Vision
Why Imago Dei Church?
Imago Dei is a theological term for the image of God. It captures the beautiful reality that all individuals, regardless of ethnicity or background, are created in God’s image and have inherent dignity. Further, through faith the gospel of God, all individuals can experience salvation and reconciliation through the image of God, Jesus Christ.
We long to see a diverse church community restored to the image of God by saving faith in Jesus Christ so that God’s blessing might impact ourselves, our community, and our world.
“The image of God is much too rich for it to be fully realized in a single human being, however richly gifted that human being may be. It can only be somewhat unfolded in its depth and riches in a humanity counting billions of members.”
— Herman Bavinck
“What binds us together is not common education, common race, common politics, or anything of that sort. Christians come together because they have all been loved by Jesus. They are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus' sake.”
— D.A. Carson
“[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
— Hebrews 1:3
The Need
The Centreville and Chantilly areas of western Fairfax county, Virginia is home to approximately 225,000 people. Fairfax County is one of the most religiously diverse counties in the US. Of the over 1 million residents of Fairfax County, approximately 50% do not claim a religion, while only 9% of them consider themselves gospel-centered Christians. Fairfax County has some of the highest Muslim (3%) and Hindu (2%) populations in the nation.
Northern Virginia is a diverse area with a large immigrant population. Of Fairfax County’s over 1 million residents, 31% were born outside of the US and nearly 40% speak a language other than English at home. Centreville and Chantilly are all “majority-minority”. The different minority groups combined make up the majority of the population.
A diversity map of Centreville and Chantilly.
Predominant racial group: Red – Asian; Yellow – Hispanic; Green – African-American; Blue – White
The lighter the color the less predominant a specific racial group.
America is projected to be a majority minority nation in 2045. Between now and 2060, 82% of the population growth will come from immigration and the children of immigrants. There is a need for diverse churches where our increasingly diverse society can find unity in Jesus Christ. There is ample opportunity for a new church to reach those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.