Core Values

Biblical Focus
We are committed to Bible-centered preaching and teaching. The Bible is the basis and focus of all our preaching and teaching. We teach the Bible so that God’s truth is applied to our lives. Our goal in teaching the Bible is transformation; to become strong disciples of Jesus Christ (II Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 4:13). (2 Timothy 3:15-17) The Word of God must be the core of our teaching. Sermons and classes and small group studies must equip members to know, understand and apply scripture in our daily lives, and continually point to Jesus Christ, in whom we find salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

Relevant Ministry Matthew 9:35-36
Since we value people, we will purposefully adjust our ministry methods to remain engaged and relevant. Our message, the Gospel, will not and does not change, but the means and methods of sharing the message do change. We intend to adapt to the changing dynamics of our culture and people to engage their interests, and communicate Christ effectively, and to enfold those who trust Him into our fellowship. Some people will think such relevance and resilience is an abandonment of the message. Instead, we see it as a biblical strategy to serve others rather than insist on our own familiar, comfortable and beloved forms of spiritual expression. We will communicate Christ in a clear, compelling and relevant manner, avoiding change for change’s sake alone, but being unafraid to implement purposeful change to remain faithful to and fruitful for Christ through changing times and generations. Our desire is to use continuous incremental change rather than crisis responses or pursuing the latest Christian ministry fad. Our desire is that Christ will be worshipped and His Church built up through all generations while avoiding disruptions of personal preferences or the pain of transitioning from increasingly ineffective programs to more relevant ministry forms.

Passionate Worship
We are committed to passionate worship as a way of life and as an expression of our being in a Christian community; everything good in our lives flows out of an authentic worship experience with God. We are committed to being a worshipful people who find our greatest joy in God Himself and to expressing that joy freely. In our congregational worship, we seek to exalt God, not our personal preferences; to center upon Jesus Christ, not ourselves; and to be empowered by the Spirit, not driven by our desire for personal meaning.

We serve a mighty and awesome God, and we must worship Him! God has revealed Himself to us, and we are compelled to declare His worth and express our devotion to Him. Our corporate worship serves as a purposeful gathering in which we encounter the living presence of God. We desire to live worship-filled lives and to declare our love and dependence on our Savior by offering our whole selves to Him in worship. Christ is our all-consuming passion.

Selfless Servant-hood
We believe that it is in the manner of true kingdom greatness to place ourselves in a role of serving others. We desire to be a church that sees serving as a privilege, not a burden… a joy not a drag… a calling, not a preference. In Matthew 20:26-28, Jesus indicates that true greatness consists in serving others when he said: “…whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” Our call then is to not serve others because we have to, but rather because to do so is in the manner of kingdom greatness as modeled by our Lord. It is our aim to become a community consisting of members who genuinely delight in what we can do for each other.

Sovereign Lordship
Jesus Christ is “Lord of both the dead and the living,” declares the apostle Paul. Those who belong to Him now will still belong to Him in the future, even beyond death. They will belong to Him forever. This is true because Jesus died for us and purchased us with His own blood (1 Corinthians 6:20; Acts 20:28). Jesus Christ owns us. If we have believed on Christ as our Savior He is our sovereign Lord.

There is a special lordship over us as His saved people. He has become our Lord by dying for us and rising again. He delivered us from our death penalty. He has set us free from the power of sin and its consequences. By His resurrection He has established an ongoing relationship with us until He calls us home to be with Him in heaven.

This extensive sovereign Lordship is expressed by Paul in these words: “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:8-9).

There is an extraordinary comfort in these words for all who know Jesus as their Lord. If we live, we live unto the Lord. If we die, we die unto the Lord. He is the Master of both. We belong to Him whether we live or whether we die. The only comfort and security in this life is that we belong to Him. We can trust Jesus Christ to be wise and utterly sovereign with whatever comes into our lives and in whatever manner and timing it may come. This is true whether we are alive or even when we die. Jesus Christ is Lord; He is sovereign. Our desire in life should be that Jesus will be in practice Lord of every thought and action in our thinking, in our writing, in our speaking, in our motives and actions. We should want Him to be Lord in everything there is in us.

The implications of such a commitment to Christ are astounding. This is the central message of the Bible. It is the goal of history. “Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Jesus Christ alone has the right to be the Lord of all of my life.

Since the precious blood of Jesus Christ redeemed us there is no part of us that has not been bought outright. We are no longer our own boss. Christ alone owns our heart and allows us to feel His love and to love His word. Christ alone owns our mind to think His thoughts. Christ alone owns our eyes to see His world. He alone owns our hands to feel, to touch, and to do His will in His service. He alone owns our feet to go where He bids us go to do His will. He owns our whole person to feel His charm and radiate His person.

You see we belong to Him. We are His for all eternity. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us to will and to do His work to His glory. “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

There is only one person who has the right to possess us because He died for us. Because He rose from the dead He can now penetrate and possess our personalities through His Holy Spirit. He lives again in us.

If there is any area of our life that is not yielded to Him it becomes the most dangerous area of our life. Hudson Taylor said correctly, “Jesus Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.”

The opposite of a self-centered life is a Christ-centered life. A life that is not possessed by Jesus Christ is open to the devil. God created us for His own possession. To whom do I choose to be the sovereign Lord of my life?