Why name the church Imago Dei?

The Image of God in Hebrew (צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים‎; tzelem elohim) literally means "image of God", this often appears in Latin as Imago Dei. We named our church Imago Dei Community Church to reflect our theological convictions. All people have an inherit value, for which all people are designed to behold and reflect God’s glory. Yet in man’s sin, the image of God has been “Defaced, but not Erased.” Therefore all people deserve dignity and respect.

Implications for the Church & Culture

#1 Encourages the church to love our culture: Imago Dei reflects a theological framework that encourages diversity within the relationships of church and our culture, regardless, ethnicity, economics, education, political or religious views etc. If all people are made in his image, then all people deserve dignity and respect, do they not?

#2 Educates believers of their covenant relationship: Understanding that we are made in God’s image and invited into a covenant relationship with Him through his son, teaches us that we have significant worth as his child, his creation, the church.

#3 Empowers the church to be about the kingdom: As stated in Gen 1:26, Man was created to rule, and reign, declaring and demonstrating His righteousness throughout the earth. Understanding ones identity and role will lead to fulfilling the churches mission, to expand the kingdom for all people, in all places at all times.

This is why we named the church Imago Dei Community Church.

The Cross of Christ & His accomplishments for those who believe

1. Provided us with power over demonic forces of evil (Col 2:15; Jn 12:31).
2. Removed the sins of those in the past (Ac 17:30; Ro 3:25).
3. Cleansed us from our sin (1 Jn 1:7).
4. Freed us from the Law we couldn’t keep (Ro 10:4; Col 2:14).
5. Gave us a sacrificial example to follow (Ro 6:11).
6. Provides a propitiation for us to God (1 John 2:2; 4:10)
7. Grants us reconciliation to God (2 Co 5:19).
8. Provides us with the redemption from our sin (1 Co 6:19–20)
9. Allowed for a substitution for our sin (Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45)

5 Reasons to Church Plant in Phoenix!

I am in Sky Harbor Airport waiting on my flight back to Dallas. I was invited by Mark DeYmaz, (pastor, author, speaker for multi-ethnic church) to a conference here in Phoenix. My time in the city and with Mark was invaluable.

After much prayer and counsel we think Phoenix would be a great location to church plant. Here are 5 reasons:

#1 Need: churches here are homogenous and seeker sensitive for the most part. People are segregated, crime is rampant, population growth presents a need for new churches and communities. There is in addition many lost, liberals and New Agers in this area of our country. It also has a large international community in the city, providing the church with a high potential to equip and send other Spanish speaking people overseas. We want to provide a multi-ethnic missional church that holds to doctrine, and biblical books in teaching.

#2 Personal Passion: My wife and I have an awakened passion and increasing zeal for this city and community. Large urban centers like Phoenix typically have small diverse Christian communities if at all. Many churches move out to the suburbs and cities are left w/o churches. We have a passion to minister to broad spectrum of people in and around these urban centers.

#3 Size/stats: It's the 5th largest city in the US. It's one of the fastest growing gateway international cities in the US. Greater Phoenix area is around 5-6 million and has 23 cities/towns in the metro area. Between 2000 and 2006 the international population grew from 656,183 to 929,083.

#4 Location: Geographically it's outside of the Bible Belt. It is in a region in which social conservative evangelical Protestantism is not the dominant influence of the culture. It's south and it's west, our two favorite parts of the country. AZ has tons of outdoor activity, which has always been a big part of my life and something I want to give back to my wife and kids.

#5 Collective Confirmation: After much despair and unrest in pursuing Madrid, we found ourselves being invited to explore Phoenix as an option. A few months ago I asked Mark DeYmaz at a conference in Dallas what city in the US had the greatest need for a missional, multi-ethnic church? Phoenix has instant response. Later that week I called Steve Snider (President of Fellowship Associates church planters group) and asked the same question. Without hesitation he said Phoenix as well! From my friends overseas to my family, to the local community in Phoenix it has been a collective confirmation of many that has led us to believe we would do well to pursue church planting in AZ.