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Our Hopes
On one level our hopes are pretty basic: We want God's Kingdom to come here--in our lives and in our town/region--as it already has in heaven. Only God can initiate this reality, but we can participate in what He is doing. At OCV we find that it's helpful to think about our participation in God's mission by thinking in terms of the Great Commandment--love God with everything and love our neighbors as ourselves. In short, we hope we can be a community that demonstrates the goodness of God's Kingdom by reaching up to God and reaching out others.
​Reaching Up
Everything starts with God. Through Jesus, God reached down so that we could reach up and encounter the God who formed us and formed all creation. At OCV we hope that everyone who comes through our doors on a Sunday morning or attends a small group or an outreach senses the presence of God and has a chance to either enter into a relationship with Him or deepen the relationship they already have. God invites us all to know him intimately as our savior and as our friend. We don't want anyone to miss out on this opportunity!
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Reaching Out
Christ in us gives us hope that we can then take to our neighbors. We hope that our neighbors sense love and a taste of the Kingdom of God in us. We hope we never get tired of looking and working for the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God in our world. What does this look like? It looks like the goodness of God flowing into our lives and reconciling us with Him and with each other. It looks like God's beauty, truth, and goodness becoming more and more recognizable in our town. It looks like art. It looks like humility. It looks like healing. It looks like joy. It looks like freedom, forgiveness, and faithfulness. It looks like the cross and the empty tomb.