We are a church community that desires to experience and share a growing relationship with Jesus every day. 

Here at Good Shepherd Church we are guided by certain foundational beliefs and shaping values.

Read more about our Theological Truths below.

The Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God. It is accurate, authoritative, and applicable to our everyday lives. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Deuteronomy 4:2; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.

We believe Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully divine. He is the second person of the Trinity, God the Son.

The Scriptures declare:

His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27-35)

His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22)

His miracles (Acts 2:22, 10:38)

His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4)

His exaltation to the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3)

His bodily, personal return for His Church (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:1-15)

We believe that man was created good and upright. However, man sinned and thereby that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Romans 3:23, 6:23).

We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and a fresh start with God, we must repent of our sins, believe in Jesus, and commit to His will for our lives.

We believe in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together.

We are a Gospel obsessed family of Kingdom people who see generosity as our response and joy as our default. We carry the Name so our words matter, and the we is greater than me. All of us are compelled to create and seek encounter over entertainment because Jesus is over everything.

Read more about Who We Are below.

The whole story of the Gospel is responsible for the transformation of the world and all who inhabit it. From people, to families, to cities, to nations the gospel changes everything. Jesus didn’t just come to make us better, He came to bring us from death to life. Everything we do and say finds its anchor in the good news of Jesus’s rescue, redemption, and renewal of all things. 

We never graduate from this- and until Jesus returns we have never fully arrived. It invites and it sharpens. It’s news so good that we fully devote our lives to its counter formation practices: prayer, intimacy, worship, study, and community. This story has captured our hearts and it is a fire burning in our bones to share with the people in our lives.

Hebrews 4:12, John 1, John 10, Ephesians 4:20, John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Timothy 3:16-17 Jeremiah 20:9, Joshua 1:8

We believe church is more than an organization you join, it is a family in which you belong. Our family makes room for the outsider and anyone can belong here. We are brothers and sisters of a spiritual family where unity is sought and is a blessing. We walk with each other through thick and thin. We have distinct language and house rules. 

There is no junior version of the Holy Spirit. Our family is intergenerational. Everyone plays a role. We honor the past and champion the future. We cannot do all the ministry God is calling us to do without all the members of our family playing our role. There is nothing like the church. We give our whole lives to the family, root our lives here, and walk with each other through thick and thin. We are a family living lives on mission for our city and our world.

1 Corinthians 12:27, John 15: 15,16, Matthew 12:50, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Jesus is building His church around the world and we intend to join Him. The church is not just our building but is a beautiful mosaic of God’s gathered people around the world. We love people, and we want to be a church that makes an impact locally while we extend our reach globally. 

We will join the planting, revitalizing, and celebration of His church anywhere. Jesus had compassion for people that He came to save so we will see the cares of the world around us and consider it our joy to meet those needs while we share the good news. We long to see our church activated to establish spiritual, social, and cultural renewal in our city and world. We want to bring God’s kingdom and push back what is evil and dark- we are desperate for people to meet Jesus. There is sincere care here for the physical, spiritual, and mental needs of our community. We won’t wait for Jesus to return, we will arise and build with the Spirit.

Matthew 25:35-40, Acts 1:8, Matthew 6:5-15

Our God is not stingy, He does not hold back. He has poured out for us a generous amount of grace, forgiven generously, loved abundantly, never held back His kindness and beauty, freely we have received and so cheerfully we will give. When it comes to giving: percentages are not our standard, and obligation is the wrong approach. It is our overflowing response to give. 

We want to be a people who have open wallets, space in our calendars, and margin in our resources to do whatever God wants to do in a moment- even when the Spirit’s prompting is hilarious. God has gifted us and so we will steward our gifts to His glory. Generosity is not a complex emotion we muster, it is a simple response to who God has been to us.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 6:38, Matthew 10:8, Malachi 3:10, Acts 4:32

We have been saved by a loving God, forgiven of our sins, and empowered over the prince of darkness. Jesus has made us uniquely and gifted us with amazing gifts. He has placed us intentionally in this moment of history to be more than conquerors in His name. With all of these truths, how can we not be a people marked by deep unshakable joy? 

Not all of our days will be good, some will be sad and some will be hard but we will, in every season, choose joy. We will let the unshakable reality of Jesus remind our souls to be a joyous people who dance, sing, and shout for our amazing God.

Nehemiah 8:10

We are ambassadors of another Kingdom. Representatives of Christ Himself. Carriers of the image and the glory of God. What we do tells the story of who we are so we strive for excellence. 

