Our Beliefs
Our purpose and mission:
Challenging people to discover real life in Christ
Core Values:
- Doing life together with small groups of people.
- Getting real about the highs and lows of our lives.
- Resolving conflict in a Biblical manner.
Honoring God by…
- Bringing attention to Jesus.
- Pursuing and living by His truth as found in the Bible.
- Communicating with Him regularly through prayer.
- Expressing our faith in obedience to His leadership (even when it doesn’t make sense).
Valuing People by…
- Serving those we are directly responsible for.
- Pursuing those who are far from God.
- Intentionally welcoming and accepting those who attend.
- Acknowledging and celebrating God’s involvement in and through each other.
Serving God and Others by…
- Discovering and using the gifts & talents God gave us.
- Giving Him our best efforts, abilities & resources
- Practicing true team leadership and ministry.
- Modeling a Christ-like attitude.
Core Values Expanded…
Being Real
The beginning and end of all healthy relationships is being real with God, self and others.
Ephesians 4:25 – 26, 32 25So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, … 32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
John 15:12 – 13 12This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
- We intentionally do life together with small groups of people.
Hebrews 10:25 25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
- We get real about the highs and lows of our lives by regularly sharing our struggles and triumphs with others.
Galatians 6:2 2Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
- We resolve conflict in a Biblical manner by really doing what it says in Matthew 18 and holding each other accountable for this.
Matthew 18:15 – 17 15“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
Honoring God
God is number One and we adjust our lives accordingly.
Mark 12:29 – 30 29Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. 30And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’
- We bring attention to Jesus by clarifying regularly in our communication that Jesus is the only way to God.
Acts 13:38 38“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.
John 10:10 10The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
- We pursue and live by His truth as found in the Bible by regularly referring to the Bible and making it the standard for all of our decisions.
2 Timothy 3:14 – 16 14But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught …15You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
Hebrews 4:12 12For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
- We communicate with Him regularly through prayer by making prayer a normal part of every church function and stopping to pray when needs come up.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 17Never stop praying.
- We express our faith in obedience to His leadership (even when it doesn’t make sense) by allowing God’s guidance coupled with Scripture to trump any other decision-making factor.
Hebrews 11:1 1Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Hebrews 12:1 – 2 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
- We plan as though God will provide beyond our limited resources.
Genesis 22:6 – 8 6So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
Valuing People
We focus our time, energy, and money on people because people are of ultimate importance to God.
Mark 12:31 31The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
1 Corinthians 13 “…2If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing….”
John 17:20 – 21 20“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
- We serve those we are directly responsible for by intentionally praying for, equipping, and encouraging them on a regular basis.
Mark 10:43 43But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,…
- We pursue those who are far from God by spending a disproportionate amount of our resources developing and implementing effective ways to help people connect with Jesus.
Luke 15 “1Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3So Jesus told them this story: 4“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’…”
- We constantly evaluate the culture in order to remain relevant by being ardent students of the culture in which we live and regularly hanging out with un-churched people.
1 Corinthians 9:22 22When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.
- We intentionally welcome and accept every guest who attends our events and activities.
Hebrews 13:1 – 2 1Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
- We celebrate God’s involvement in and through each other by bringing attention to “God stories” when we meet; and regularly scheduling environments specifically for this.
2 Corinthians 13:11 11Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 11So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Hebrews 10:24 24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
Serving God and Others
We actively adjust our lives to better serve God and people.
Philippians 2:3-4 3Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Acts 1:8 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Matthew 5:16 16In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
- We discover and use the gifts & talents God gave us by offering opportunities for every regular attender to discover and implement these gifts in an existing ministry of the church.
Romans 12:3-8 “…5so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well….”
- We give God our best efforts, abilities and resources.
Ephesians 6:7 7Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
- We regularly challenge our status quo by asking in every planning and strategic meeting if our methods are still relevant and most effective.
Revelation 3:15 15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!
- We practice true team leadership and ministry by operating in consensus decision-making and by building teams for every practical function of ministry.
Ephesians 4:11 – 13 11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
(See also Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Corinthians 12)
- We model a Christ-like attitude.
Philippians 2:5 – 8 5You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.