What Is a Third Way Church?

Most of life comes at us as binary choices. Pick a side. Choose a lane. And the church often feels the same way — traditional or contemporary, inward or outward, culture war or cultural retreat.

At North Fresno Church, we believe Jesus consistently refused the binaries of his day. When forced to pick sides, he introduced an entirely different way of being. We're trying to follow his lead.

A third way church isn't the middle ground between two extremes — it's a community that orbits an altogether different center of gravity: Jesus Christ crucified.

Here's what that looks like for us:

The Way of Jesus — We don't anchor our faith in institutional tradition alone or in a rigid system of biblical principles. Instead, we read all of Scripture as the revelation of Jesus, and then we follow him. As we like to say, the Bible is given to us primarily to show us who Jesus is and to call us to know, love, and become like him.

The Way of Community — We don't gather around uniformity (people who look, think, and vote like us) or around consumer preference (a church that fits our lifestyle). We believe God builds community across lines of division — and that the diversity and differences we encounter aren't the problem; they're the point. We believe that where worldly hierarchies and divisions are undone, heaven comes to earth.

The Way of Reconciliation — We don't retreat from the world into tribal safety, and we don't try to impose our beliefs through cultural or political power. Instead, we practice incarnational presence — showing up with humility, sharing in people's suffering, and bearing witness to the love of Jesus in word and deed.

This vision has animated North Fresno Church since 1969 as an Anabaptist congregation in the heart of Fresno. Our Jesus-centered, centered-set approach means we care less about drawing lines of who's in and who's out, and more about which direction you're moving — toward Jesus.

We're becoming like Jesus, together, for the sake of others. And you're welcome to join us.