---

Southside's vision is to bring renewal through the Gospel of God's grace to the Coastal Bend and beyond.

---

What do we envision when we say we want to bring renewal?

We bring renewal when we engage the community and culture around with the Gospel of God's grace. God is actively redeeming his world and his people through the Gospel. As his distinct people, we align ourselves with his purposes and activities when we communicate his gospel in word and deed to our world.

We engage the community by building relationships with those outside the church through genuine friendship and acts of service and kindness. We engage the culture by interacting with and participating in it. Christians are not called to run and hide from the culture, or to set up a fortress from which to battle the culture.

What do we envision when we say renewal?

Our vision is to bring renewal spiritually, socially, and culturally. Genuine renewal begins as individuals and families embrace the Gospel of God's grace, are made alive to God spiritually, and become members of the new covenant community, the church.

But that renewal continues as we move out into the neighborhoods, the schools, the marketplace, the universities, and institutions of commerce, justice, and government. As people connect with people socially, the transforming power of the Gospel flows along avenues of relationships.

Wherever we take the gospel we redeem the culture. The Gospel of God's grace transforms our minds and hearts, and that transformation finds expression culturally as we interact with music and the arts, ethics and philosophy, education, commerce, government, and social action.

What do we mean by the Coastal Bend and beyond?

God has called us to be part of the distinct community of Corpus Christi, embedded within a larger part of Texas known as the Coastal Bend. Our vision is to reach beyond the community surrounding Southside into the city and out into the surrounding counties. In fact, we long to reach far beyond South Texas to the far reaches of our planet. When we recognize the Coastal Bend and beyond, we are not just describing a geographical place, but a people, an identity, a lifestyle, and a culture. We are here for the kingdom, we are here for the city, we are here for the Coastal Bend.

Why is it important that renewal come through the Gospel of God's grace?

The Gospel is God's power for non-Christians - The Gospel is, "the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes; Jews first and also Gentiles"(Romans 1:16 NLT). Only in the Gospel will you discover true power for a changed life. Jesus' earthy ministry exhibited a power that transformed the landscape of human history. When Jesus comes into your life, he brings that same power and transforms the landscape of your life forever.

The Gospel is God's power for Christians - Grace, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, brings more than forgiveness. It lays the sustaining and empowering basis of everything in your life. You need God's grace just as much after Jesus comes into your life as before he comes. In other words, spiritual growth is God's activity in me or a Gospel activity, not my activity. Paul assures believers that "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) Strictly speaking, "growth" is not based on me (my efforts, my experiences or my knowledge) but on God. It is not so much my holding on to God as it is God's grace holding on to me. So, the job (or work) of the Christian is to believe what God has done in Christ and is doing in me through His Spirit.

---

Southside's Values

1. God's Glory: Our great hope is to be a church captivated by God's final pursuit - his own glory. Ironically, in pursuing his glory our greatest joy is found. As a result, our confidence is not in ourselves, but in his work. God is always going ahead, behind and alongside his people. The Church is first and foremost his great work. Our calling is to participate in what he is already doing.

2. God's Truth: The Bible is more than a guidebook; it is a living authority, shaping our preaching and teaching, and making application to everyday life. It is through scripture that God changes the hearts of the unconvinced and matures those already in Christ. Furthermore, the Bible shapes our theological identity. Together with the Church through the ages we affirm the great creeds of the early church councils and the great Biblical truths of Reformed theology.

3. Gospel Freedom: The Gospel's transforming message of grace not only brings us into relationship with God, but also grows us to maturity. Maturity in the Christian life, whether in love, holiness or wisdom is a by-product of the freedom Christ purchased for his people. The free gospel of God's grace is the engine that drives the Christian life. It liberates us to pursue the path of God's glory boldly and courageously.

4. God-Centered Worship: Worship is at the core of who we are as humans. God-centered worship is characterized by both truth and exuberance. We value truth when we embrace the historic church's contribution to worship, and thus maintain a deep connection with what has gone before us. We value exuberance when we worship in our time and our place, and incorporate the best of contemporary contributions to worship.

5. The Church - Its People and Community: The Church is the Body of Christ; the covenant community of God’s people called out from the world to become a part of his forever family. The church is a slice of real life; it is God's design and method to bring his people to maturity. Therefore, we are committed to the priority of the church as the context in which our faith is nurtured and lived out.

6. The Community - Its People and Culture: Christ came to establish not simply a church, but a Kingdom. Kingdom work is not to be against the community, nor is it to condone all that happens in the community, but seeks to transform both community and culture. Our responsibility is to graciously and realistically engage the Coastal Bend community in all its beauty and ugliness for the glory of Christ.

7. Openness and Warmth: The church is for every kind of person for every kind of background. Everything we do must be done with humility, sensitivity and a listening ear to those who are not yet a part of us.