The Good News of Jesus Christ brings comfort and relief to sinners and sufferers. Jesus came announcing the Kingdom of God with the invitation to repent and believe the Gospel. Chapel of the Incarnation seeks to be loyal to proclaiming this “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) through Word and Sacrament. It is through Jesus Christ that God is pleased to “reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20). We are centered on this message, proclaiming it in word and deed in every aspect of shared life.

Thank God he did not remain distant, but in Christ’s incarnation he “moved into the neighborhood”(John 1:14, The Message). God drew near in Christ’s coming, “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus is worthy of being called “Emmanuel”, God with us. Chapel of the Incarnation is aptly named. Chapel of the Incarnation is a missional witness in the heart of the dynamic university setting, testifying to the grace of God. We value relationship as the primary connection point in our shared humanity. This means that like Jesus’ own ministry, we do not desire to remain aloof, but to draw near and reach out toward the least, the last, the lost. To go toward the marginalized or forgotten or weary and share the goodness and grace of God person to person. As fellow sinners and sufferers, we get to be like the beggar to tells other beggars where we find bread – the Bread of Life. We aspire to be a connectional community where people can find belonging and safely ask questions or express doubt or fears without judgment. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every way was tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

If the Church exists to leaven the dough of culture around us (Luke 13:21), it is important that we are missionally minded. Incarnation seeks to emphasize an appropriate contextualization of the Gospel. This means that our worship services are accessible, intelligible, and warmly welcoming to outsiders. Jesus tells us that our greatest human responsibility is to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). Loving our neighbor looks like partnering with other persons of peace (Luke 10:5-7) to seek to serve our community in Christ’s name. Recognizing our shared desire to see our time and place flourish (Isaiah 35), we seek to bless the university community and Gainesville while seeking the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:7) for the glory of the Lord.

We come together for collective worship and small group ministry to build one another up in love. We feed on the Word made Flesh through rich sacramental worship and grow in our union with Christ. We fellowship over refreshments and meals, remaining centered on our commonality in Christ. Together we discover how to use our gifts for the benefit of the wider body.

We are dispersed throughout the week as the church militant in our vocational pursuits. We do so with the mind of Christ, as a missional presence in our schools, businesses, neighborhoods, and homes. We are “on the way” with fellow pilgrims growing as disciples and offering the ministry of Christ to those with whom we interact. This includes partnering with persons of peace in seeking a more verdant and flourishing world.