Gospel, Worship,
Community, Mission
Our four values are Worship, Gospel, Community, and Mission. Though these four things do not
communicate everything we believe, they represent what we think is most important.
Our four values are Worship, Gospel, Community, and Mission. Though these four things do not
communicate everything we believe, they represent what we think is most important.
The good news of what Jesus has done
The Gospel transforms who we are
The Gospel transforms what we do
The Gospel is the good news of what Jesus has done.
Every other religion is about what we have to do to get right with God. The Gospel is the good news about what Jesus did to make us right with God. It’s not good advice about what we have to do, it’s good news that we are meant to believe in and be transformed by! (Eph 2:1-9)
The Gospel transforms who we are.
At the heart of the Gospel is not behavior modification, but a whole new identity in Christ. We are adopted as God’s children and made holy and blameless before God, not on the basis of what we have done, but because of Jesus (Col 1:21-22).
The Gospel transforms what we do.
It is impossible to be inwardly transformed by God’s grace and not have a changed lifestyle as a result. All of our actions and practices are shaped by the Gospel, and the Gospel of God’s grace and mercy towards us motivates a life of grace and mercy towards others (Col 3:12-13).
Putting God first
Enjoying God
Living Sacrificially
Putting God first
Because God created us and has saved us, we worship Him by putting Him first in our lives. In our sin, we put things before God, but these ‘idols’ can never save or satisfy our hearts (Rom 1:20-25).
Enjoying God
True worship isn’t just intellectually acknowledging that God should be first; it’s enjoying and delighting in Him. If you really want to know what you worship, look at where you are seeking to find joy. To worship God is to pursue our greatest delight in Him (Phil 4:4).
Living Sacrificially
We always sacrifice for what we worship. In many of our lives, we sacrifice our time and money on the alters of careers, relationships and success. We naturally and joyfully sacrifice to the objects of our worship, because we believe they are worthy of everything. When we are truly worshiping God, we will give him everything because we see that He is worth everything (Rom 12:1).
Loving one another
Growing together
Serving in community
Loving one another
The Gospel creates true community, not formed around common race or hobbies, but around the saving love of Jesus. Jesus didn’t save us to be isolated; He saved us into the church, to share our lives with other believers. We like to say, “Lone rangers are dead rangers.” In other words, it is spiritually dangerous to try and live out our Christianity outside of community! We need to be known and loved (Acts 2:42-46).
Growing together
Community isn’t just about love and good feelings; it’s about growing towards spiritual maturity. One of the reasons we often avoid community is because we want people to stay out of our business. We don’t like when others try to challenge us or change us. However, in community, we are accountable to other people, and we grow in grace as a community of disciples (Eph 4:11-16).
Serving in community
Being a part of Christian community means serving with our spiritual gifts for the benefit of our community and the world. Spiritual gifts aren’t meant to be used in isolation, they are each a necessary part of a whole body. The body grows as the members serve in the ways they are gifted. Also, the community can better serve and go on mission in the world with all of it’s members functioning in their gifts (1 Cor 12:12-27).
Mission is for everyone
Mission is everywhere
Mission is empowered by the Spirit
Mission is for every Christian
When Jesus gave the great commission, He didn’t just give it to pastors, or to the apostles, he gave it to all of his disciples. Pastors and teachers must equip Christians for mission, but mission is the responsibility of the whole church, not just those in full-time ministry (Eph 4:11-12).
Mission is everywhere
The mission of the church isn’t just across the sea among unreached people groups; the mission is right in our backyards. We should be connected to the global mission of the church, but also engaged in mission locally in our schools, at our jobs, and with our neighbors. God has sovereignly placed us where we are, and He has placed us here for mission: to make disciples and push back darkness (Acts 1:8).
Mission is empowered by the Spirit
When Jesus gave his disciples their mission, He actually told them to wait until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just a way to have some sort of warm, fuzzy experience with God; the Spirit empowers us for Jesus’ mission. We live lives dependent on God’s Spirit to lead us into Gospel opportunities and embolden us to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel (Acts 1:4-5).
