ABOUT US
Our Story
Berkley is more than a building, program, worship style, or even an organization. We are a living, moving, growing body made up of uncommon people who come together for a common purpose: Knowing Jesus and Being Jesus. We thrive in and through the lives of people whose simple desire is to know and worship God, and to share the message of Christ’s love to the world.
Over the course of the last 90 years, Berkley has moved several times, has had many great ministers, and even a couple name changes, but one thing has never changed: our passion for sharing the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ with this city and the greater Grand Rapids area.
Since our foundation, led by Pastor Boone, our church was built on the idea that the more deeply we know Jesus and commit our lives to Him, the more equipped we are to be Jesus to those around us.
Our Mission
Our mission is as simple as Knowing Jesus. Being Jesus.
Our desire to Know Jesus goes beyond learning facts or simply repeating a prayer; it is a relationship that is built through work and commitment. The ways we work to build our relationship with Jesus has changed over the years, but the foundation of our knowledge has not—God’s Word.
We not only work to know Jesus, but to love others like Jesus loves us. We are continually presented with opportunities to Be Jesus to those around us, and the deeper we know Jesus, the better equipped we are to serve. It is our desire to fix what’s broken, share the truth, and rewrite the narrative.
Our Vision
Start and sustain a multiplication movement of global proportion where we multiply disciples, disciple makers and churches, until all are reached. We want every follower’s primary calling to be a “Disciple Maker”. We seek to make this a reality through:
Ministry Development Program (Interns, Apprentices, Residents)
Multiply Network & Church Collaboration
Our Values
We value Discerning over deciding
“We want the Holy Spirit to be our most definable feature.”
We value Equipping found people to reach lost people
“We’re here to build the Kingdom of God NOT the Kingdom of Berkley”
We value Monday-Saturday
“Sunday morning is the huddle, Monday-Saturday is the game”
“What happens Monday-Saturday is just as if not more important than what happens on Sunday”
We value Multiplication
“We measure success by our sending capacity more than our seating capacity”We value being Multigenerational
“We stay multigenerational by being unapologetically youth focused”
We value Stewardship (Debt Free, Capital Projects & Legacy Funds)
“Building a strong foundation for a future church”
We value Obedient Risk
“The devil’s not taking any days off so we aren’t either”