Vision: What we hope to be in Madison...
Resurrection Presbyterian Church of Madison is a community that is finding life through the gospel of Jesus in order to love God and neighbor and bless our city.
Life through the gospel
St. Augustine prayed in the 4th century, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Christians have long believed that human beings were created by and for God, and therefore any life that we create for ourselves apart from him is not truly life and therefore restless. Deep down we long to know and be known by our Creator and Redeemer, the One for whom we were made. The vision of Resurrection Presbyterian Church is that we would be a community of people who are seeking and finding that which is truly life, which comes to us through the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ.
To love god and neighbor
Augustine again writes, "So anyone who thinks that he has understood the divine scriptures or any part of them, but cannot by his understanding build up this double love of God and neighbor, has not yet succeeded in understanding them." As we are finding life through the gospel, it will inevitably lead us toward the double love of God and neighbor. Our vision is for a people who are known first and foremost by our love—for God, for our neighbors, for our city—as evidence of the gospel's work in us.
and bless our city
Early on, God established the mission of his people on earth, and this mission defines the church today. We are blessed in order to be a blessing to the world (Genesis 12:1-3). Our vision is for the city of Madison to rejoice that Resurrection Presbyterian Church exists because we are seeking to bless our city in profound ways.
About our name and logo
We are named Resurrection because the resurrection of Jesus is so central to the Christian story. The Apostle Paul calls the resurrection "of first importance" (1 Corinthians 15:3), and says that if Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). But if Jesus is risen from the dead, then there is hope for everyone and everything.
Our logo is an adaptation of the cross of Saint Thomas, who is well-known for being a doubter, a skeptic, who is transformed by the resurrected Jesus. Our hope is that doubters and skeptics in Madison will find a place at Resurrection where their questions are taken seriously, where they can safely explore the story of Jesus, and perhaps meet the risen Jesus and confess with Thomas, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). The dove on top of the cross is a picture of the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, who brings life out of death, pictured through the blossoming ends of the cross.