Our Mission, Vision, and Values

Q: What does 'a faith family on mission' mean?

It means we are a family of believers who actually know each other, walk through life together, and are sent together into the city of Miami to make Jesus known across every neighborhood and every generation.

Christchurch Miami is a faith family on mission. The mission, the vision, and the values below are not slogans on a website. They are the convictions that shape how we worship, how we serve, how we lead, and how we live as a church family in Kendall, Florida.

Mission

Christchurch Miami exists to glorify God
by helping people know, love, and serve Jesus.

Every part of who we are flows out of that mission. Glorifying God is the end. Helping people know, love, and serve Jesus is the means. We pursue both with everything we have.

Vision

A faith family on mission,
to love God and make Him known.

We believe the local church is meant to function as a family - people who actually know each other, eat together, pray for each other, and walk through real life together - not a weekly event that strangers attend. And we believe that family is sent into the city of Miami to make the love of Jesus known across every neighborhood, every generation, and every kitchen table.

Values

Four convictions shape how we live as a faith family.

Jesus is Our Message - we preach Christ as LORD.

Every sermon, every song, every conversation about faith at Christchurch starts and ends with Jesus. He is not one of many topics. He is the message.

People Are Our Priority - we're a faith family where you can belong before you believe.

You don't have to have your theology figured out to find a seat at our table. Doubt, questions, and the long walk back to faith are all welcome here. Belong first. Believe on the way.

Worship Is Our Lifestyle - we glorify God in ALL we do.

Worship is not just what happens at 11 AM on Sunday. It is what happens at the office on Tuesday, in the carpool line on Thursday, across the dinner table on Friday. All of life, lived for the glory of God.

Mission Is Our Mindset - we equip everyone to impact their world for Christ.

Mission isn't a department of the church reserved for the professionals. It is the calling of every Christian - every neighborhood, every workplace, every conversation. Christchurch exists to send people into that calling, not to keep them inside the building.

Our Strategy: WIN, BUILD, SEND

Three verbs translate the mission and vision into how we operate as a church.

WIN the lost. Sundays gather us. The doors are open. The gospel is preached without apology and without shame.
BUILD the believer. Groups, classes, mentoring, and the everyday relationships of a faith family that grows people in their walk with Jesus.
SEND out everyone to live on mission. No spectators. Every person at Christchurch is sent - into a neighborhood, a workplace, a school, a family - to live as Christ's ambassador wherever they already are.

What We Believe

Christchurch Miami is a Bible-believing, Reformed church that stands in the historic stream of Christian orthodoxy. We confess the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Westminster Confession of Faith. We hold Scripture as the inspired and authoritative Word of God.

→ Read our full Statement of Faith

About Christchurch Miami

Christchurch Miami is a gospel-centered church in Kendall, Florida, passionate about helping people know, love, and serve Jesus. We're part of a Bible-believing fellowship of churches united by a shared mission to proclaim the good news of grace. Whether you're new to faith or have followed Jesus for years, you'll find a welcoming community where you can grow spiritually, build meaningful relationships, and make a difference in our city and beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the mission of Christchurch Miami?

Christchurch Miami exists to glorify God by helping people know, love, and serve Jesus. That mission shapes everything we do - Sunday worship, kids ministry, youth, groups, and how we engage the city of Miami beyond our walls.

What does "a faith family on mission" mean?

It means we are not a weekly event for strangers - we are a family of believers who actually know each other, walk through life together, and are sent together into the city of Miami to make Jesus known across every neighborhood and every generation.

What does Christchurch Miami value?

Four core values: Jesus is our message; people are our priority; worship is our lifestyle; mission is our mindset. These are not slogans - they shape how we preach, how we welcome, how we serve, and how we send people out into their everyday lives.

Is Christchurch Miami part of a denomination?

Yes. Christchurch Miami is part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a Reformed Bible-believing denomination, and belongs to the South Florida Presbytery. We hold to historic Christian theology while remaining contemporary in style and welcoming to people exploring faith for the first time.

Our Pastors

Christchurch Miami is led by two preaching pastors who share the pulpit as co-equal voices. Both are ordained pastors. Both preach the gospel of Jesus Christ from the same Bible, in the same faith family, with two distinctly different voices - and that is part of the gift Christchurch has received.

If James is the coach on the sideline, Kent is the wise professor in the armchair. Same gospel, two complementary angles. Each Sunday, you will hear from one of them. Over a season of Sundays, you will be shaped by both.

Rev. James Drake

Lead Pastor

Rev. James Drake serves as Lead Pastor of Christchurch Miami. He is an ordained teaching pastor with over 20 years of ministry experience through Cru, a U.S. Army Chaplain serving with the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) - known to his Soldiers as "Chaplain America" - and a marriage-conference speaker through FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember. James holds a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School and a Bachelor of Science from Samford University. He and his wife Heidi (Christchurch's Family Ministry Director) have five children.

→ Read James Drake's full bio

Dr. Kent Keller

Teaching Pastor

Dr. Kent Keller serves as Teaching Pastor at Christchurch Miami. He has been preaching, planting, and pastoring churches since 1994. Kent holds a Doctor of Ministry from Covenant Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Montevallo. He is the author of Random Observations of an Orderly Universe and a regular long-form contributor to the Christchurch blog. Before Christchurch, Kent spent 14 years in youth ministry - first with Youth for Christ in Ft. Lauderdale, then at Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church under his pastor and mentor, Steve Brown.

→ Read Kent Keller's full bio

Why a Co-Equal Pulpit?

Many churches operate with a single "senior pastor" who carries most of the preaching weight. Christchurch is different by intention. James and Kent share the pulpit because the church is stronger when its faith family hears two faithful voices preaching the same Bible from two complementary perspectives. Kent is not a fill-in. He is a co-equal voice. When James is on Army deployment, Kent steps into a heavier teaching load. When James is home, the two of them trade Sundays in a rhythm the congregation has come to deeply love.

Take a Next Step

Plan a Visit → Sundays at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th Street, Miami, FL 33156
Watch a Recent Sermon → Every message in English and Spanish
Read the Christchurch Blog → Including Kent's long-form articles and James's Field Devotions

Mission, Vision & Values