Our Vision & Values

A Worshipping Community; Equipping God’s People; Sharing Christ’s Healing with a Broken World

Our vision statement gives a sense of who we desire to be as a church. We often fall short, but it is our goal to take steps in this direction as our Lord Jesus forms us into the church he would have us be. Breaking that down, here is the kind of Church we desire to be:

A Worshipping Community…

Obedience to the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37) means that we are to Love God (Worship) and love our Neighbor (Community). We will seek increasingly to become the Worshipping Community God has called us to be by being:

Anglican: We embrace three streams of Anglican Faith & Worship: Evangelical, Catholic & Charismatic;

Hospitable: We intentionally welcome newcomers regardless of their understanding of the Christian Faith or lifestyle and in corporate worship seek ways to include and care for one another to make Ascension a community where all may belong;

Connected: We worship as a community gathered and value fellowship and celebration, supporting one another as sisters & brothers as we grow in our relationship with God;

Intergenerational: We value participation by all ages coming together in corporate worship and in our common life;

Artistic: We celebrate and incorporate beauty and excellence, blending a variety of artistic expressions in our corporate worship and common life.

Equipping God’s People…

We recognize a particular calling to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). In dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit, we will seek to do this by focusing on the following:

Scripture: We affirm God’s Word revealed through the Bible to be the foundation and standard for becoming disciples of Jesus;

All Ages: We will endeavor to provide excellent and appropriate teaching for people at all ages and stages of life;

Fruitfulness: We are committed to being faithful in mission and the multiplication of ministry entrusting fruitfulness to God.

Calling: We will equip people to discern and live out their callings and vocations;

Lay Ministry: We believe that every Christian is called to use his or her gifts for the building up of the body of Christ.

Sharing Christ’s Healing with a Broken World…

The Great Commission requires us to be proactive – “Go into all the world…” (Mt. 28:19). We recognize that God’s gifts of life and forgiveness and healing are to be shared with the world (Revelation 22:2). In humility, we will seek to do this by being a people committed to:

Missional Living: We will follow Jesus’ command to pray for, go out to, help and serve our families, friends and neighbors in and around Pittsburgh, our nation, and to the ends of the earth;

Transformation: We acknowledge our own brokenness and need for transformation and we will pray and work for all to come to know God’s transforming grace and love;

Wholeness: We will pray and work for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing and wholeness in ourselves and others;

Relationship: We will pray and work to foster authentic, grace-filled relationships with those to whom we minister and with those who partner with us in ministry;

Justice: We will pray and work for justice and mercy for the poor, the needy, the broken and the defenseless.