Fellowship is the cornerstone of our Sunday gatherings. We forgo the traditional sermon, instead sharing a meal and engaging in meaningful scripture discussions around tables.
Our time together is more than a regular gathering. It’s a precious pause from bustling suburban life, a sanctuary for authentic human connection and face-to-face interaction. We laugh, catch up, connect, console, encourage, and uplift one another. We share our lives with one another and when needed, we pray with and care for one another.
The shared meal at our gatherings includes all ages, fostering deep relationships across generations and leaving a lasting imprint on young hearts. Studies show young people are more likely to stay in the faith when they form meaningful bonds with non-family adults who follow Jesus. Instead of growing disillusioned, our kids and students will see the church as a place where sincere, humble adults live out their faith—setting an example worth following and inspiring them to remain part of the church as they grow into adulthood.
Our table conversations are focused on Scripture and guided by table leaders equipped with rigorous research based on the best biblical scholarship. We hold space for open-ended, intricate, and multifaceted conversations. Our tables are a safe place where people are encouraged to be open, candid, and vulnerable, revealing their personal stories without the fear of judgment or humiliation—a haven where authenticity is cherished, where open-hearted discussions about faith and Scripture can unfold without the worry of misinterpretation or rejection. We also resist the anti-intellectualism that has often plagued modern Christian culture. We believe that loving God with all our minds is not optional, but essential. Rigorous thought, good questions, careful study, and deep reflection are not threats to faith—they’re expressions of it.
We keep things simple. No flashy productions or expensive, extravagant events—just the intentional rhythm of being together. We actively resist the consumerism, anonymity, spectating, competition, corporate mindset, celebrity culture, and power struggles that often creep into churches, returning to a simple, relational model of church.
The Table Church is a place where people can be open and vulnerable without fear of judgment. We cherish authenticity, creating an environment where honest discussions about faith and Scripture can unfold freely. We recognize that faith can be a maze filled with challenges, bewilderment, lingering questions, and doubt. Our commitment is to foster a compassionate, welcoming space where everyone can share their stories and wrestle with complex questions, knowing they will be met with grace and respect.
We strive to embody the fruit of the Spirit and be thoughtful, kind, and Christlike in our online presence, resisting the pull of outrage, division, and superficial engagement.
While civic engagement matters, we do not equate any political party with the gospel. Our highest allegiance is to the Kingdom of God. We engage in politics with humility and wisdom, remembering that our hope is in Jesus and His reign. Ultimately, the act of worshiping Jesus is the most profound political statement—it's a declaration that Jesus is king, and no other.
We seek to cultivate a world that reflects the splendor of God and the beauty of new creation by supporting and celebrating the artists within our community. Art has the power to acknowledge both the brokenness and beauty of our world while offering a vision of hope and renewal, pointing us toward the promise of new creation. As co-creators with God, we embrace the role of bringing beauty into the world, recognizing its ability to inspire faith, hope, and love. While not everyone is called to be an artist, we foster an environment where artistic expression is valued, showcased, and integrated into our worship and community life.
Our mission is not to fix the Church. Nevertheless, we do want to approach the challenges of the current era with a keen and discerning awareness. The contemporary Western Church grapples with profound problems that have eroded public faith and trust, namely, angry divisions along political, social, and theological lines; misogyny; racial obliviousness; celebrity worship; resentment; and the willingness to sacrifice principle for power. Recent controversies involving the moral failures of high-profile leaders have only further gnawed away at this dwindling trust. We want to restore the credibility of the Church.
We seek justice by working to restore the world as God intended—a world put back to rights and realigned with His intentions. Our ambition extends to raising awareness, educating ourselves and others, taking action with our hands, feet, and finances, and advocating for justice. We seek to undo all that tarnishes God's good creation—bullying, poverty, violence, oppression, exploitation, racism, and beyond—by addressing the roots of injustice, not just its symptoms. An essential part of this mission is self-reflection and accountability, recognizing that confronting our own biases and prejudices is a fundamental step toward meaningful change.
We aim to live in such a way that our lives bring the kingdom of God to bear on earth as it is in heaven. There is a difference between becoming a Christian and becoming Christian. When God rescues us, God gives us a whole new vocation, a new way to be human, a new reason for our existence, and a new sense of purpose. God makes us new creations so that we can play a role in making creation new. God transforms us so we, in turn, can contribute to the transformation of the world. God heals and renews us so we can actively work towards healing and renewing the world.
But we cannot do this if we are not transformed ourselves. One does not decide to follow Jesus and emerge from the water with fully formed, flourishing Christian character. We don’t roll out of bed one day, trust Jesus, and immediately embody the essence of Christian virtue.
Therefore, we aspire to develop Christian character. By “character,” we mean “the pattern of thinking and acting which runs right through someone, so that wherever you cut into them, you see the same person.” Character is what is on the inside. This takes work. Christian character is developed by intentional, consistent practice; conscious effort; and habit formation that eventually becomes reflex—like a child learning to play the violin. We must choose, again and again, to develop our moral “muscles” until Christian character becomes spontaneous (becomes second nature)—becomes not only what we do but who we are.
We aim to give away the vast majority of our financial resources to meet real needs and build for the kingdom that it might be on earth as it is in heaven.
Our pastors are unpaid and bi-vocational, allowing us to focus on generosity rather than maintaining salaries or church overhead.
We ensure full transparency by publishing our bank and QuickBooks statements for our community each month.
We hold to core Christian doctrines while allowing freedom on secondary matters.
Following the lead of the biblical scholars such as N.T. Wright, Michael Bird, and Scott McKnight, we aim to understand the gospel (the good news) in accordance with the first Christians as expressed in the New Testament. The gospel is not a salvation plan or advice for escaping hell and going to heaven, but rather the good news that the kingdom of God has arrived (Mark 1:14). The resurrection and ascension launched the kingdom of God (inaugurated eschatology). Now, Jesus, our loving and just King, is in charge. He forgives our sins, and His reign brings love and justice to our world through us, His people.
We deeply value the biblical story. We see ourselves as active participants in this grand story, which climaxes in Jesus—His death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God (i.e. the inauguration of the kingdom of God). We understand that we are living within this story, with a role to play as kingdom-builders. We are transformed to transform our world. This story gives our lives meaning and hope.
We want to understand Jesus and his message. Not the Jesus of our imagination, the Jesus we inherited, Jesus as we want him to be, or a Jesus we made into our own image. But rather the historical Jesus. The first-century Jesus. The Galilean Jew who arrived on the scene in the first century with a message of good news about the kingdom of God.
