The ultimate goal of Inland Hills Church's mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. But what does that mean? 

At Inland Hills Church, we have six key ideas that encapsulate the characteristics of a Christ-follower. If your life exhibits these six qualities, you’re living the life of purpose and meaning that God intends for all of us.


Grace
Grace is the beginning—the basis for our relationship with God. Grace is God’s gift to us; it’s the only way that we can enter into a faith-relationship with Jesus. God extends grace to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. When we accept God’s grace in faith, making Jesus our leader and forgiver, our relationship with Him begins.

But grace isn’t just about the past. As we grow spiritually, we realize that we live in grace day by day, receiving God’s grace and extending it to others.

An authentic follower of Christ has accepted God’s grace and is living a life marked by grace. If you haven’t taken this important first step and want to learn more about what it means to make Jesus your leader and forgiver, we’d love to talk with you. Email us or call the church office at 909.393.1577. You can find more information on our website, too. Just click here.

“God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (New Living Translation)


Growth
Becoming a Christ-follower is just the beginning. As with all new living things, we need to foster their development and help them flourish. The same is true for our relationship with God.

Growing is less about trying harder and more about training better. Our spiritual “muscles” grow over time as we learn to apply what God is teaching us, particularly during hard times when we have to lean on God and others more.

An authentic follower of Christ is growing in their faith and becoming more like Jesus. There are many ways to grow, including attending weekend services, being part of a small group, and experiencing individual spiritual practices like Bible study, meditation, and prayer. These ways to grow aren’t an end in themselves, however. A growing Christian is always growing in their capacity to love God and others.

“Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”
Ephesians 4:14-15 (New Living Translation)


Groups
Becoming an authentic follower of Christ can’t happen alone. God calls us to be in community, to live relationally, and to minister and be ministered to. That’s why small groups are so important.

At IHC, we believe that life change happens best in small groups. That’s where we rub shoulders with others who are also growing in grace and Christlikeness. We can learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences and from the joys and struggles of being in real relationships with real people.

An authentic follower of Christ is meeting together and sharing life together regularly with other Christians. Large settings like our weekend services just don’t provide the context for personal connection that God intends for us. That’s why we offer a large variety of small groups. One is sure to fit your needs and your schedule. To find one, click here.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”
Hebrews 10:24-25 (New International Version)


Gifts
If you’ve experienced God’s grace by accepting Jesus as your leader and forgiver, then you’ve received at least one spiritual gift, too!

The Bible tells us that God gives His children spiritual gifts when they enter into a relationship with Him. He also created us with a unique set of talents, abilities, and passions. When you put all that together with our life experiences, you’ve been specially equipped for a life of service in God’s Kingdom. God designed you and gave you spiritual gifts so that you can bless others with them and serve Him.

An authentic follower of Christ is serving God and others with their gifts, talents, abilities, and passion. One key way to use your particular design is to volunteer in one of the many ministries we have at IHC. If you don’t know what your place of service is yet, you can “try on” different areas to serve in the church to discover your giftedness. Interested in more information or putting your gift to use? Email us!

“Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.”
1 Peter 4:10 (New International Version)


Giving
Giving can be an uncomfortable subject, especially when we talk about it in church. The reality is that giving is less about IHC’s needs and more about our heart attitude.

God uses giving as a way to measure where our true devotions lie. Because everything we have is a gift from God, God asks us to put everything we hold dear under his authority and leadership.

An authentic follower of Christ is honoring God by giving financially to the work of the local church with a joyful heart. This shows that God has first place in our hearts and that we trust Him to meet our needs. At IHC, we use the historic measure of a tithe (“one tenth”) as a goal to meet or even exceed in giving.

“Really, it is not that I want to receive gifts from you, but I want you to have the good that comes from giving.”
Philippians 4:17 (Easy-to-Read Version)


Going
It’s easy to think that once we’ve experienced God’s grace, are growing in our faith, participating in group life, using our gifts to serve others, and giving financially to the work of the church, our work is done. But God expects something more. He wants us to invite others into experiencing a relationship with Him just like we have. He wants us to tell others the Good News of God’s grace.

An authentic follower of Christ realizes that God perfectly positions them in others’ lives to share God’s life-changing message of hope. Going isn’t about being inconsiderate, rude, or forceful. Basically, going just means telling our story and offering that same hope to others. It’s like having the cure to a fatal illness: if you were dying, wouldn’t you want the person with the cure to share it with you? And that’s the point: God knows that everyone has a heart sickness called sin. In the message of Jesus Christ, we have the cure!

“Jesus heard about it and spoke up, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”
Luke 5:31-32 (The Message)