Who We Are
This is a brilliant expression of belief, passion, service... The human family set free in love.
We are a local expression of the Body of Christ
The prayer of Jesus, "May they be ONE as you and I are ONE," is an eternal reality that has yet to be fully realized in our world, but it is our defining hope. As we are made alive by the Spirit of God, we experience the fulness of life and power that unites and holds and loves the whole of the human family. We are simply a people that seek to open ourselves more fully to love, to compassion, to healing, to all that we see made manifest in Christ our light. We take this posture together, held in joy and in sorrow by our Bloom family; we take this posture when all is well and when life and our world is messy as hell; we take this posture we seek and serve Christ in all people. We call this "Bloom", but truly it is the energy among us when we gather, live life together, and embrace a shared hope that all things are being made new.
We hold the beliefs of the historic church
As we find ourselves carried within mainstream Christian theology and practice across time and space, we believe that Bloom – as a local church Denver, Colorado – is positioned to play our small part in proclaiming the love and truth of God through beauty, sacrament, and restoration to a particular people, in a particular culture, at a particular time in the grand history of the church.
We are led by a community of elected leaders
As we find ourselves carried within mainstream Christian theology and practice across time and space, we believe that Bloom – as a local church Denver, Colorado – is positioned to play our small part in proclaiming the love and truth of God through beauty, sacrament, and restoration to a particular people, in a particular culture, at a particular time in the grand history of the church.
Our
Common
Rhythm
We are guided by our values
Beauty
God, the source and ground of all goodness, is beautiful. We believe that our desire for and orientation towards beauty is in fact a desire for and orientation towards God and the world God is bringing about.
Sacrament
Rooted in the historic Christian Church, we believe that partaking in the life of the sacraments draws us ever into Christ-likeness and are signs of receiving God’s sure and certain grace. The lives we live, with the sacraments as anchors to our story, are then a window into all beauty of the Triune God and a shoot unto the world that all are beckoned to come and partake as well.
Restoration
The arc of Scripture bends toward a vision of comprehensive, cosmic renewal of all creation, made manifest in all of life— our persons, communities, work, and resources. And thus we stand with the prophets of ancient Israel in believing that God’s dream is a world in which each human being is treated with proper dignity, being made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, our desire is to seek creative ways to partner with God in seeing that dream come to fruition, that God’s beautiful vision for a new heavens and a new earth would be made manifest in the here and now.
Our values find expression through our commitments
Worship
We are committed to regular patterns of worship that gather us up as God’s people, put us into positions to experience God’s loving presence, remind us of our identity, and send us back out into the world full of the Spirit, eager to serve.
Prayer
The people of God are a praying people. Followers of Jesus enter into deep and satisfying communion with Christ and partner restorative work in the world by continually bringing ourselves before God. Therefore, we are committed to regular patterns of prayer, both corporately and individually, that place us before the face of God and the world in light of Christ's presence.
Shared Life
The reality of God-with us creates a people who share life together as a foretaste of what God intends for the whole world. We are committed to the joy and discipline of a shared life together, refusing our culture’s obsession with individuality, ever opening our lives and hearts to each other in fresh ways. This means we are committed to serving each other, forgiving one another, and living life in community.
Hospitality
The community of faith’s shared life is intended to open up, to fan out, and to draw in others to become aware of the presence of God. Hospitality is essentially creating intentional space within our tangible world for the eternal to break through, for the sake of others. We are committed to a life of hospitable friendship with all people, because every human heart is in need of the love, kindness, and healing of God.
Service
Each person called to friendship with Christ is also commissioned to a life of service. Our gifts, talents, and energies are to be used for the good of others both in the Church and in the world. Within this life of service, Christianity calls us to a particular focus on the poor, the overlooked, the marginalized, and the oppressed. We are committed to a life of creative and courageous service wherever God places us, that the light of God’s kingdom would shine in the darkness.
Generosity
To follow Christ is to place the totality of our lives, including our possessions, at his disposal. Together with Christ, we seek to use our resources joyfully and generously for the good of others. We are committed to a life of generosity, contributing each as we are able to both to the ministry of the local church and to those people and causes to which God may lead us.
Our commitments are lived out in four spaces
The Table
This is the Sunday Gathering. We come together to see the fullness of our life together made manifest in worship. All of our commitments should be present as we gather around the table, through the service, Bloom Kids, Guided Liturgy Podcast, and the Sunday livestream.
Home Circles
These are gatherings of people who are committed to living out a common rhythm over time together as a chosen family. All six commitments are held by the house church, with attention given to certain ones in specific seasons.
Community Circles
These are groups of people formed around the intentional focus on one or two of our commitments. Circles vary in contact from shared interests, spiritual practices, or service.
Courses
The equipping space is here to help those in our community live into our common rhythm more beautifully and in a more robust manner. Classes areas offered include theology, marriage, parenting, and financial health.
