Our Name “The Grove” comes from Isaiah 61
The message of Isaiah 61 is: those who desire and long for Christ will do something amazing… They will rebuild the cities of the world. And they will be called… Oaks of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord. As we come together as Oaks of Righteousness to rebuild our city we become “The Grove”, a collection of people that are offering the hope of Jesus Christ, who will write a new story for our city and its people.
“They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.”
CS Lewis says, “Human history is the long terrible story of humanity trying to find something other than God to make him happy.” But there is another story unfolding around us. A beautiful story woven into the tragic one. A joyful story found in sorrow. And a story of adventure and purpose resurrected out of the mundane.
Your story is hidden in the Christian story, and we want to help you find it. And to find your true story is to find yourself in a different story than you might expect
Many people who reject Christianity aren’t rejecting Christianity itself but something it’s been mistaken for.
At the Grove we seek to make sense of it all by wrestling honestly with faith and doubt. As we do this, we believe our people will be deeply anchored into eternity, and a new story of rebuilding will be written for our city.
The Grove is a church of Jesus Christ. We are Christians who encourage people to belong before they believe; yet we also challenge people to faith in the gospel, as well as nurture people from initial faith in the gospel to greater faith in the gospel. We see every Christian as a minister of the gospel, not consuming ministry but producing ministry. And we strive to be a church that doesn’t exist for itself but for others.