OUR HISTORY
For over three decades, we have witnessed lives being transformed by Jesus.
In 1990, when Kensington first opened its doors – actually the doors of a rented school cafeteria – we had no idea what to expect. But when 463 people showed up, we knew God was at work and we were ready to join Him! In the early days, people met all over Oakland County in homes, coffee shops, warehouses and office buildings. Today, our six locations in Michigan gather together thousands at weekend services, and our desire to make the love of Jesus known has inspired us to meet needs and build relationships with our neighbors here in our own cities and those halfway around the world.
For over three decades, we have witnessed lives being transformed by Jesus. Kensington Church is a community of imperfect people, passionately pursuing God, authentic community, and the [one] who is forgotten, alone, hungry, and rejected. With God as our infinite source, we are ready to pour out our time, resources, and lives on behalf of others.
HOW WE LIVE OUT OUR MISSION
To see every[one] transformed and mobilized by Jesus.
Weekend Services:
More Than A Good Show
We’d love to welcome you to a weekend service! There’s a lot you can tell about who we are when you’re sitting in the auditorium on a Sunday. Sometimes we’re surprising, usually we’re loud, and we always have coffee. We want everyone who walks through our doors to feel welcomed and seen and we want the service to be memorable and encouraging. We invest time and energy in creating original videos, incredible music, and other creative elements to accompany our relevant teachings.
Move Out:
Loving Our Neighbors and
Impacting Our Neighborhoods
At Kensington, we’re passionate about loving our neighbors. We call it moving out because we’re leaving the comfort of our building and meeting needs in the communities around us. Our Move Out Network is how we equip people to follow their dreams to reach the [one]. Everyone has something to offer and someone to impact. We want to be the church the other six days of the week and to see outreach as relationships rather than events. It’s incredible but true – loving the [one] can bring sweeping transformation to our communities.
Global Partners:
Meeting Needs In Jesus’ Name
At Kensington, we believe that to love God means we love others – even those halfway around the world in India, Kenya, or Palestine. We have developed ongoing partnerships with indigenous churches and organizations in ten different countries. We support our partners through relationships and resources as they meet the spiritual and physical needs in their own communities. Together, Kensington and our partners have erected hospitals in crowded India, brought clean water wells to the harsh regions of Kenya, and helped to start thousands of house churches in the Middle East. We plan regular short-term trips to visit our partners and support their work.
Church Planting:
Spreading The Good News of Jesus
We think Jesus’ message is so amazing that there’s no one right way to tell it, that’s why we’re dedicated to planting, equipping and encouraging new churches all over the country. Every church plant has its own vision and personality, but each one shares the same passion for spreading God’s love and planting more and more new churches.
For more information on church planting, or if you want to get involved, email churchplanting@kensingtonchurch.org.
Discipleship:
At Kensington, we know the value of community when it comes to spiritual growth. That’s why we value authenticity (and the messiness that brings) and why we create lots of opportunities for you to connect with others as you journey together toward emotional wholeness, deeper faith, and real conversations about things that matter. Whether you’ve been a follower of Jesus for your lifetime or aren’t sure about God at all, we invite you to jump into our community by joining a group, course, or care initiative.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
There is only one God, who exists eternally as a Trinity of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is fully God, yet each is personally distinct from the other.
The Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, written by people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down exactly what God wanted to communicate to humankind. It is authoritative, trustworthy, and unchanging.
Men and women are created in the image of God to live in relationship with God. Yet, the first two humans, Adam and Eve, chose to rebel against God bringing sin into the world. Because of their actions, sin spread to all humankind, creating separation between humanity and God.
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people, and the savior of the world. He was both fully God and fully human. He came to redeem all of humanity from the power of sin and death.
Jesus Christ was crucified and died on the cross, was resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, and someday will return to earth to fulfill God’s eternal plan.
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid for all sins. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ – not by being a good person or doing good deeds – that a person can be restored to a right relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit comes to live within a person once they have placed their faith and hope in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. The Spirit gives followers of Jesus the power to live as God desires them to live and gives spiritual gifts to serve the Church and change the world.
The Church, both local and universal, is a community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, the church organizes under qualified leadership, gathers regularly for preaching and worship, observes the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, and scattered to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and the church’s joy.
OUR VALUES
IN CHRIST
We are loved by Him, we find our identity in Him, and are powerless without Him.
UNDER SCRIPTURE
We submit to the authoritative, trustworthy, unchanging word of God.
AS A FAMILY
We lock arms in community, support and accountability to accomplish God’s mission together.
FOR THE [ONE]
We will leave what is comfortable to pursue those far from God.
FROM BROKENNESS
In response to our identity in Christ, we recognize and reveal our weaknesses to point to the power of God.
WITH OPENHANDEDNESS
We joyfully release everything we have to the plan and purposes of God.
THROUGH OTHERS
We intentionally reproduce ourselves by making disciples that make disciples.
