“Storied” is an adjective, and the essence of its meaning is “to celebrate a story.” We desire to be a church full of people who, individually and in community, celebrate our stories with Jesus. “Storied” isn’t the name of this church, its a quality we hope for all its people!

We believe that the local church should bring added value to the community in which it gathers together. We have partnered with The da Vinci Academy, located in the epicenter of Northgate in north Colorado Springs. Every 5th Sunday (there are normally 4 of them throughout the year) we break from the normal Sunday gathering routine to be the hands and feet of Jesus to da Vinci and the community surrounding it. Since this is still “worship,” it provides value to the lives of believers by bringing the goodness of the Kingdom of God to others — something Jesus did all the time.

As commanded by the Lord Jesus, the mission of the Church is to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:18-20). Our way of saying that is “to inspire people to celebrate their stories with Jesus where they live, labor, and leisure.” When we say “live, labor, and leisure” we mean that disciples of Jesus should be disciples in all areas of their lives: where they geographically live (in a home within a neighborhood located among a surrounding community), where they labor during the week (their place of occupation, which provides their income), and in the space they leisure (where a person spends their extra time and money). To be on mission in these three areas of life means to view them as uniquely strategic to God’s Kingdom plan and given to each follower of Jesus for the purpose of expanding God’s Kingdom. No two believers have the exact same influence in life — and that’s a good thing! When disciples of Jesus intentionally engage these three areas of influence “on mission,” they’re celebrating their lives with Jesus.

Storied’s logo is meant to give attention to a few things. The empty space in the middle signifies those people who do not know their stories matter to Jesus. They’ve never heard the good news of Jesus, so they’re not in a place to even wrestle with that truth. We call this stage in the journey of faith “Unknown.” The empty square signifies those people who have heard the good news about Jesus but haven’t yet owned it. We call this step in the journey of faith “Uncertain,” as the person is uncertain they believe their story matters to Jesus. Once someone believes their story matters to Jesus, a solid square, they have moved into the next step in their journey of faith — “Known.” The remaining pathway in one’s journey of faith with Jesus goes from “Known” (my story is known to Jesus) to “Certain” (I’m certain my story matters to Jesus) to “Inspired” (I want others to know their stories matter to Jesus) and then, hopefully, to “Storied” (I can celebrate my story with Jesus no matter the circumstances).