OUR MISSION AND VALUES

Our mission is to multiply disciples and churches.

We don’t want to just gather a crowd or “do church.” We’re on mission to multiply disciples of Jesus – real people experiencing the life of Jesus and being changed by Him. As we do this, we trust Jesus to send out those disciples to multiply churches throughout Iowa and beyond. In this way, we dream of the life of Jesus spreading throughout the West End into pockets of people, into businesses and schools, into neighborhoods and networks. We envision people experiencing the life of Jesus as His light spreads throughout the West End.

We gather together on Sundays and scatter throughout our region in City Groups throughout the week.

 

 

GATHER | SUNDAYS

We gather on Sundays to celebrate Jesus, delight in his Word, worship Him together, and remember the Lord’s Supper and baptism. Our Sunday gatherings serve the broader mission of multiplying disciples and churches.  Citylight Kids is available for ages 8 weeks through 5th grade, offering age-appropriate discipleship, but children are always welcome to join us in our worship gatherings any Sunday!

SCATTER | CITY GROUPS

We scatter throughout the week in City Groups - the heart of our church. A City Group is a group of 8-16 people who meet weekly in homes throughout the city to “Follow Jesus Together in West Council Bluffs.” These groups are small enough to care for each other’s growth in Christ, but big enough to make a difference in the culture around them.

CORE VALUES

 

 

Gospel

The gospel is the good news that God came down to us in his Son, Jesus, to defeat sin and death and their effects in our world. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has initiated and accomplished what we never could. He has overcome the penalty and power of sin and brought us into intimate relationship with God the Father. The gospel is the power for personal salvation and transformation as well as the renewal of neighborhoods, cities, and nations.

Formation

We have all been formed into a certain kind of person. The gospel doesn't just to save us from hell, but forms us into the image of Jesus (Gal. 4:19).  The gospel isn't only the ABCs of following Jesus, but the A to Z - influencing every part of our lives and transforming us from the inside out to be more like Jesus. We're committed to being a church that challenges people to personal repentance and faith in Jesus for a changed and transformed life.

Community

The church is not a place but a people. It’s not just a weekly assembly of individuals, but a community committed to loving each other well and doing life together. Therefore we don't only invite people to discover a Savior to believe in, but also a family to belong to!  God is calling a people to Himself, building them into a family, and filling them with love for one another.

Mission

The church is God’s missionary agency, God's mission strategy to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ! Therefore, “missions” is not one ministry within our church, but the very DNA of our church. The same gospel that transforms us also sends us outward on mission. We exist as a church on mission to be “a city on a hill” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). We do this by orienting each of our City Groups around a shared mission – seeking to love, serve, and make disciples among neighborhoods and networks of people in Council Bluffs and the Southwest Iowa region.

OUR BELIEFS


 
 

The Citylight Family of Churches is made up of autonomous churches that share the same DNA, vision, and values. Like a family, each church is governed independently and has its own unique personality that fits its neighborhood, but is connected strategically and relationally with the other Family churches. We believe that God’s main mode of spreading the gospel is through the local church, and we have a vision to multiply disciples and churches across the Midwest and beyond.

 
 
 

Citylight West is honored to be a part of the C&MA. The C&MA is a missionary and church-planting movement that has a rich history of planting churches in the United States and all over the world. Pastor A.B. Simpson started the C&MA in 1887. Simpson had an evangelistic heart and helped his church in New York City reach out to the poor and homeless. The C&MA originally started as a missionary agency and later became a denomination. Currently, the C&MA has 500,000 people worshiping in 2,000 churches in 37 languages across the globe. Click here to see what we believe.