We know that people who are thinking about visiting a church often “pre-qualify” their visit by reviewing the church website. This is convenient and safe for visitors. But it also fails to recognize that all theology (the thinking we do about God and humanity’s relationship to God) is done in community.  Our experience is that matters of faith and practice are best discussed with the accountability of face-to-face conversation and under the banner of mutual care. So, we don’t make many blanket statements online. We encourage you to get to know us in person.

Even so, we understand that there are certain topics that hold great weight. It’s not fair or loving to set up a situation where someone attends a new church for weeks building relationships before discovering that the church has a position or policy that is directly hurtful to them. As an expression of care, we’ve decided to share official statements on three topics.

Please understand that these statements are not comprehensive, do not reflect the full range of study and conversation that Bridge City has done on these subjects, and will not be presented as a Bible study. Many resources are available if you want to look into these positions for yourself. Also understand that even with these statements, members and participants of Bridge City hold a range of views, while agreeing to support these positions in the life of our church.

Without qualification, we accept full participation of women in ministry and leadership at every level, trusting the Spirit to equip and call. This is a tangible expression of our belief in the equality of all people before God.

We believe that every person is made in the image of God, imbued with dignity, and worthy of love. This encompasses all people of every distinction. At certain crucial moments, as an act of Gospel reconciliation and justice, it becomes necessary for the church to publicly stand beside and declare the dignity of people of a particular distinction, making plain the open invitation of Christ with hospitality and welcome. Thus, it seems both needful and God-honoring to make clear that this dignity and hospitality extends to every person in the LGBTQ community. We believe that the best way for a congregation to express this is to make clear that these people are welcome and wanted in our church family, and that this includes full participation as members, able to serve in ministry and participate in the sacraments.

For a more complete statement including answers to clarifying questions and suggested resources for further study, click here.

We won’t be preaching sermons suggesting that all good Christians should vote for a certain candidate, but we do think politics matter. Christians are instructed to love their neighbor as themselves, following the other-centered co-suffering way of Jesus. This certainly includes all our interpersonal interactions. But it also must include our political perspectives and choices.  Politics is an imperfect human institution fraught with risk and yet it is also the means by which we love our neighbor in the public square. For example, it is loving to provide people who use wheelchairs with accessible sidewalks, but this is something no individual Christian or even church congregation can do. Loving our neighbor in this way requires participation in politics. So, from time to time we discuss the political implications of our study of scripture and our understanding of how Jesus is leading us. When it comes to specific elections, we encourage each other to vote according to our conscience, as led by our understanding of Jesus’ other-centered co-suffering love.