The Water’s Edge is a church for everybody.
You don’t have to have your life all together to belong here.
We’re striving to be a church where you can show up authentically, experience grace, and take your next step toward Jesus alongside others.
You don’t have to have your life all together to belong here.
We’re striving to be a church where you can show up authentically, experience grace, and take your next step toward Jesus alongside others.
To lead people into a growing relationship
with Jesus Christ and each other.
To be a church that relentlessly pursues a transforming relationship with God, generously extends hope to the hurting, sacrificially serves our families, and radically invests in the next generation.
We trust in God with our past, present, and future. We believe God’s promises and seek to grow deeper in our relationship with Him.
Jesus loves and invests in kids—likewise, we radically invest in children, students, and their families.
We invite and welcome everyone regardless of who they are or where they are in life. We do this the same way Jesus invited and welcomed those he encountered.
God is generous, and we reflect God’s generosity. We give our prayers, time, energy, talents, and finances to resource what God is doing in us and through us.
Jesus met people where they were, and so do we. We believe the teachings of Jesus are more relevant than ever, and we seek to apply these teachings to our lives.
Jesus came to the world as a servant, and we look most like Jesus when we serve. We serve our church, our city, and our world together.
We value community by intentionally connecting and caring for each other in House Churches, serving teams, and other ministries. We do our best to live out Christ’s command to love others.
God intends our lives to be joy-filled so we have fun and experience joy that comes from our growing relationships with God and with each other.
WE believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is eternal, holy, loving, and worthy of our worship. God is not distant or indifferent. God is personal. God is good. God is near.
WE believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son, fully God and fully human. He lived with perfect love and died for our sins on the cross. His resurrection overcame sin and death once and for all. Jesus made a way for us to be close to God again.
WE believe the Holy Spirit is God present with us and in us. The Spirit helps us become more like Jesus and empowers us to serve. The Spirit comforts us on hard days and guides us to better days.
The Water’s Edge is rooted in the Arminian-Wesleyan Protestant tradition. This means WE believe grace is at work in us before we choose it, makes us new when we accept it, and continues working in us to make us more like Jesus throughout our lives.
WE believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is our primary guide for what we believe and how we follow Jesus. We read scripture thoughtfully, using our minds, learning from the historic church, and paying attention to lived experience.
WE believe the Church is the community of all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. WE believe the church should be both welcoming and transformative as a place where grace is real and growth is expected. The purpose of the church is to glorify God, make disciples of Jesus, and serve the world.
WE believe salvation is received by grace through faith. Salvation is not earned; it is an undeserved gift from God.
We believe Jesus will return to earth, make all things right, and fully establish His Kingdom. We believe in a resurrection and a final judgment, and that eternity with God is found by saying “yes” to Jesus. The story ends with God making all things new.
The Water’s Edge started as a House Church (small group) gathered in a crowded basement near 173rd and Harrison Street with a dream: to build a church where people in West Omaha could meet Jesus, find real community, and discover a faith that makes a difference in everyday life.
In 2006, WE launched worship at Russell Middle School. As WE grew, we moved to Millard West High School and worshiped there until relocating to our current building in 2018. The church at 196th and Harrison was built for our community; it includes a playground for families, sports areas for friends, and The Prayer Path where everyone can peacefully experience God in the middle of a thriving, busy city.
As WE look ahead, our prayer is simple: that God would continue to use The Water’s Edge to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and each other as WE serve and love our community. Whether you are looking for a place to worship or simply a place to connect with others, WE exists for you.
Craig Finnestad is our Founding Pastor. He is married to Amber, and they have two sons, Benjamin and David. Benjamin is a lobbyist in Washington, DC, and David is a freshman at Wabash College, where he studies economics and plays lacrosse. Their giant Newfoundland dog, Helga, entertains them.
Craig served churches in Georgia, Iowa, and Texas before planting The Water’s Edge. He attended college, seminary, and graduate school at Drake University, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Emory University. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the use of humor in public speaking, a practice he regularly incorporates (or at least attempts to) on Sunday mornings.
Craig’s passions in ministry include listening to and praying for people, dreaming up new ways to serve the poor and hurting, developing leaders, and speaking at our worship experiences. He is active in the Omaha community, serving on the Board of Directors of Together Omaha, the Leadership Team of Within Reach, and the Advisory Team of Millard Public Schools.
When Craig isn’t being a pastor, he takes photographs, makes craft sausage, and climbs mountains.