Vision & Values

Our Vision

Encountering Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did, so that Northern Colorado looks more like heaven.

Our Values

Jesus is the central figure in history and in all we do. We believe Jesus is the unrivaled King over all creation, gave His life to redeem the world, and provides hope for all humanity. Jesus rose from the dead and brings us to life. He deserves wholehearted devotion, so we worship passionately, sacrifice willingly, love unconditionally, and invite unashamedly. We are radically committed to knowing Jesus, following the way of Jesus, and becoming like Jesus. We don’t want to be identified by any other name. We are a JESUS church!

We don’t just have a vision for our church to flourish; we have a vision for Northern Colorado to flourish. Our church’s mission is part of God’s grand mission to renew the whole world. We are passionate about loving our neighbors, serving the marginalized, and caring for the hurting. We will leverage our resources, give our time, and push past our comfort zones to see the lost found and heaven touch earth.

Church is more than a building you enter or a service you attend; it is a family to which you belong. Families work best when everyone participates, so we contribute toward the common good and resist radical individualism. Relationships are a necessary component of our spiritual formation, but they can be messy, so we commit to working things out, forgiving one another, and fighting for unity. We embrace honesty, stay mindful that transformation is a process, and extend grace and compassion toward ourselves and others.

We are recipients of the greatest gift the world has ever known…the extravagant love of God expressed in Jesus. When we experience this, we cannot help but respond in kind. Generosity is about everything. We go the extra mile, faithfully give financially, practice hospitality, have a generous orthodoxy, assume the best, and love with abandon. Generosity isn’t simply something we do; it is who we are.

We are passionate about going the distance, enjoying the journey, and living at the speed of love. We believe that work and rest are God’s ideas, so we work hard and rest well. We embrace our limits, laugh a lot, and trust God’s timing and provision. Sabbath is resistance, recreation is restorative, and health matters.

We see all of life as spiritual, so we value beauty and pay attention to the small things. Design and environment communicate, so we are intentional to create warm, welcoming, hospitable spaces that facilitate encounters with God and others. Language shapes imagination, so we are mindful of how words invite or repel. Everyone is uniquely created, so we delight in the particularities of each person with whom we interact.

We aren’t interested in what we can do in our own strength when we are connected to the power that raised Jesus from the dead. As our helper, comforter, counselor, and friend, the Holy Spirit is the transforming power for us to become who we are designed to become, and to do all we are created to do. We pray often, listen expectantly, relinquish independence, serve others, and partner with the Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfill the mission of God.

Our Story

In 2010, God began to deposit the dream of planting a life-giving, Jesus-centered church in the hearts of Aaron and Jossie Stern. Confirmation after confirmation led them to move their family from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.

Since our first Sunday in February of 2012, we have seen God grow Mill City from a small team of people to a spiritually vibrant, emotionally healthy, theologically rooted, and missionally oriented community of people.

We are a Jesus church, focused on what unites us and driven to carry His name to Northern Colorado and beyond.

⸻ THE STORY SO FAR ⸻

Our Story

In 2010, God began to deposit the dream of planting a life-giving, Jesus-centered church in the hearts of Aaron and Jossie Stern. Confirmation after confirmation led them to move their family from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.

Since our first Sunday in February of 2012, we have seen God grow Mill City from a small team of people to a spiritually vibrant, emotionally healthy, theologically rooted, and missionally oriented community of people.

We are a Jesus church, focused on what unites us and driven to carry His name to Northern Colorado and beyond.

Our Beliefs

Our beliefs are summarized in The Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed for us is the clearest, most unifying, and concise statement of historic Christian orthodoxy.  It is the baseline ‘story’ that summarizes the essence of Christian teaching and has been used for Christian instruction and worship since the very earliest days of the Church. This is the story we seek to live by as a community while also encouraging lively dialogue along the way about other matters of belief and practice.

We believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

We unpack these beliefs in the following ways.

