Radiant Church is truly a 21st century church. It is deeply rooted in the Word of God, but it’s committed to making worship welcoming and accessible to all. From online access to services to dynamic outreach, Radiant Church is engaging worshipers in a new way to make the Word of God a more active, passionate part of their everyday lives. Radiant Church isn’t just a place to go on a Sunday, it is a place to gain the mindset and skills to build your relationship with God every day.
The Mission
Radiant Church is committed to active worship of God, belief in Jesus, building a community of believers, and acting purposefully to fulfill a calling to serve God. This mission is explained in further detail on weareradiant.com. In terms of beliefs, this means that Radiant Church holds a belief in the Holy Trinity. The Church believes that humans were created in the image of God, and that the fellowship between God and humans has been broken by the Original Sin of Adam and Eve.
The Church believes deeply in the Gospel and story of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The Church believes that salvation comes through the grace of God alone, not through human actions. The Church is rooted in the Word of God, taken directly from the Old and New Testament.
Radiant Church does not just profess these beliefs. The Church practices these beliefs through regular worship services, spreading the Word of God to bring others into spiritual unity, giving back to the community to build the Kingdom of God, and studying the Word of God to live better lives.
Adult Involvement
Radiant Groups are a great way of adults to get involved with the Church and build closer relationships with each other and with God. Radiant Groups meet regularly in coffee shops, restaurants, and homes to discuss the Word of God outside of a typical place of worship. By bringing the Word of God into your daily life, you will grow in your passion for Christ and spreading the Word of God outside of the Radiant Church community.
Radiant Church also has involvement opportunities specifically for young adults. Radiant Young Adults is a group of worshipers aged 18 to 25 who gather weekly at Radiant Church’s Heights location on Sunday at 5pm to build relationships with fellow young adults committed to Christ and grow in their commitment to God.
Both Radiant Groups and Radiant Young Adults are not your typical Bible-study groups. These groups are designed to actively engage participants in the Word of God in a fun, social way that makes a lasting impact and will allow participants to move forward in the world with more conviction in their beliefs than ever. These groups will take you beyond your own personal spiritual journey. Both of these groups are a great way to connect with like-minded people, who will encourage you to grow in the Word of God together.
Children and Youth Involvement
Learning the Word of God is a different experience for children and adults. Adults might be content to passionately listen and discuss the Bible around a dining room table or in a coffee shop, but children often need a more engaging way to visualize and experience the Word of God. Radiant Church has developed E.P.I.C to meet this need. E.P.I.C stands for explore, participate, imitate, and connect, and it outlines how the Church gets children involved and passionate about the Bible.
The Radiant Kids program implements this model in three groups, tailored to the children’s age and level of comprehension. Dreamers, 0-2-year-old, engage in activities that are meant to help them build trust in both God and their community. The focus in this age group is “connect”. Heroes, 3-year olds to kindergartners, are ready to start learning the Word of God through biblical stories. This age group is focused on “participate” and “imitate” as children begin to learn what it means to imitate Jesus in their own lives through biblical stories.
Legends, 1st to 5th graders, engage in high-energy activities that connect them to the Word of God through games, songs, reading, and social activities with friends. Although the principles of E.P.I.C are evident in all age groups, this is where the full acronym really comes into play as children begin to “explore” what the Word of God really means in their own lives.
Once a child has entered middle school, they can continue on their spiritual journey to become closer to God through Radiant Students. Radiant Students consists of two parts: City Groups and Vibe. City Groups are small groups, much like Radiant Groups for adults, where students can connect with like-minded teens and grow in Christ together. Vibe is a monthly evening event that turns traditional worship service on its head. Vibe is a social worship experience that combines the fun of a party with food, music, and a spiritual message and reflection just for students.
Community Outreach
Building your relationship with God doesn’t just happen by discussing the Word of God. Living the Word of God and sharing it is a key part of Radiant Church’s mission. Through Radiant Care, Radiant Church helps provide for everyone in the Church Family, no matter what they may be going through. Radiant Care helps provide physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual support for all. The relationships built in Radiant Groups provide the backbone for this network of community care.
Those who are involved in the Care Team will be trained to be the hands and feet of Christ. Radiant Church provides training and support for the Care Team so that they may better assist with coaching community members through tough times, doubts, and personal losses.
Joining the Team
Outreach also happens within the walls of the Church. If you have a specific skill, you’d like to share with Radiant Church to help support the ministry, there are plenty of opportunities to do so through Dream Teams, which support the day-to-day operations of Radiant Church. For medical professionals hoping to be more involved, Radiant Church has a team of first responders to aid the Church community. For those who love to cook, Feed the Need is a team that provides meals to those who are going through difficult times in their lives.
Whether you have production experience or have always been interested in trying your hand at sound engineering, Radiant Church always has a need for people to help make worship services engaging through light, sound, and technology and will provide training if needed. The creative team of graphic designers, artists, videographers, and other creatives help make Radiant Church a modern place of worship that can reach out and spread the Word of God through social media. The military ministry helps connect Radiant Church with active-duty military and supporting military families.
If you’re a natural born leader, think about becoming a small group leader, a member of the worship team, or a member of the prayer team. For anyone who prefers to work out of the spotlight, there are essential positions as ushers, security, set up crew, and more. For a social butterfly, your skills might be best suited to the Info Desk or greeting team. No matter what skills and passions you bring to Radiant Church, there’s a place for you in spreading the Word of God.
Local, National, and International Missions
Missions at Radiant Church don’t necessarily mean going overseas. There’s a lot of work to be done here in the immediate Florida area. Every Saturday, the Radiant community gives back through Serve Saturday, as well as participating in ongoing outreach through small groups. National missions strive to support efforts to establish church communities nationwide. As part of Radiant Church’s mission to spread the Word of God to all, worshipers also embark on international missions to establish churches in other countries.
Locations
Radiant Church is a network of different locations with one beating heart. Programs like Radiant Young Adults connect worshipers at all locations as one collective community striving to become closer to God. Radiant Church has locations in South Tampa, Heights, St. Petersburg, Brandon, and North Tampa. No matter which location becomes your regular worship spot, you will be welcomed with open arms at any of these locations to worship God and hear the word of the Bible.
Radiant Church is open to everyone. Whether you are a new resident, someone looking to change churches, or someone who has never entered a church before, Radiant Church will open its arms to you and welcome you. Outreach, small groups, Dream Teams, and social activities make it easy to become a member of this tight-knit community. Before long, you will have a whole network of other worshipers to depend on for spiritual and personal support as you continue along your spiritual journey and strive to become closer to God. Radiant Church will be with you every step along the way. The first step is just walking in the door and joining the Radiant Church ministry.
