What we believe shapes what we do. We are a community of people profoundly shaped by the conviction that God cares deeply about our broken world, that He began its once-and-for-all restoration in Jesus, and that anyone who wants in on God’s plans for the world’s glorious future can begin to experience that future now by believing and following Jesus. [John 3:16-21] [Mark 1:15] [1 Corinthians 15:1-28]

We're a community of people who want to get in on this life that God offers! We talk often of "living the adventure of following Jesus into a life that's all God intended." So much of what we are is simply a result of God's good grace toward us, what He is doing in our lives because He wants to restore us to a thriving, purposeful, joy-filled life. That begins with a life-giving relationship with Him, then extends outward into life-giving relationships with others: first friends and family, then neighborhoods, then all the way out to the margins where there is great need for loving relationships. When God begins His transforming, life-giving work in us, it spills out blessings into the ordinary world.

The amazing thing is, as God is doing His work, He invites us to participate with Him in this work of restoration. We are not merely passive recipients waiting patiently for Him to finish. Rather, He calls us to begin to put into practice a way of life that is life-giving for the world around us--doing and speaking good things as a response and outflow of what He's doing in us (Ephesians 2:10).

At Cascade Hills, we speak of rhythms, pathways, and intentional practices that help us live out this new way of life.

Rhythms

Rhythms are those things to which we return again and again over time, each time shaped in new ways by God's transforming power. These rhythms are how we "do life together" at Cascade Hills, different ways we personally and corporately connect with God, connect with each other, and connect with what we together are called to do in the world around us. Here are some of the rhythms that shape us personally and corporately at Cascade Hills:

• Personal Devotions (daily): setting aside a portion of the day to orient ourselves spiritually, to pray and come before Scripture to seek God's guidance and perspective, to listen for His purposes and respond
• Sunday Worship (weekly): celebrating together what God is doing among us, sharing stories of encouragement, hearing the Word of God (the Bible) and finding ways of living out the implications and exhortations of that Word.
• Home Communities (weekly during the school year): small groups scattered around the city where we make new friends, encourage and pray for one another, and grow together in faith
• Mens' and Womens' Fellowship (weekly in the summertime): time spent together just guys or just girls, enjoying prayer and encouragement, and engaging together on spiritual formation topics meant specifically for the challenges men or women face.
• Family Nights (quarterly): families getting together to have fun, encourage each other, and grow spiritually as families
• Advent (yearly): a collective time of reflection where we anticipate and celebrate Jesus coming anew into our lives and ways we can bring His light into a dark world as His sent people
• Lent (yearly): a time of reflection and fasting in anticipation of Easter, discerning in our lives those things which God wants to heal, transform, or change to bring us into a closer walk with Jesus
• Easter (yearly): a time of celebration and renewal when we remember, proclaim, and anticipate the life-giving, life-renewing, life-transforming power which God displayed in raising Jesus from the dead, the same power that is now at work in those living in and for Him

Pathways

Pathways are those well-worn paths along which we move forward in our spiritual journey toward some particular goal which Jesus has marked out for us. These pathways are journeys we undertake with others, encouraging and supporting one another as we pursue God's promises and blessings. Some examples of pathways at Cascade Hills:

• Alpha: (re)Discovering the Christian faith
• Financial Peace: growing in the stewardship of our finances
• Lasting Marriage: learning to live with the love of your life
• Love and Logic: raising kids who live responsible lives in God's world

Intentional Practices

Intentional practices are those new habits of life that help us to place ourselves fully in the stream of God's intentions and promises for us, putting us in touch with His peace, His forgiveness, His relationship-restoring power, and more. These intentional practices are learned habits and patterns of life which cultivate a thriving spiritual life in relationship with God, others, and creation itself. Some examples of the intentional practices we encourage at Cascade Hills:

• Real-time faith: learning to live moment by moment responsive to God's guidance through the Holy Spirit, ready to respond to that guidance
• Missional hospitality: inviting the disconnected into our homes to eat and play, with the intentional purpose of blessing and building spiritual community
• Spiritual conversations: learning to talk about what God is doing in our lives and around us, inviting others to "come and see" in ways that come across as blessing rather than confrontation or judgment
• Accountability: connecting with others that we trust in order to defeat the power of sin through confession, reassurance of God's grace and forgiveness, and continued encouragement
• Servant impact: finding ways to follow God out into the world and join Him in doing good for the people of our city, especially in ways that bring lasting change