We believe in one God who exists in three distinct equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the creator of the universe, never changing, eternal, all-powerful, and unending in love. (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 3:16-17; 1 John 5:7-8)

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, became flesh to reveal God to humanity and rescue the world from evil. He, being fully God yet fully man, is the only person to live a sinless life. He was born of a virgin and took the weight of sin and evil in the world on the cross so mankind could be free from the penalty of sin and creation would be redeemed. According to the Scriptures, He rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18; John 1:1, 14; 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:15)

We believe that the Holy Spirit was given, after Jesus ascended into heaven, to edify and empower every individual believer and the Church collectively to accomplish God’s purposes in the world. The Holy Spirit is alive and active today. (Acts 1:5, 8; Ephesians 3:16)

We believe the entire Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. It, alone, is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. (Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe that man and woman were created in the image of God in perfect fellowship with Him, but became alienated from that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, humankind is totally incapable of coming back into a right relationship with God by his own effort. (Genesis 1:26, Romans 3:23)

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is a free gift and occurs when a person repents and places their faith in Jesus as the sufficient payment for sin. (Luke 24:46-47; John 1:29; Acts 3:19; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:7-9; Revelation 5:9)

We believe that every Christian is to live for Jesus and not for themselves to be examples of the love of God in the world. By devotion to the way of Jesus, obedience to the Bible, participation in a community of faith, and daily yielding to the Holy Spirit, every believer matures and becomes conformed to the image of Christ. (Matthew 16:24; John 14:23; Galatians 5:25; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 10:23-25)

We believe that the church is the family of God on the earth. Those who have trusted, by faith, the finished work of Christ are adopted into the family. The church is to partner with God in bringing about His purposes of hope, redemption, and grace in the world. (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23)

We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of believers, the reality of heaven and hell, the final judgment, and all things being made right in the new heaven and the new earth. Only the Father knows the time of Jesus’ return. (Matthew 24:30, 36; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 21:1-2)

Our beliefs are summarized in The Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed for us is the clearest, most unifying, and concise statement of historic Christian orthodoxy.  It is the baseline ‘story’ that summarizes the essence of Christian teaching and has been used for Christian instruction and worship since the very earliest days of the Church. This is the story we seek to live by as a community while also encouraging lively dialogue along the way about other matters of belief and practice.

  • We believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
  • We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
  • He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
  • He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
  • He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.
  • He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
  • He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
  • We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

We unpack these beliefs in the following ways.

We believe in one God who exists in three distinct equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the creator of the universe, never changing, eternal, all-powerful, and unending in love. (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 3:16-17; 1 John 5:7-8)

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, became flesh to reveal God to humanity and rescue the world from evil. He, being fully God yet fully man, is the only person to live a sinless life. He was born of a virgin and took the weight of sin and evil in the world on the cross so mankind could be free from the penalty of sin and creation would be redeemed. According to the Scriptures, He rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18; John 1:1, 14; 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:15)

We believe that the Holy Spirit was given, after Jesus ascended into heaven, to edify and empower every individual believer and the Church collectively to accomplish God’s purposes in the world. The Holy Spirit is alive and active today. (Acts 1:5, 8; Ephesians 3:16)

We believe the entire Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. It, alone, is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. (Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe that man and woman were created in the image of God in perfect fellowship with Him, but became alienated from that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, humankind is totally incapable of coming back into a right relationship with God by his own effort. (Genesis 1:26, Romans 3:23)

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is a free gift and occurs when a person repents and places their faith in Jesus as the sufficient payment for sin. (Luke 24:46-47; John 1:29; Acts 3:19; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:7-9; Revelation 5:9)

We believe that every Christian is to live for Jesus and not for themselves to be examples of the love of God in the world. By devotion to the way of Jesus, obedience to the Bible, participation in a community of faith, and daily yielding to the Holy Spirit, every believer matures and becomes conformed to the image of Christ. (Matthew 16:24; John 14:23; Galatians 5:25; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 10:23-25)

We believe that the church is the family of God on the earth. Those who have trusted, by faith, the finished work of Christ are adopted into the family. The church is to partner with God in bringing about His purposes of hope, redemption, and grace in the world. (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23)

We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of believers, the reality of heaven and hell, the final judgment, and all things being made right in the new heaven and the new earth. Only the Father knows the time of Jesus’ return. (Matthew 24:30, 36; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 21:1-2)

Our Team

⸻ OUR PASTORS ⸻

Aaron + Jossie Stern

Our Pastors

Aaron + Jossie Stern

Aaron and Jossie have been leaders in the local church for more than 20 years. Before planting Mill City, Aaron was the pastor of a college/20-somethings ministry in Colorado Springs. He has an undergraduate degree in business and a graduate degree in theology from Oral Roberts University. He is the author of What’s Your Secret? Freedom Through Confession. Jossie is a licensed professional counselor, has her undergraduate degree in communications, and a Masters in counseling. They have four boys and a passion for Northern Colorado to experience the life and hope found in Jesus.

MEET THE TEAM