One of the Greek words for hospitality is "Philoxenia." It is a combination of two words that our society might tell us are in tension. The first word "Philo" is the general word for love or affection for people who are connected. "Xenea" is the word for stranger or those society considers “outside”. Ultimately hospitality is about welcome. Christian hospitality is about welcoming all - especially those that society has marginalized or devalued. In this vision of radical Christian inclusion there is an implicit desire to learn and receive from the stories of everyone. In ancient times hospitality included the protection of the guest. When one family would show hospitality the entire community was bound to protect them as well. The idea of community is embedded in hospitality but the tent of hospitality widens our understanding of what we mean when we talk about community. Hospitality acknowledges divine connection and incorporates an inclusive invitation so that our understanding of community is protected from the tendency to become insular.

There is something non-traditional and courageous about Newstory. We refuse to allow norms to define us. We are not afraid to wrestle with hard questions. We have no fear in bbq’ing sacred cows. Our faith in God gives us strength to take risks. We understand that tension, conflict, and pain are part of life and we become more like God when we move towards these things head on rather than avoiding them. There is a tendency in our world to worship comfort - grit is the opposite of that. We have the capacity to embrace the uncomfortable...do to hard things...because we know that on the other side we will have become a little more like Jesus.

For Newstory, valuing diversity is so much more than simply being diverse. This is an important distinction because there are many churches and organizations who appear what some might call diverse, but do not actually value diversity. To value diversity is to value all the complexities and challenges that come with doing life in a heterogenous environment. It means not only are we diverse but we see diversity as an advantage because of who we are becoming when we are forced to face the challenges and rewards of living in a diverse community, submitting to one another, learning to be active listeners, and growing in our ability to understand each other.

One of the fundamental characteristics that sets human beings apart from the rest of creation is our need for justice. At NewStory, we share a passion for justice. We believe that God loves justice and invites us to participate in the restorative work of "doing justice." We live in the world as it is and acknowledge the brokenness, violence, and injustice all around us. Meanwhile, we are sustained by a relentless hope and vision for the way the world will be the world God is reconciling and remaking... and we are committed to work together to bring that world into being. Our love for justice motivates and informs our theology, how we relate to each other, what we talk about, how we worship together, how we invest our resources, and more. We are a church composed of people who dedicate our lives - as individuals and a collective - to serving those in need, challenging the status quo, and working to bring about the Kingdom of God in the here and now.

Just because we recognize and celebrate our differences, we must find a way to unite around a common faith, hope, and sense of justice. Mandela challenged that we must “Place human solidarity, the concern for the other, at the center of the values by which you live." At newStory, we believe our strength and impact is found in our ability to join together, to care for one another deeply, and to walk alongside each other. This is only possible when we channel “agape" love, which is unconditional and sacrificial. In doing so we are able to practice solidarity and witness the miraculous in synergistic work of God. We live out the final prayer of Jesus, “That they may all be one, just as you, father, are in me, and I and you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”