This is to address some of the questions you might have about us, or at least, if we were you, the questions we'd have.

Are you a church?

It depends on what you mean by "church". We're not trying to be coy, but we are sensitive about language and what we are communicating. If by "church" you mean a winsome band of mostly Jesus-followers, gathering together to encourage one another, connect with God, and bless the world around them...then yes, we're totally that. (Or at least we aspire to be on our best days. Nobody's perfect.) But if "church" means pipe organs, gender inequality, a disdain for science, or a propensity to try to tell you how to think, then it's not a good description for what we're doing (though we honestly have nothing against pipe organs!). That's why we often opt for calling ourselves a "Community of Faith", because, honestly, we are.

Are you Christian?

Similar to "church", "Christian" can be a loaded word, meaning different things to different people. We try to follow Jesus. We believe Him to be the most clear picture of God we've seen in this life. By and large we seek not only to follow His teachings, as communicated through the stories in the Bible, but to live in connection with Him.  We try to cultivate interactive relationships with Jesus so that we may be continually transformed by Him and made to be more like Him.  Our hope in this is that, we, like He, can bring fullness of life to the world we inhabit. We welcome the religious, the non-religious, the agnostic, and the skeptical-but-curious to come along for the ride and be a part of this search for meaning that we find Jesus so helpful for.  Call that what you will.

SO You're a Faith "start-up"?  What is that?

It's really not that different from a tech start-up, but in this case we're channeling our entrepreneurial energies toward furthering a spiritual revolution, rather than a digital one. Right now we're in the early phases of community life, and are looking for folks to partner with who find the idea of building something new as important and exciting as we do.

Are you a part of a denomination or anything?

We are not currently part of any formal denomination or larger organization, but we are networked with other like-minded people of faith who are also seeking to innovate in their practices.  Like us, these folks tend to enjoy living and pursuing Jesus in largely secular, highly-educated areas (like college towns).  

What do you have for kids?

Families with kids have always been an important component of Haven, as our lead pastor initially gathered folks while also being the primary caregiver of three kids under age ten.  So, though we are small, we are eager to incorporate our kids into what we are doing, and, as we grow, to make sure Haven is a place that provides a home for all of us, youngest to oldest, and allows all of us to connect with Jesus.

Haven Kids meets in a dedicated classroom during our Sunday service and is for children ages 3-10. Children begin the service with the adults and then are dismissed to begin Haven kids before the morning teachings. Later, children are brought by their teachers back into the service during the last few minutes of musical worship, around 11:50.  Haven Kids uses Godly Play, a Montessori-based children's church curriculum of storytelling and reflection and is staffed by a combination of parent volunteers and paid childcare workers. 

Haven Youth meets in a dedicated classroom during Sunday services. It is for children 10 and older. The tweens begin the service with the adults, and are dismissed after worship. They are accompanied by the youth teacher to their room where they study the Bible, do arts and crafts, and engage in community building. They return with their teacher to the main service near the end of the service. Haven Youth does Bible study, following the lectionary used by Godly Play. Parents of tweens are encouraged to volunteer!

Haven Kids and Youth are both currently overseen by volunteers from Haven’s community, including our Haven kids’ administrator, Avril Cole.