Who We Are
Dear Church Family,
If you were with us Sunday, you know we kicked off our new series, Who We Are — a look at the seven core values that shape South Creek — starting with the one everything else depends on: Rooted in Jesus.
We talked about our mission (to love people and lead them to new life in Christ) and our vision as a church community rooted in Jesus, persistent in prayer, gracious in love, radical in generosity, eager to serve, committed to community, and focused on His Kingdom. But we started with the first value on purpose — because if we're not rooted in Jesus, the rest are doomed to fail. If we miss Jesus, we miss everything.
A few things we sat with together:
Everyone is being shaped by something, whether we realize it or not. The only real choice we get isn't whether we're rooted — it's what we're rooted in. Comparison, achievement, others' approval, shame — they all produce real fruit, just not the kind that lasts.
Jesus said a tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:43-45). You can call yourself rooted in Jesus all you want, but eventually what's actually rooted in you will show. Show me the root, and I'll tell you the fruit.
In John 15, Jesus doesn't just call us to be rooted — he calls us to abide, to remain, connected to him like a branch to a vine. "Apart from me you can do nothing." That's not a value alongside the others; it's the source everything else grows from.
Paul tells us in Colossians 2 to let our roots grow down into Christ and our lives be built on him — not so we don't get pulled off course by empty philosophies, but because in Christ we are already complete. Knowing who we are isn't the finish line; it's what makes real, intentional action possible.
Here's where we landed: root yourself in Jesus. Know who you are. Practice the way. That's what this whole series is going to be about — but it starts with one question we didn't try to answer for you Sunday, because it's one only you can answer:
Where is your life rooted?
-Pastor Aaron Perry