Our Core Values

 

Community

God is a God of community. From the beginning He has existed as three distinct persons working within the boundaries of relationship. As we are created in His image it is our desire to adopt the value of relationship that God bears. Mature Christian life happens within the context of community which exists only through genuine concern for others. (John 17:21, John 10:30, Acts 2:44-47, Hebrews 10:25)

 

Culture

We believe that God has called us to embrace culture... not hide from it. Christ worked within the culture of His day to proclaim His purpose to those who were in darkness. He excluded no one from His teachings. We desire to follow in His footsteps and penetrate our present culture with His teachings. (John 4, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 9:9-13)

 

Compassion

Throughout scripture we learn that God is for the oppressed. If the oppressed matter to God then they matter to us. We will strive to do all we can to help those who cannot help themselves in our local culture and throughout God’s world. (James 1:27, Exodus 22:22-24, Matthew 5:16)

 

Roots

We know that we are part of a long line of those who have gone before us blazing new trails for the Kingdom of God. We see ourselves as taking our place in history and we desire to learn from those who have led the way. Our lineage helps us maintain proper doctrine and church polity. (Esther 9:28, Joshua 4, Numbers 15:37-41)

 

Family

Families are a gift from God to humanity. It is our goal to preserve the traditional family of father, mother, brother and sister as we believe scripture teaches. We will do all we can to ensure those who are part of our community are taught, resourced and encouraged to have healthy family relationships. (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:18- 25, Exodus 10:2, Titus 2:3, Ephesians 5:21-6:4)

 

Innovation

The gospel never changes but our methods do. We desire to be creative in our communication of the gospel and speak the language of the culture so they may hear and understand what Christ has done for them. (I Corinthians 9:22, Acts 6:1-7, Acts 17)

 

Spiritual Gifts

We affirm the use of spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. The early church operated in spiritual giftings and the early church fathers instructed them in how to use the gifts properly and in order. We desire to help believers discover their spiritual gifts and use them correctly for the benefit of the Kingdom. (I Corinthians 12, 13, 14, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49)

 

Missional Calling

We believe we are missionaries to our community and world. We continually look for opportunities to engage our local culture and beyond to influence them with the gospel. Statistics tell us that new churches that are under two years old impact more unbelievers than churches over two years old. Our goal is to be a church that continues to plant new churches that more unbelievers can come to faith in Christ. (John 20:21, Luke 24:47)