Vision
Belonging
All people are made in the image of God and are welcome in our community. Each one of us is a unique and essential member belonging to an imperfect community on a journey of embodying God’s unconditional love.
Abundant life in Christ
Being with, following and sharing Jesus is the most abundant way of life together.
God’s dream
God has a restorative dream for all of creation. We want to join God’s redemptive movement in the West Central neighborhood through acts of service, justice, mercy and more.
Belonging Statement
Every human being is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, reflecting the resemblance of God in unique and marvelous ways. Every person ― inclusive of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, economic or immigration status, physical or intellectual ability, education or faith history ― is unconditionally deserving of dignity, belonging, and the fullness of God’s love in our community. Come as you are as we discover the way of Jesus and join God’s movement of flourishing in the world together.
(Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:14, Romans 8:38-39)
Pastor Phil would love to grab coffee with you soon and learn more about your story!
Mission
To encounter and share the love of Jesus as we seek to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God together in the West Central neighborhood.
Beliefs
The Apostle’s Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*catholic refers to the universal church
Affiliations
The Covenant Church
The Garden is part of the Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic movement of over 800 churches in North America. The Covenant has distilled their theological commitments into six affirmations that allow local churches the freedom to follow Jesus in contextually specific ways while preserving a common identity.
The Covenant affirmations are:
We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.
To learn more about the Covenant denomination, click here.
Immanuel Spokane
In the summer of 2021 we planted The Garden from our parent church, Immanuel, a community who’s been worshipping and serving together since 2012. Immanuel is currently located in the Shadle neighborhood.
Immanuel is a purposefully diverse and passionate church community in Spokane that exists to worship God in simplicity and beauty, to extravagantly love all without distinction, and embody in words and actions the Good News of God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ.
To learn more about our parent church, Immanuel, click here.
Parish Collective
Parish Collective is a Christ-following ecumenical network bringing people together across intersections and distance. Our main point of unity lies in learning to be the church in each of our unique neighborhoods. When we connect across places, we find the power of God’s love to be healing and transformative. This means we may not agree on everything, but we have a mutual commitment to love and respect, especially protecting those on the margins of our differences.
To learn more about the Parish Collective, click here.
Staff Team
Hannah Rae Tjelle
Director of Kids & Community Life
Hannah Rae oversees all things kids + community life with a degree in theology and a ministry endorsement from Whitworth University. Hannah Rae, her husband Ryan and dog Mia live here in the neighborhood — if you see them out gardening, say hey! Ryan works in the neighborhood for an organization called Side By Side that seeks to create space for people with and without disabilities to experience life together in Christ.
Hannah Rae gets excited about seeing God's Spirit move in people to foster freedom and belonging, seeing diverse people sharing food at the same table, soccer with strangers, gardening with neighbors and ice cream!
You bring so much to the table & I can't wait to hear about it!
Phil Moore
Pastor
Pastor Phil, his wife Nina and their son Teddy love living in the West Central neighborhood. Nina works at a school in the neighborhood.
Phil is passionate about the love of God and walking through life with Christ. He likes to nerd out about the early church and the practices of Jesus. He’s also especially keen on movements to empower the powerless, forgiveness, art, outer space and Gonzaga basketball.
Phil studied Theology and Speech Communication at Whitworth and graduated from their Master’s in Theology program. He’s a licensed pastor in the Covenant denomination.
I would love to hear your story and get to know you more. Let’s grab coffee or go for a neighborhood walk!
Coming soon…
Director of Worship & Arts
…
Prayer & Planning Team
This team (made up of staff and volunteer leaders) serves with a shepherding leadership style at The Garden, cultivating our community to be “Rooted in the Love of God and grow in the way of Jesus.” Beyond regular gatherings, this team meets seasonally to pray and plan together.
Phil Moore (Pastor)
Hannah Rae Tjelle (Dir. of Kids + Community Life)
Lauren Orwig (Belonging + Hospitality)
Seth Flanders (Hosting + Communications)
Claire Strunk (Bookkeeper, Neighborhood Engagement)
Michaela Flanders (Neighborhood Engagement)
Felicity & Tyler Coopman (Food Group Hosts)
Debbie & Randy Waltman (Food Group Hosts)
Elyse & Scott Herrera-Bumpus (Food Group Hosts)
Kyle & Erin Mensing (Food Group Co-Hosts)
Bill & Claire Strunk (Food Group Co-Hosts)