Our primary relationship, from which everything else flows, is our relationship with God. Through our biblical teaching, heartfelt worship, and messages, our purpose is to help people encounter the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With a commitment to what the scriptures say and a relentless pursuit of truth, we desire to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and strength and encourage the spiritual growth of those worshiping with us.
We are designed for community. Not just on Sunday mornings, we seek to share life together in the good times and bad. At ReNew, you’ll find a hospitable group of people who genuinely want to get to know you. In our small groups, called “Pods” we dig in deeper. Whether you’re single, married, young, old, big, small, educated, dropped out, extroverted, introverted, lonely, broken, joyous, or confused, there is a place for you to belong!
We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We don’t just talk about our faith. We live it out in serving both our neighbors and the world. Not out of obligation, but a generous spirit, we love to pour into our community. Whether it’s participating in our BackPack Buddies program to help provide food for local kiddos, or our Christmas Eve tradition of blessing people who have to work on Christmas Eve, we want to serve selflessly and sacrificially.
We believe that God created the world and everything in it, including human beings.
God created a perfect world. In the beginning, there was no sin – no hatred, no disunity, and no death. But God also allowed humans to make their own choices.
The first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God, allowing sin to enter God’s perfect world. From then on, every human has been born with sinful desires that lead to separation from God.
But the story doesn’t end there. God loves the world and the people in it – so much, in fact, that he made a plan to take away the guilt of our sin.
God sent his son, Jesus, into the world as a human. Jesus gave his life to pay the price for sins he didn’t commit. Jesus accepted the punishment for our sins so that we don’t have to.
Three days after Jesus was killed, God brought Jesus to life again, defeating the power of death and evil. Jesus still lives today, eternally in heaven with God the Father. One day he will come back to earth to put an end to evil – sin, death, and pain – and renew all things. He will gather all who have believed in him from every time and place to live with him forever.
Our faith is centered in God’s love for us demonstrated in Jesus Christ, his son.
When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us and commit our lives to following him, God sees us as perfect, the way we were first created to be. We cannot manufacture such faith on our own; it is the result of God’s Spirit working within us.
According to their mission statement, the RCA is “a fellowship of congregations called by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.” It is one of the oldest protestant denominations in the United States, with about 900 churches across the U.S. and Canada.
The Reformed Church in America celebrates two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They remind us of God’s promises to us and help us to claim those promises as our own. For more information on ReNew Community’s position on baptism, see this document “What is Baptism?“
The RCA is confessional, which means that together we have statements of belief, called creeds and confessions. These statements guide our understanding of faith and shape its practice.
The RCA is “Reformed and always reforming,” earnestly seeking to know the mind of Christ as it strives to be faithful in a changing, complex, and often troubled world. The RCA’s position papers on contemporary issues provide guidance to the members of the church and are a part of the church’s witness in society.
In the Reformed view, the final authority is the Bible–known as the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God.
The Reformed perspective is centered in the overwhelming love of God toward us. We believe that God is three in one–God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith, not by what we think or do to earn God’s favor. Our good works don’t earn our salvation, but are a way to thank God for this free gift of salvation.
Our core values reflect our unique beliefs, core convictions and guiding principles. These values guide our ongoing attitudes and behaviors and set the direction for ReNew Community.
We will serve the City of Ames selflessly and sacrificially, reflecting the heart of God.
Every follower of Jesus is called and gifted by God to live a life of service.
God loves everyone – so do we. Everyone is welcome, period.
Every person needs authentic relationships.
Leaders are called and gifted by God to lead by empowering others.
A simple structure based on team ministry encourages flexibility, creativity, action and reproduction.
Every person is created to worship God all the time. Worship is a lifestyle.
The Bible is relevant and meaningful at all times, in all places.
Life transformation and renewal happen best in the context of an authentic relationship with God and others.