In Isaiah 7:14 God prophesied that a "virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (God is with us). In John 1:14 the disciple whom Jesus loved tells us, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Father, full of grace and truth." The gospel is relational in nature and therefore at the portico we see relationships as central to who we are and what we do. Rather than pursuing event driven ministry that often calls people to a central location and that can tend to encourage people to remain anonymous, we endeavor to decentralize the ministry of the portico so that we can better relationally engage our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and fellow students. To that end we see life together as the primary vehicle for discipleship and evangelism in our community and in our world.
Spiritual growth and maturity must be the goal of every true follower of Jesus. The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." We believe that God-pleasing worship stems from a right understanding of who God declares Himself to be in scripture. We also believe that as followers we must devote ourselves to the process of intentional learning in order to be more fully prepared to effectively live out and share the good news of Jesus.
Saint Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel--if necessary, use words." Through our selfless service to individuals and institutions, we preach the gospel of Christ in tangible ways. In service we find the humility and "death to self" which Jesus has told us is a proof of our discipleship. Through service we find an amazing opportunity to build relationships with others who are in need. Our value is to continually be seeking to meet the physical and relational needs of people in our community so that we can minister to their spiritual needs as well.
