VISION
Venture Church exists to be a church for the unchurched.
God has given Venture Church a vision to reach unchurched people who are far away from God. You may be thinking, "isn't this the vision of every church?" The reality is that only 33% of people who live in Mississippi attend church. That means on any given Sunday, 67% of our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and maybe even family don't go to church. Many people are so deep in their brokenness, they don't feel good enough to even enter the doors of a church. Others have been deeply hurt by the church and left not to return.
At Venture, we believe it is imperative to design environments that align with our vision. That's where things at Venture are noticeably different from mainstream church culture. With purpose and intent, we work hard to create environments where outsiders feel welcome and accepted, because we believe when someone is relaxed and comfortable in an environment, their minds and their hearts are more receptive.
MISSION
Our mission is to lead people to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.
We desire to see people living out a daily lifestyle defined by knowing Jesus Christ personally, loving Him passionately, and following Him faithfully. This is a tall order in our deeply-steeped church culture, because many base their walk of faith on acts of tradition, rituals, or religion. But information alone does not lead to transformation.
We want to see people so changed by God from the inside out that it permeates every part of their life - the way they love others, the way they serve others, and the way they worship God.
STRATEGY
Here at Venture Church, we have a four-part strategy to help carry out our vision and mission in the community and around the world.
The first part is INVITE. We want you to invite with intention. What does that mean? It means that inviting others to church becomes integrated into your daily walk of faith. It means that in your ordinary, everyday interactions and encounters with your coworkers, your friends, your family, and even strangers, inviting others is at the top of your mind. Even though we live in a culture with a church on every corner, only 33% of people attend church regularly. At Venture, we work really hard to create comfortable and welcoming environments that make it easy to invite people who are far away from God.
The second part of our strategy is INVEST. We want you to feel invested in community. At Venture, community looks a little different from the more traditional setting of a Sunday School class. We believe genuine, authentic community is cultivated when people get out of large rows and into small circles where they can pray and study the Bible while developing meaningful relationships with others. We want adults of all ages, stages of life, and stages of faith to find a safe place where they can be fully known as they do life together with others and grow deeper in their faith.
The third thing we ask you to do is IMPACT. We mean to impact by serving. We want you to get some skin in the game and use your gifts to serve other people. How do you do this? Well, you can start by getting plugged into an Impact Team at church. This could look like serving on a greeter team, a parking team, a coffee team, the production team, or even rocking babies, teaching preschoolers, or leading kids at KXP. The bottom line is that when we serve other people, we impact their lives with the love of Jesus.
The fourth and final thing we ask you to do is IGNITE. We want you to ignite through giving. When you give financially, whether big or small, it is an act of faith lived out in a very practical area of your life. When you give at Venture, it is testament that you believe God is moving through our church to reach people who need Him. Imagine what God can do if we all lean in together and offer our resources to follow in obedience and go in faith wherever God calls us to go!
CORE VALUES
When practiced within the context of our vision, mission, and strategy, we believe the following values cultivate healthy team culture within the Church and help translate our strategy into action.
WE CULTIVATE HEROES
Because we value pointing people toward their purpose.
Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. DANIEL 6:3 NIV
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ACTS 4:13 NIV
2. WE CHAMPION TEAMWORK
Because we value the house over any room inside.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” MARK 10:42-45 NIV
3. WE CREATE EXCELLENCE
Because we value belonging before believing.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. COLOSSIANS 3:23 NIV
People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. MARK 7:37 NIV
4. WE CHOOSE JOY
Because we value the privilege to participate.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord... PSALM 100:1 NIV
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! PHILIPPIANS 4:4 MSG
5. WE CELEBRATE CHANGE
Because we value the message—not the method.
I am God—yes, I Am. I haven’t changed. MALACHI 3:6 MSG
I have come to change everything, turn everything right-side up. LUKE 12:50 MSG
