1200 South Highway 89, Jackson, Wyoming, 83001

Our Beliefs

1200 South Highway 89, Jackson, WY 83001

TRIBE'S MISSION

To make the name of Jesus famous by building strong families, connecting through community, developing servant leaders, and making disciples that will change the world.

 

CORE VALUES

FAMILY - The most important social structure created by God. We treat others with love and respect, and we stick together.

CREATIVITY - We pursue fresh, Holy Spirit-inspired ways to fulfill the mission of Tribe.

FUN - We take our faith seriously but not ourselves.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP - We look for opportunities to develop others as we ourselves are continually being developed to help a lost and broken world.

 

TRIBE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

Tribe is an independent, non-denominational church with an internal biblical governing structure.

According to Tribe’s bylaws, the governance of the church is set up with a three-fold system of checks and balances. The three-fold system is comprised of Staff & Key Volunteers and Elders.
The entire system is predicated on three principles:
  1. Trust
  2. Transparency
  3. Accountably

STAFF & KEY VOLUNTEERS

TRIBE LEADERSHIP TEAM (TLT) 

The TLT is a group of staff and key volunteers doing the daily work of the ministry. They are qualified to make daily working decisions for the ministry. Members of TLT are Tribe Kids Coordinator, Tribe Youth, Tribe Young Adults Leader, Prayer Team Leader, Connection Coordinator, Media Coordinator, Pastor, Worship Leader, etc. This group decides the direction of the day-to-day functions of the ministry.

For example, the TLT could decide that Tribe really needs to increase the level of excellence with Tribe’s Livestream; practically speaking, they would propose adding a third camera. 

ELDERS

Board of Trustees - These are the elders of the church. The board has a high degree of influence when it comes to financial decisions of the church. They vote on all sorts of matters.

For example, in the above example concerning upgrading the Livestream, the board would vote to approve or disapprove a budget request to buy a third camera for Livestream. 

Pastor’s Counsel - These are an additional group of elders for the church. The Pastor’s Counsel has a high degree of influence on spiritual matters as they pertain to the church. This group prayerfully helps the pastor and staff when making spiritual decisions as well as having the authority to speak prophetically into the pastor's life.

For example, in the above mentioned matter of upgrading the Livestream, the Pastor’s Counsel would pray for the direction the Lord is leading Tribe as a body. They would be praying that the messages would speak to people’s heart through the Livestream. 

Think of the TLT as a truck rolling down the road moving the ministry. The Elders (the Board of Trustees and Pastor’s Counsel) are like guardrails; they help guide and protect the church, the pastor, and the staff in a balanced way so we as a church don’t fall into a ditch.

Tribe follows biblical standards for church discipline for all members and staff.

Pastoral credentials and ministerial covering provided by International Ministerial Fellowship based out of Excelsior, Minnesota.

Tribe Leadership Team (TLT)

  • Lissa Hunter
  • Joy Abad
  • Amanda Lack
  • Carla Waters
  • Jay Cummings
  • Tim Vetter
  • Brian Hunter

Pastor’s Counsel

  • Tim Vetter
  • Lee Martin
  • Kollin Green
  • Joe Paulson

Board of Trustees

  • Bob Whitmire
  • Burr Storrs
  • Chris Baxter
  • Jeremy Leeper
  • Brian Hunter

BELIEFS

  • We believe that the local church is God’s "Plan A" for reaching a lost and dying world
  • We believe that family is the first and most important institution ordained by God. God reveals himself to mankind as a loving father. He calls the temple in Jerusalem a home. And Jesus is described as our brother. Despite current societal deception resulting in confusion, the Bible clearly defines a family as consisting of one biological man and one biological woman joined in marriage before God. Into that family, a husband and wife bring children. And, yes, by God’s grace there are plenty of allowances for single-parent families, blended families, and adoption. The family is the strongest and most fundamental structure of society. Besides the individual human heart, the family has the greatest potential force to change a neighborhood, a city, and the entire planet. Because of the powerful potential of family, the devil is devoted full time to undermining the family unit. Therefore, it is the duty and honor for the local church to protect and strengthen YOUR family as the greatest hope for changing the world!
  • We believe that the Christian life is best actualized within the context of community.  The nation of Israel lived as a large community, divided in to Tribes.  They had a separate distinct culture, value system, and mission from the other nations around them.  The church established in the NT depicts that of individuals and families banding together sharing meals and resources, working and worshiping together all within community.
  • We believe the church should be used to build the people, not the people to build the church.  Jesus modeled servant leadership.  He didn’t just use the 12 disciples to make his ministry great,  He used his ministry to make the disciples great.  People are the most valuable resource on the planet, when we honor and serve them, we bring glory to God by honoring what he honors.  If the people of Tribe are really going to change the world, they need to be equipped with the skills to do so, and be given the best opportunity to make it happen.  Servant leaders are growing in maturity in 3 areas:
    1. Spiritual Growth (discipleship)
    2. Character Formation
    3. Leadership Development
  • We believe that Jesus gave the great commission to the church to make disciples of all nations.  More than just someone who likes going to church, or calling themselves a Christian, a disciple is a fully devoted, passionate, follower of Jesus Christ.  A Disciple’s life is marked by radical obedience to His voice, devotion to His Word, hunger for worship, comfortably operates in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and a passion for reaching the lost and broken with the love of God.   Tribe, as the local church, has the mandate to evangelize the lost, nurture Christians to maturity, and release them to make more disciples, even to the utter most bounds of the Earth.

Article 1 – The Trinity

It is the testimony of both the Old and New Testaments and of the Christian Church that God is both One and Triune. The biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God and that He is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • God the Father
  • God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love. He created man in His own image for fellowship and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.
  • The Son
  • Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man—in one person.
  • The Holy Spirit
  • The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and conforms us to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit releases the fullness of the Spirit and is commonly evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Article 2 – The Scripture

We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is alone the only infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction, and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.

Article 3 – The Atonement

Christ’s vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, but its benefits are only applicable to those who receive Jesus as their personal Savior. Healing—body, soul, and spirit—and all of God’s provisions for His saints, are provided for in the atonement, but these must be appropriated.

Article 4 – Salvation

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is effected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification), and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Lord and Savior (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God’s personal love for mankind. It is predestined only in the sense that God, through His omniscience, foreknew those who would choose Him. It is secure in the eternal, unchanging commitment of God who does not lie and is forever the same. Salvation should produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Savior.

Article 5 – The Christian Life

We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Hence, God’s provision for His children is total, and the promises are final and forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because of the still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.

Article 6 – The Church

The goal of the Church is to make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 governs the Church, the offices of elder and deacon, as well as other offices mentioned in scripture. Church policy is a balance between congregation and eldership authority, emphasizing the final authority of the Church leadership. It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practiced and that oversight for Church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the Church.

Article 7 – Water Baptism & the Lord's Supper

The Word of God enjoins on the Church two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual’s life and is a testimony to all that the person now belongs to Jesus. It is identification with Jesus and is effected in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.

Article 8 – Eschatology

We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium, and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to Jesus Christ. We affirm with the Bible the final state of the new heavens and the new earth.

*Last edited 9/12/22