Core Values

In January 2009 the Board drafted a suggested set of core values and invited our constituency to engage with us about these. The dialogue has led us to believe that we are ready to begin spelling out a ministry plan that is reflective of the following core values.

1. Discipleship

2. Community

3. Reconciliation

These Values and Convictions are NOT intended to replace or undermine our Confession of Faith but to be a supplement. Creeds and Confessions speak to belief while Values and Convictions speak to behavior. They help us understand why and focus on how we want to live out our Confession of Faith.

Guiding Principles

The Board has submitted this first draft to General Council for interaction and feedback.  This will be happening at our September 2010 meeting. We invite your engagement as well.

1. TRUTH MATTERS. That the Bible is our final authority in matters of faith and life. The context in which we live and preach the truth continues to change and so we give ourselves to the task of being true to the Word and prayerfully bringing it to bear witness to our context. In our efforts to reach our world for Christ and in planting churches we want to remain biblically solid and true and also relevant to our culture. We believe the two are not opposed.

2. GOD’S EMPOWERING PRESENCE. Since God is sovereign and the gospel is powerful, we will minister out of total dependence, relying on the leading of the Holy Spirit, and entrusting the ministry to him. This will be evident by our life of prayer. Because of this, we expect the gospel to take root and the Holy Spirit to give the necessary gifts to the new communities of faith. As soon as we are able we will entrust local leaders with the ministry, allowing them to contextualize the gospel to their situation. We will leave these new communities of faith in order to become peers, learning and helping each other remain true to the gospel we share.

3. RIGHTEOUSNESS & JUSTICE. Since righteousness (loving God) and justice (loving neighbor) are central to God’s heart, our ministry efforts will be driven and evaluated by these two biblical themes (Psalm 33:5, 89:14; Isaiah 58; Matthew 22:36-40). As we become involved in social issues we will remember that our greatest social need is to be reconciled to God.

4. INCARNATIONAL. Since Jesus became one of us, we will imitate Jesus by going to the people and living incarnationally as “salt and light” among those whom we are seeking to disciple.

5. GREATEST NEED/HIGHEST RECEPTIVITY/BEST EQUIPPED. Since the Great Commission is a command and the global need for the gospel is so great, unless God reveals otherwise, we will begin our ministry among people with the greatest need, with a high level of receptivity to the gospel, and whom we are best equipped to reach. We will put our efforts into reaching those people who have not yet had a chance to respond to the gospel.

6. MOBILIZATION OF WHOLE CHURCH. Since the Holy Spirit has given gifts to all believers for the purpose of equipping and ministering, (Acts 2, Ephesians 4), we will mobilize the whole church. Every believer is a minister, and every church is a mission station.

7. MOBILIZING LOCAL CHURCH. Since the local church is the visible representation of Christ’s body and is God’s change agent in the world, we will work together with local churches wherever possible, empowering them to do holistic ministry.

8. REPRODUCIBLE & SUSTAINABLE. Since the world’s population is six billion, with four billion who do not follow Jesus, two billion of whom have never heard the gospel, our strategy will involve the use of church planting methods that are highly reproducible and sustainable by the people.

a. Leadership development and discipleship will happen through small, reproducible groups.

b. We will make decisions as close to the ground as possible – in the context of community and prayer, by those affected by them.

c. Whenever possible we will send in teams of variously gifted individuals. In church planting we send in a team representing gifts of evangelism, teaching, administration, and hospitality.

9. PARTNERING FOR IMPACT. Since the unity of the church was so important to Jesus and is a witness to his God-given authority (John 17:20-23), we will partner with like-minded organizations, generously sharing our resources for greatest impact.

a. We will resist the temptation to build empires or protect turf.

b. In local regions we will seek out other evangelical groups and work with or alongside but never in competition.