we never give simple answers to complex questions. We address honestly every question, especially from skeptics and cynics, and those who have written off any or all faith journeys. We are quick to say "we don't have perfect clarity" or "there are a variety of ways this may be viewed" but we can assure you this… we will take every question seriously, and then we walk with you through those difficult questions and the real-life ramifications represented in them.

Why, GodWhy? Because we don't want to create followers, we want to grow leaders. People with vision and passion cannot be controlled by laws and complex structures of rules. People with vision and passion have to be able to follow the leading of God's spirit, and that can't be controlled or micromanaged. We want to empower all of our community to think, and then follow their passion with the heart and spirit of Christ.

Our vision

Our heart is to connect with, nurture and walk with people in all stages of faith. We create spaces that encourage exploration, education, and experiences for emotional and spiritual transformation.

Our Mission

GodWhy is a community where extremely differing viewpoints are welcomed and valued. We believe that exploring diverse perspectives and all fields of study, provide us with more colors with which to paint a clearer picture of God, the world, and humanity. 

Respect

Respect for one another is naturally the first value we promote. Being that Godwhy seeks to be extremely diverse, we stay intentional to maintain mutual respect for others who have different beliefs, world views, and perspectives. We do not have to agree on everything, but we do want to respect others opinions through active listening, appreciation, openness, and love.  

We also live and die by our volunteers and leaders, so we continually strive to build processes and guidelines within our organization to respect and value our volunteers time and energy. We are open to and will continue to find ways to respect, appreciate, and honor our volunteers.

Integrity

Although we love to party (which is one of our values) and have a good time, we pride ourselves in establishing integrity within our organization and staff. We strive to live out and practice our individual and collective values, convictions, and faith. We are open to give and accept accountability in order to keep this value. Maintaining integrity consists of living out our faith in both our private and public lives. Practicing our core values, and continually moving toward our mission and vision is essential to who we are as a community. This means we deliver radical candor and give honest feedback from a place of care and empathy in order to maintain this value and excellence in the organization. 

Inviting

We want people to feel a sense of warmth and engagement when they meet a Godwhy leader or member out in the community, when walking through our doors to attend a service, group,  class, or other function. This inviting atmosphere will not happen by chance, but by our leaders and volunteers intentionally initiating conversations, handshakes, hugs, genuine interests, and invitations to other events or social gatherings. This does not mean being fake, but genuinely expressing love, care, and interest through interactions and follow up with people who walk through our doors.

Party

Gone are the days when faith is marked by living one way in social settings and acting another in church. We seek to make our services and events fun, engaging, high energy, and socially relevant. We also encourage our leaders to make their events this way off site. This means that alcohol may be served and consumed at some functions, dancing may be present, conversations may be had, etc. that traditionally would be taboo among church folks. All of these behaviors depend on the dynamic, nature, and maturity of the group. Our value of party is not a free pass to indulge in selfish, destructive, addicting, or harmful behavior but to learn balance and responsibility while having a good time, which we believe was modeled by Jesus.

Convictions

We give people space to believe what they feel is the most compelling regarding matters of faith, morals, and values. However, we encourage and expect our church family to not only know what they believe, but WHY they believe it and to be able to make a good case for their position. This helps us all become stronger as a faith community. The better we can articulate our own experiences, world views, and beliefs, the better we can learn from one another, be challenged, and land closer to the truth. We are passionate about growing and maturing within a diverse community.

Openness

In order to continually develop and mature, we understand that openness to new people, ideas, data, evidence, studies, interpretations, findings, etc. is pivotal to our growth as individuals and as a community. We believe closed mindedness shuts down conversation and learning which inevitably leads to stagnation and irrelevance. In the midst of openness, we seek discernment in order to find what leads us all toward health, wisdom, love, and God.

In order to create openness, as well as remain inviting, we must suspend toxic judgement of others actions, beliefs, points of view, and decisions. We keep in mind our own limitations, faulty judgements, biases, cultural norms (that shift with the times), and limited perspectives. Openness to the spirit of God, other interpretations, and new experiences is what keep faith fresh, thriving, and relevant.

Real

Although difficult, we try to avoid projecting ourselves to be something that we are not. We understand that we do this in order to feed our egos, lift our status’, fit societal norms, and appear to be something we are not. In other words, we recognize the mask we all wear and try to take them off so we can truly be seen, known, and accepted by our communities.  We are honest about our feelings, emotions, and mistakes, as well as our strengths, successes, and talents. We strive to be honest with ourselves, as well as with others in our community. On the flip side, we strive to cultivate a community that accepts others as they are by suspending unhealthy and intolerant judgements. This is where Christ’s agape love shines the brightest within our community.