In light of all the division that’s going on in our country and our world, Compass Christian Church wants to stand for unity. In fact we’ve been praying for unity every day this month as a church body.

Our mission at Compass is to lead people to find and follow Jesus. In following Jesus, we see in the gospels how Jesus showed people who God was through his words and deeds. We read about how Jesus stands with those who have been marginalized and treated unjustly. Jesus also “lovingly confronts” every form of evil that he saw in the individual and social lives of people.

To this end, we as a church are led by the Spirit to respond in the way of Jesus to the issue of racism. Our church has a strong commitment to openly welcome people from all races and social backgrounds. We stand with our black brothers and sisters who have suffered and are suffering from the pain that comes from racism. We also condemn the evil of racism. In saying this, we are not linking or affiliating ourselves with any specific organization. As a church our focus is to bring people to Jesus.

We know that many have been led to organize peaceful protests in order to be heard and we certainly support this action. We are sad that some people have chosen the path of violence and looting in protest, which we do not support since this violates Jesus’ way of love and only perpetuates the cycle of hate and violence. Our church has always supported officers of the law as well as first responders who are committed to justice and those who put their lives on the line to protect and serve.

We recognize that our country’s institutions are not perfect and therefore possess elements within their systems and practices that have been responsible for the oppression of innocent people. We also recognize there are shameful elements of racism that have happened in church history as well. We pray for true repentance and just reform.

We don’t pretend to have all the answers, which is why we wanted to engage in honest conversation. It would be sad to lose this important moment and not use it as an opportunity to promote lasting change.

We are committing to prayer and also to listening well. Please join us for this crucial conversation on race and the church.

-The Compass Christian Church Leadership