From punctuality, to smiles. The way we clean, to the way we organize. We want to plan, execute and follow up with a spirit of excellence. We aren’t perfect but God deserves our best efforts so we refuse to do things halfway. We will always strive to do the best with what we have because He is worthy of it all.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Language is essential. With our words we create the world in which we live. We seek to create and shape our culture by using words and phrases that accurately reflect the people we want to be and the things we endeavor to do. Words have the power to heal and the power to destroy so we are quick to listen and slow to speak. 

The words we speak reveal what exists in our hearts. We will choose language that builds and encourages even when it corrects and admonishes. We have slogans, phrases, and a lexicon that fits us. We unapologetically use the language of our faith but we will always invite others in. Our language may be distinct but we never want it to preclude someone’s participation. So we are tactful, thoughtful, and timely with our voice.

Matthew 12:34, Philippians 4:8, Galatians 6:1,2, 2 Timothy 3:16,17, Proverbs 15:1, James 3:6-12

Jesus didn’t come to be served but to serve so we reflect His character. The story we are part of is greater than the role we play- Jesus is the hero so we happily know it is not about me. Me fragments and dilutes the story. We triumphs and makes us strong. Everyone has a role to play in the story to tell- we don’t all need to get credit for what we do because it is all for His glory. 

We support, we trust, we unite. When humility is our heart, our first response is to assume the best. We take ownership. We squash gossip. We know we won’t always get everything right so we will talk to the right people in the right way.

Psalm 133, Luke 14:10, 1 Corinthians 12, John 10:11, Luke 14:10, Mark 10:45, Matthew 10:28

We know that God is the most creative being ever, and we are made in His likeness and so we are compelled to create. We desire to tell and retell the beauty of God through spaces, songs, and stories. Parents, plumbers, paralegals- every vocation and calling is called to steward what God has given and create beauty in the chaos of this world. Since God is always doing something new there is always something new to create. 

Design acts as a bridge between the church and the world so it matters what we make. People will see us before they hear us. Our gatherings will be inviting, inspiring, compelling, and excellent. We want to be storytellers to share the stories God is doing in our house. Our community and our workplaces are empty canvases for redemptive imaginations to be unleashed.

Daniel 4:2, Genesis 1:27, Exodus 35:35

When we step into the building we are not here to consume, we are here to contribute. We know that he is worthy of our worship even if He never does another thing for us. He is worthy of our sacrifice and worship that costs nothing is worth nothing. The tangible presence and power of God is available to every person at every age so we cultivate environments and moments where He can be encountered. 

We refuse to sit back and spectate but choose to lean in and engage. We rise above distraction and preference because our appetite is for something out of this world. Every person is a catalyst to help raise our focus, set the tone, and call people around us into more..

1 Chronicles 16:9, 2 Samuel 6:21, Luke 7:36-50

He is preeminent and central to everything we do. He is unrivaled in history and eternity. His name is the only name that makes a way. The only name that saves. We don’t just want people in a church, we want people following whole-heartedly after Him. We really don’t want to be known for anything other than Him. By Him, to Him, for Him and through Him are all things and so this church belongs to Him. It’s not about a pastor, a person, a community- it’s all for Him. 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Colossians 1:18-20, Revelation 19:11-16, Romans 14:11

Our church was founded all the way back in 1978. From the beginning, this house has focused on being a life-giving, Christ-centered church in all that we do.

Pastor Kent Hummel, led our church for over 32 years and in January 2020, shifted his role to become our Pastor Emeritus. In that role, we are blessed to have him teach in many different environments through different parts of the Bible in practical, applicable, and life-changing ways- something he absolutely loves!

Austin Dyekman became GSC’s Lead Pastor at the beginning of 2020. Austin became a Christian the summer before his senior year at Mountain View High School where he and his wife, Katie, met and started getting the heart-eyes for each other. Austin started coming to this church following her but always says that “God grabbed him in the process!” 

We believe that God has called Good Shepherd to walk the thoughtful balance of the traditional Evangelical and Charismatic strengths. Our hope is that we would be formed into a people who love God with our whole selves, love our neighbors well, and go into the world to show other people the hope we have found in Jesus. 

Our invitation to you is that you would see this church as a family. Our family isn’t perfect, but we follow the One who is. We are a family that believes every person has both a talent and a mission. God did not make you to be a spectator, you are not just a person filling a seat on a Sunday. God made you to live with a purpose, to join in a family, and to impact the world around you!

You are a member of God’s very own family…and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. 

Ephesians 2:19 LB

Have a question about what we believe at Good Shepherd? Get in touch with a person on our lead team directly by clicking the button below.