Out of the eternal, ever-existent, shared love within the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — God created humanity in his image to participate in this relationship of love.
Discontent to be merely images of God, humans sought to become gods themselves. This brought disruption, which we call sin, to every area of human life, crippling our relationships to God, one another, and the rest of creation. No amount of self-improvement, spiritual exertion, or “progress” could save us. We were utterly hopeless and lost...
But God had a plan. Beginning with a man named Abram, God made a promise and established a new family through which God himself would one day enter creation - bringing our much needed salvation from the outside in. Jesus lived the life we were supposed to live and died the death we were supposed to die so that all who would turn to him in repentance and faith could receive forgiveness of sin and new life. Then, proving victorious over sin, death and the devil, he rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven to be with his Father.
Next, God poured out his Holy Spirit to empower individuals to live in fruitful Christ-likeness, and unite believers into the community we call the church, which exists to partner with Jesus in his work of redeeming, restoring, and reconciling all things to God in all sorts of worshipful and missional ways until Jesus returns, ushering in God’s kingdom in all its fullness and glory.