Dear Friends,
A decision to explore a church probably means you’re looking for something more than you have now. Make no mistake, most of us have a lot. If we own a car and live inside, we’re miles ahead of most people on earth. However, when we take time to listen, most of our souls cry out for something more — more hope, more sense of connection to what’s meaningful, true and filling, more assurance that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. We believe that what you’re experiencing is a silent cry for God, and we believe that the Church exists to help people like you find God and grow in your relationship with God.
What follows are a few “statements” of what we at Third Church (and especially at Pump Road) believe to be true, meaningful and worth pursuing as you try to answer your quest for something more. We hope you’ll read on, and look for a way to get connected with some of what we’re doing.
Nelson Ould, Lead Pastor
nelsono@thirdpres.org
Vision
We believe God is calling us to spread the gospel and seek the shalom of metro Richmond through a movement of new sites and new churches, all of which is united by a common commitment to biblical faithfulness in mission, life, doctrine and discipleship.
Mission
We are committed to helping many more people become growing followers of Jesus Christ, and engaging in God’s transforming work in Richmond’s West End. In this way, we are training disciples to love and transform the world.
What We Value
Jesus
We agree that Jesus is God’s full expression of love and forgiveness to the world. Jesus was a man who walked the earth, but he was and is fully God who alone is able to remedy the rebellion and self-centeredness of our own hearts and the darkness and destructive forces of the world. Jesus offers himself to us each day, through the Spirit, and we have the opportunity to receive forgiveness and enter a relationship with him through faith.
Welcome
We welcome people of diverse ethnicities, life situations, and spiritual beliefs. In this way, we intend to be an “outward facing” church in such a way that everyone could quickly feel like they belong even if they do not believe in core Christian convictions. We would like to join you on your spiritual journey.
Life Change
We expect God not to leave us just as we are. We have faith to expect God to restore the brokenness in our world, healing hurting families, and renewing our neighborhoods and communities. Our conviction is that God is already at work in the world, and we seek to discern how to join him in that work.
Mercy
Jesus often gravitated to people on the edges of society, people who struggle and are overlooked. As a church, we are committed to serving such communities in Richmond and the world. Presently, we are serving “at risk” students at Godwin High School and people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease at Our Lady of Hope. Also, we have a growing partnership with the Christian Arabic Church, which serves Muslim refugees, and we continue to discern how to serve the poor and marginalized in west Richmond.
What We Do
Celebrate
Each Sunday we gather for a worship service. When we understand and receive God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus, a natural response is gratitude and trust. Our weekly worship celebration is a time for us to be reminded together of God’s love and forgiveness together, and to experience the freedom and joy of our salvation. We encourage you to commit to weekly worship, which we intend to be uplifting, honest, participatory, multi-sensory and gospel-centered.
Connect
We also grow, serve, and connect in smaller groups of people. Gathering in smaller groups is a way of life at Third. We are convinced every human being was made for deeper friendship with God and other people. Our primary strategy for growing these relationships is our community groups (Missional Fellowships), but there are other smaller groups meeting and serving throughout the church. We are committed to life-on-life, so our smaller groups are designed to catalyze one-on-one meetings outside of the group time and practices which foster a growing relationship with Jesus.
Contribute
Every person who becomes a part of Third is invited to contribute to the mission, by being proactive in offering your time and your talents. We also invite those who have taken the step to follow Jesus to assess and use your spiritual gifts to honor God, and to be proactive in reaching out to people living far from God, inviting them into your life and the life of our church. Finally, we invite you to become a growing financial steward which includes giving financially to the work of Christ in the world through our church. At the heart of our call to contribute is a conviction that as we grow to deeper levels of devotion to Jesus, Jesus will increasingly call us to give away our lives for the sake of others.