Our Heritage & History
Generations was launched with 10 “seed” families from Church of the Savior (Jessamine County, Kentucky) in 2004. Our mother congregation, Church of the Savior is, in turn, a daughter congregation to the Community Church of Greenwood (Greenwood, Indiana). There are over 30 congregations in Indiana and Kentucky that are part of the larger “Greenwood” family.
In the early days, we didn’t even have a worship service (we did a Kidstuf production exclusively for the first two years). As we’ve added things over time (worship, youth, etc.), we have kept programming to a minimum. That’s because we’ve found that the less we do, the more we actually accomplish. It's also enabled our pastor and all of us to be more involved in our community - working together with other believers for the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
In the early days, we didn’t even have a worship service (we did a Kidstuf production exclusively for the first two years). As we’ve added things over time (worship, youth, etc.), we have kept programming to a minimum. That’s because we’ve found that the less we do, the more we actually accomplish. It's also enabled our pastor and all of us to be more involved in our community - working together with other believers for the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
What We Believe
Every church has doctrine (stuff you believe is true), but most churches have too much doctrine that they believe is essential. While our statement of faith (below) is not everything we believe about God and what’s really real and true, it represents what we believe is essential. If you want to lead anything at Generations, we insist you understand and believe these key doctrines.
As a church, we are unified in our affirmation of these beliefs. But in non-essential beliefs (stuff you don’t find here), we have liberty. In all our beliefs, we show charity and respect. It’s what Jesus would do.
Our non-negotiable beliefs are taken mostly from the Apostle's Creed (in other words, here's what we believe is essential to the Christian faith):
As a church, we are unified in our affirmation of these beliefs. But in non-essential beliefs (stuff you don’t find here), we have liberty. In all our beliefs, we show charity and respect. It’s what Jesus would do.
Our non-negotiable beliefs are taken mostly from the Apostle's Creed (in other words, here's what we believe is essential to the Christian faith):
- The Bible as uniquely inspired by God, without error, and the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
- One God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, His Deity, virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial and bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal return to consummate history.
- The sinfulness of mankind and salvation only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
- The present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
- The resurrection of the dead; believers to everlasting life and unbelievers to everlasting judgment.
- The church as the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the Head. We believe the church is comprised of all who have trusted by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
What Our Congregational Life is Like
We believe less is more and more is less. Our church programming is streamlined on purpose, not simply because we’re a small church.
We work hard to practice good leadership. We happen to think that people are people and if you treat them right, you won’t have big problems.
That doesn’t mean we don’t encounter problems, because we do. But we won’t ignore an issue or a flaw, just to spare someone’s feelings. We walk our issues out with love and humility (after all, shouldn’t you treat others the way you want to be treated?).
We’re gonna fail sometimes. (Huh?) Although we strive for excellence, we know that pencils have erasers, because people make mistakes. Failing once is entirely okay. Just learn from your mistakes, figure out what you did wrong, and try something new. Better to fail and learn than never try.
We encourage folks to “deal direct.” If you have an issue with someone or if someone has upset or hurt you, go to that person and attempt to work it out. It’s never okay to go to a third party about an offense or hurt. Triangulation must be an invention of the devil. So talk to someone, not about them.
We don’t “have people.” Our pastor doesn’t “have people.” People don’t belong to us, they belong to God. When push comes to shove, we’ll choose what’s best for them over what’s best for Generations. If they need to step down from a critical ministry role (because it’s what’s best for them) or if they feel like it’s time to move on, we’ll thank them, bless them and not load ‘em up with guilt. ‘Nuff said.
We really like to have fun. A LOT of fun. What’s that saying? Life’s hard, and then you die. Life’s too short to get your shorts all in a bunch over stuff (and let’s be honest, most of the stuff is small stuff in the grand scheme of things). Besides, being portable takes a lot of energy and work. So we like to have fun…every week…in most every environment. And we’re pretty sure God doesn’t mind.
We may NOT be the church for YOU. There are different people, personalities and passions out there. And some people may not like our message, our pastor, our service times, our chairs, how we do things, etc. We’re okay with that, because there are a lot of great churches out there. We’re not a church for everyone, and we don’t try to be.
Oh – one last thing. We DESPISE POLITICS, especially in the church. Having an agenda, campaigning for your way, operating in factions, using power and control are all things that don’t belong in God’s family. We don’t tolerate any of it here. So if you’re planning to do some of these things, understand now we will give you the left foot of fellowship right out the door. And we won’t be smiling when we do.
We want people to move toward Jesus, not away from him. We’ll do whatever we can to help you follow him, and we’ll be disappointed when you don’t. But we’ll be the last folks to throw stones at you when you mess up. We’re sinners who need a savior every bit as much as you do, and we haven’t forgotten that.
To learn more about our form of church government and culture, contact: info@g2c.net
We work hard to practice good leadership. We happen to think that people are people and if you treat them right, you won’t have big problems.
That doesn’t mean we don’t encounter problems, because we do. But we won’t ignore an issue or a flaw, just to spare someone’s feelings. We walk our issues out with love and humility (after all, shouldn’t you treat others the way you want to be treated?).
We’re gonna fail sometimes. (Huh?) Although we strive for excellence, we know that pencils have erasers, because people make mistakes. Failing once is entirely okay. Just learn from your mistakes, figure out what you did wrong, and try something new. Better to fail and learn than never try.
We encourage folks to “deal direct.” If you have an issue with someone or if someone has upset or hurt you, go to that person and attempt to work it out. It’s never okay to go to a third party about an offense or hurt. Triangulation must be an invention of the devil. So talk to someone, not about them.
We don’t “have people.” Our pastor doesn’t “have people.” People don’t belong to us, they belong to God. When push comes to shove, we’ll choose what’s best for them over what’s best for Generations. If they need to step down from a critical ministry role (because it’s what’s best for them) or if they feel like it’s time to move on, we’ll thank them, bless them and not load ‘em up with guilt. ‘Nuff said.
We really like to have fun. A LOT of fun. What’s that saying? Life’s hard, and then you die. Life’s too short to get your shorts all in a bunch over stuff (and let’s be honest, most of the stuff is small stuff in the grand scheme of things). Besides, being portable takes a lot of energy and work. So we like to have fun…every week…in most every environment. And we’re pretty sure God doesn’t mind.
We may NOT be the church for YOU. There are different people, personalities and passions out there. And some people may not like our message, our pastor, our service times, our chairs, how we do things, etc. We’re okay with that, because there are a lot of great churches out there. We’re not a church for everyone, and we don’t try to be.
Oh – one last thing. We DESPISE POLITICS, especially in the church. Having an agenda, campaigning for your way, operating in factions, using power and control are all things that don’t belong in God’s family. We don’t tolerate any of it here. So if you’re planning to do some of these things, understand now we will give you the left foot of fellowship right out the door. And we won’t be smiling when we do.
We want people to move toward Jesus, not away from him. We’ll do whatever we can to help you follow him, and we’ll be disappointed when you don’t. But we’ll be the last folks to throw stones at you when you mess up. We’re sinners who need a savior every bit as much as you do, and we haven’t forgotten that.
To learn more about our form of church government and culture, contact: info@g2c.net
