Our Values
By “values” we mean those foundational convictions that guide our life and ministry as a church. Such convictions, we believe, should arise from the teaching of Scripture. We state our values openly, but with great humility. We know that all too often there is in the church a difference between stated values (what we say we believe) and actual values (the beliefs that really control our behavior). We recognize that it will take much time and prayer for our stated values to become our actual values. Still, we think our values must be clearly stated first, if they are ever to be embraced and put into practice. Below are seven of our most important values, each with a brief explanation:1.> An incarnational approach to ministry: As God sent his Son into the world, so Jesus has sent his church into the world (John 20:21). Being sent as Jesus was sent means that we must be both holy and worldly at the same time. As God’s people we are called to belong to him and to worship him. We must be “holy,” living not according to the standards and values of the world, but according to the teaching of Jesus. As a people sent into the world for ministry, we must at the same time be “worldly” in the sense that we must be immersed in the life of the world just as Jesus was. We cannot separate ourselves from the world and its problems for the sake of holiness. We are called instead to be holy in the midst of the world and its problems. As a church, then, we want to maintain a physical presence in our communities, participate in the life of our communities, and respond to the problems in our communities with the truth and love of Christ.
2.> An emphasis upon both evangelism and mercy: Proclaiming the message of Jesus will always be the primary task of the church. Reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ is our greatest need. Moreover, there cannot be any real or lasting renewal of this world apart from faith in Jesus Christ. However, once we understand that Jesus’ ministry is the pattern for our ministry, we cannot neglect the important work of mercy—the work of responding with the love of Jesus Christ to the practical problems of people living in a broken world. Ultimately Jesus commands us to “love our neighbor” (Matthew 22:39), and we love them both by proclaiming the truth about Jesus and by showing them the mercy of Jesus.
3.> A belief that the gospel can transcend the barriers of age, race, and class: Our society is deeply divided by things like race, money, politics, and education. We tend to associate with people who are like us since this is most comfortable. But in the church we have a picture of what God’s kingdom is like. In the church we are all simply disciples of Jesus, children of our heavenly Father. Our common faith unites us though we are very different in many respects. Our prayer is that as our church grows, we would more and more reflect the way in which faith in Jesus can bring together into one community the diverse people who live in our area.
4.> The priority of relationships over programs: The church is fundamentally a community of Jesus’ disciples. Therefore, nothing is more important in the church than our relationship to the Lord, and our relationships to one another. A certain amount of planning and programming is certainly necessary in the church. However, it is our conviction that no amount of programs can take the place of genuine, loving relationships among God’s people. It is only through the encouragement, insights, accountability, and ministry of other people that we grow to spiritual maturity. Normally we can only minister to others in this way when we know them well—when we are in relationship with them. Thus the development of such relationships is far more important to us as a church, than having a large number of church activities and programs.
5.> The development of the Christian mind: Anti-intellectualism and the fullness of the Holy Spirit are mutually incompatible. The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth” (John 16:13). Where he is present and at work, God’s people will have a passion for learning. They will seek earnestly after the truth. Seeking the truth is not an activity that is reserved for those with a lot of formal education. It is the responsibility of all Christians to “love God with their minds” (Matthew 22:37), according to whatever ability God has given. In particular, we believe the in-depth preaching, teaching, and studying of God’s Word is absolutely essential to truly fruitful Christian living (see Acts 2:42).
6.> The practice of spiritual disciplines: There are no short-cuts to spiritual maturity, no quick-fixes for the problem of remaining sin. Both Scripture and the experience of Christians throughout the ages teach us that, in response to God’s love, we must discipline and train ourselves if we wish to be godly (1 Corinthians 9:27; 1 Timothy 4:7). We believe that the joyful and fruitful Christian will be the one who regularly practices spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading, prayer, fasting, serving, and gathering with other Christians for worship.
7.> The priority of church-health over church-growth: Healthy churches will grow (both numerically and in terms of maturity), but growing churches are not necessarily healthy. Numerical measurement in itself is no indicator of God’s favor or the Spirit’s working. We do not know how big God wants our church to be, and ultimately the size of the church is irrelevant. We do know what God wants us to be as a church. Therefore we choose to focus on being a healthy and faithful church, trusting that if we are, God will cause us to grow to whatever size he desires.