New City’s name comes from Revelation 21, where we get a glimpse into the future God is bringing into reality through Jesus: a future with no more tears, no more pain, and where God and his people live together without sin or brokenness. New City was planted to be a church that gives Champaign-Urbana a glimpse of that coming future in the here and now.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:1-4 ESV
We believe every local church is called to glorify God and make disciples. (A disciple, if you’re new to all this, is someone who learns life from Jesus; a follower.) This is why our church exists to help you become a fully formed disciple of Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:2 guides us in that mission, and teaches that a healthy disciple of Jesus: Loves God, Finds Community, Grows Deeper, and Makes a Difference. The more people in Champaign-Urbana that live as healthy disciples of Jesus, the more our city will look like the Kingdom of Heaven.
How we get there matters to Jesus as much as what we accomplish. We are a gospel-centered church. This means the culture of our church is built around two central realities: 1.) we are more sinful than we can imagine, and 2.) we more accepted by God than we can imagine through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This means the gospel changes everything: the core of our identity, the quality of our relationships, and the future of our world. New City is a place to heal; a place to grow; a place to explore Christianity. It’s meant to be a safe harbor for anyone in our city to find the welcoming presence of Jesus.
In all of this, we don’t exist for ourselves. We want to see disciples made far beyond our church and our city. This causes us to prioritize planting gospel-centered churches in university cities and sending missionaries both nationally and globally. This is our purpose. And the best part? Anyone can get in on this. You were created by God, for his glory, for a specific purpose. You were called to make a difference.
The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Jesus died in our place, for our sins, and bodily rose from the grave. Salvation is by God’s grace, and received by repentance and faith in the gospel. The Church is the people of God, who live on the mission of God, for the glory of God. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water and is a dramatic display of the gospel. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of remembering the death of Jesus and awaiting his return. In The Last Times Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, and rule over the renewed creation as rightful King. Marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for one lifetime.
Read The Full Doctrinal StatementA church is more than what it believes about doctrine, it's about what they try to put into practice everyday. We believe that Jesus is building his kingdom right here and now and he has called us to live in light of that kingdom. Success for us is determined by how well we are living out these practices.
Jesus' life, death and resurrection, shapes how we see the big and small stuff of life. Jesus is the source of our freedom from the past, power for the present, and hope for the future.
1 Corinthians 1:18; 15:1-7; Ephesians 2:1-10; Colossians 1:15-23
We work to create environments that give people a taste of what God is like. Whether with a friend over coffee, in a worship gathering, or in our homes, we live to display God's heart.
Genesis 1:27-31; Romans 15:7
Whether it's students on the campus of UIUC or Parkland or the kids and youth God has given us. Reaching the next generation with the gospel is at the heart of our church. We mobilize our resources, our people and our prayers for the sake of the next generation as spiritual fathers and mothers.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Philippians 2:19-22
We believe every human being is made in God's Image, which means everyone has dignity and is worthy of respect. This shapes how we speak to and about one another. “Here’s where I see Christ in you,” is a regular part of our vocabulary.
Romans 12:10; James 2:1-13
We make space for people to develop in their God-given gifting. We aren't using people to get ministry done, we're using ministry to get people done. We help each other grow in leadership capacity and influence for Jesus, rooted in intimacy with Jesus.
1 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2-3; 2 Peter 3:18
We are either sending or going on God's disciple making mission. This leads us to send one another on mission locally, and to plant churches in university cities globally.
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 3:14; John 20:21
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