NOVO (verb) - to make new

Our name is a powerful statement about the aim of our partnership with God’s work in the world—the redemption of people everywhere, starting right here in Santa Clarita. We long to see men, women, and children made new in the image of Jesus.

Have you ever dreamed of being a missionary?

As a kid we heard stories of people traveling to far-off places and living lives filled with purpose. And maybe for a moment, we dreamed that we could go.

We believe you don’t have to leave our city to live on mission. What if the “missions field” is not just a distant place? What if you could live a life on-mission and filled with purpose right here in our city, neighborhoods, workplace, and homes?

We believe that you can! And that Jesus’ command to make disciples is for everyone—including ordinary men and women of God like you and me.

So, what if ordinary Jesus’ followers—like you and me—started living like missionaries right here in Santa Clarita?

This city wouldn’t be the same. Together, we’d advance the Gospel Movement that Jesus’ began and see individuals, communities, and maybe our whole city transformed by the hope found in Jesus alone.

Looking around Santa Clarita, we can see the need. 

Every year more churches close than open. As much as 60% of our city has no interest in stepping inside the doors of a church. In the last 25 years, an estimated 40 million Americans left the church (source).

We need a movement of disciples who live on mission right here in Santa Clarita reaching those who might otherwise never hear the Good News of Jesus.

What happens in Southern California impacts the world.

This is true of Hollywood, but it's also true of Kingdom Impact. The nations of the world are represented here. Already, one of our gatherings that began in a living room in Santa Clarita resulted in multiplying disciples and groups in another nation.

In Santa Clarita, there is a significant potential for a transformational ripple effect. There is not only a need in our city, but also the potential for what God does in our city to ripple out and impact other cities, states and even nations. We believe that if we see a disciple-making movement begin in Santa Clarita, it will multiply around the world.

OUR DISTINCTIVES

  • The Kingdom of God is greater than any individual local church, denomination, or network. As a local missions team we strive to prioritize building the Kingdom over building our castles/brand.

  • Rather then focusing our efforts on the ministry that a few staff or clergy do, leaving much of the church on the sidelines as consumers or spectators, we emphasize releasing every believer as a disciple-maker who can use their spiritual gifts for disciple-making.

  • We work towards multiplication on every level; disciples of Jesus, churches, collectives, and networks (hubs).

  • We affirm microchurch as the most basic expression of the church and therefore, our ecclesiology is simple. When believers work together in sincere worship and genuine community to accomplish a part of the mission of God, they are the church. Worship, community and mission then are the ecclesial minimum. We encourage biblically appointed leadership, sacramental worship, the pursuit of the gifts of the Spirit and giving, but these are desired and not required to be considered a microchurch. We believe that these churches also benefit greatly from the larger network, leadership and resources of a city wide church to strengthen, empower and help direct the microchurch expression.

  • We will remember the poor because we believe that God does. We believe that they are central to his mission in the world. For that reason we believe the church should also stand on the side of the poor, and in so doing stand in solidarity with the heart and work of God. Jesus’ own ministry is our model. We welcome all people but prioritize the poor in our ministry concern, allocation of resources and advocacy. We do this, not because the rich and middle class are less important to God but because they already have access to resources and are able to advocate their own cause. It is our belief that the church should therefore prioritize and remember those who have less, and access to less, so that in all things there might be equality.

NOVO SCV is a band of creative missionaries sent to Santa Clarita in order to multiply movements of the gospel and mobilize the church for that mission.

OUR MISSION

Our vision is to see 10,000 MICRO-CHURCHES in Southern California, and to see those micro-churches impact the world!

OUR VISION

Gospel Movement

As we look to advance movements of the Gospel, we focus our energy in five keys areas. These are simply five observations from scripture and from movements around the world. They are common threads that we see in disciple-making movements all around the globe.

  • Prayer pervades every aspect of a movement. It is also critical in laying the foundation and creating the conditions for a movement to launch and thrive.

  • Engaging culture means wisely undertaking an array of cultivating activities and actions—all of intrinsic Kingdom value in and of themselves—which serve as powerful “bridges of God” into the cultural context for the good news of Jesus to take root and spread. Such engagement means meeting the felt needs of people in the name and power of Jesus. It means discerning where the Spirit of God is uniquely active, people are receptive, and responding appropriately.

  • Every gospel movement has, at its core, effective tools and processes to help people far from God become committed followers of Jesus and then make disciples of others. Such multiplication is at the heart of our understanding of discipleship and spiritual growth.

    While the history of the Church contains many evangelism and discipleship models, we favor a highly effective “discovery process” which does not rely on experts, is organic, and is easily reproduced regardless of setting or culture.

  • Unless leaders are developed intentionally, from within the movement itself, it will inevitably collapse under the weight of its own success. Such movement leaders will exhibit a wide array of gifting, but all are necessary to guide and build ministry momentum that will go far beyond themselves. It is imperative that these leaders know how to identify new leaders and how to appropriately coach, mentor, and launch them into ministry.

  • History shows that for every successful gospel movement, there are two essential structures of the Church that work synergistically and in partnership: the missionary and the local.

    As NOVO Santa Clarita is seeing new disciples made, it is critical that we see new local churches emerge and multiply. This is why the functions of a healthy church are ingrained in how we make disciples from the very beginning.

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