Values
Our Story
TriCity Church is a joint venture of 3 local churches: Westside Church (Vancouver), Northview Community Church (Abbotsford) and Crossridge Church (Cloverdale). United by a common desire to see another gospel-focused church established in the TriCity area, the churches’ leadership decided to work together toward this common goal.
Listen to a podcast with the full story of how this came to be here.
We Exist To Make Jesus Known
“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” –John 17:3
And [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. –Colossians 1:18-19
Everything we do at TriCity Church is centred on making Jesus known. Christ’s Great Commission for his disciples is to go out and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-19). In other words, to be a disciple of Jesus means you are to be a disciple-maker. In the parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14), Jesus tells us to go out and compel as many people as possible to come to his Father’s banqueting table so that his house may be full. There is no denying that our calling as the global church is to make Jesus known to those who don’t know him. In fact, you can see this clearly all over the New Testament:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. –2 Corinthians 4:6
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” –John 16:13-14
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” –John 5:39
Making Jesus known at TriCity isn’t just about missions and evangelism. Knowing Jesus isn’t a one-time act but an ongoing process—what God begins, he completes (Romans 8:30, Philippians 1:7). Paul emphasizes all of this when he says:
Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ … that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. –Philippians 3:7-8, 10
Therefore, making Jesus known is an all-inclusive and wide-ranging mission that desires to see people come to know Jesus for the first time and grow in the knowledge of him until they see him face to face.
Our Core Values
Though objective and absolute truth isn’t very popular anymore, we believe it is essential to human flourishing. Anyone who has been lied to knows the value and importance of truth. Without it we cannot know anything for certain, and the reality is we are wired to search for truth in all things, from quantum physics to visual arts. Truth is essential, and the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the embodiment of truth—which is why we strive to keep him at the centre of everything we do.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6
The church isn’t a building; it’s a community of people rooted in the same beliefs about God and each other. We believe that Jesus is the beginning and end of the church. He established our community through his atoning work on the cross—and he is the end goal for each member of the community. This means we are always to be welcoming those who are interested in Jesus and helping each other to grow closer to Jesus.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. –Ephesians 4:15-16
All human beings are worshippers. From sports teams to ideologies to deities, we all have our heart wrapped up in something—even if it’s ourselves. God tells us clearly that in our sin, human beings have chosen to worship the things of this world rather than the one who made the world (Romans 1:22-23). Jesus, as our creator and redeemer, is the one who deserves all worship and glory (1 Corinthians 4:6). In a conversation with a woman about worship Jesus tells her that true worshippers of God will worship in spirit and truth—which means we should passionately honour Jesus with our entire lives and that we should do so based on the revealed truths of God found in his Word.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. –Romans 12:1
Just as Jesus was sent into the world, we (the church) have also been sent into the world (John 17:18). We have a message of good news for all people because all people are under the penalty of sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Life on earth can be good, and there are many ways to make it better—but death is tough to argue with. No matter how great your life here is, it is very short-lived. As the church we have the duty and the joy of making known the name of Jesus because there is no other name by which anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12). For that very reason our mission is To Make Jesus Known.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 28:18-20