That Neighborhood Church is committed to its 3 core values to Love God, Love People, and Prove It. This includes the areas of marriage, gender, and sexuality. We understand a lot of public discourse is occurring regarding these topics. While all are welcome to attend TNC, we want to be clear about what God’s Word shares about these topics for those who consider themselves followers of Jesus. We desire to navigate these complex issues with a balance of truth and love, striving to uphold Biblical standards for followers of Jesus while engaging compassionately with those inside and outside our congregation.

 Gender and Sexuality

TNC believes that God created people as male and female and that this biological sex is an essential part of one's identity. We recognize the distinctions between gender dysphoria, affirmed gender, and assigned gender, acknowledging the complexities of modern cultural discussions but adhering to the Biblical interpretation of sex and gender. We understand that masculinity and femininity can vary across cultures but are ultimately rooted in biological sex. We encourage love for all individuals, regardless of gender identity, but distinguish this from the affirmation of gender choices not aligned with biological sex.

GENESIS 1:27-28; MATTHEW 19:4; MARK 10:6

 Marriage Definition and Sexual Conduct

The Bible defines marriage as a monogamous and lifelong union between one man and one woman. Starting in the book of Genesis, and confirmed by the teaching of Jesus, the purpose of marriage is for companionship, sexual expression, procreation, and as a symbol of the relationship between Jesus and his church. Any sexual activity, heterosexual or homosexual, outside of a heterosexual marriage framework is explicitly forbidden for followers of Jesus. We recognize and emphasize that while sexual sins are forgivable through Jesus Christ, the divine intention for marriage and sexual relations is to honor God.

GENESIS 2:24; MATTHEW 19:5-6; MARK 10:7-9; EPHESIANS 5:31-33; 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1-3; HEBREWS 13:4

 LGBTQ+ Issues and Church Participation

TNC warmly welcomes all individuals to attend services, partake in community events, and receive pastoral care, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other personal identifiers. TNC believes in the transformative power of fellowship and the Gospel, extending an open invitation to experience worship and community life. This inclusive approach to attendance underscores TNC's commitment to embodying a spirit of grace and compassion, reflecting Jesus Christ's love for every person.

 While TNC maintains a policy of open attendance, we also uphold specific biblical standards for those wishing to volunteer, engage in leadership positions, or become members. Participation in these capacities requires adherence to TNC's doctrinal beliefs, including those concerning marriage, sexual conduct, and gender identity, as interpreted from Scripture. This distinction ensures that the ministry's integrity and its teachings remain aligned with TNC's foundational biblical convictions. Those seeking to volunteer, participate in leadership, or become members are encouraged to engage in open dialogue with church leadership to understand these requirements fully.

 Supporting Scripture

 Genesis 2:24

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 

Matthew 19:4-6

4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” 5 And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ 6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

 Mark 10:6-9

6 But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

 Ephesians 5:21-33

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. 25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body. 31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. 8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust. 10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife. 12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

 Genesis 1:27-28

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. . .

 Hebrews 13:4

4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.