Our Values
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Jesus-Centered: "To know, experience and obey Jesus." To be Jesus-centered means that we belong to Jesus and everything we do is for Jesus. We want people to know and experience Jesus in real and life-changing ways. "I am the Vine, you are the branches...apart from Me you can do nothing." ~ Jesus (John 15:5)
"And He is the head of the body, the church, He is the begin
ning and the firstborn, from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy." (Colossians 1:18)
"And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church." (Ephesians 1:22)
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ~ Jesus (John 14:6)
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Evangelism: "To seek and to save the lost." Every Christian is meant to give their experience with Jesus away. We share the good news with our mouths and we show the good news with our lives. Sharing our faith is not an obligation, rather it is a natural outgrowth of our love for Jesus. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." (Philemon 1:6)
"And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
"So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. (Mark 5:20)
"And theLord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:48)
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Discipleship: "Helping others reach their full potential in Christ." Being a disciple means that we seek to imitate our Master, Jesus. Discipleship involves gaining knowledge through study of God's word and having our character shaped by trying to live as Christ would have us live. We believe that real life is the best context in which to be discipled. We believe that being in real community with others is how we grow and develop as followers of Jesus. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42)
"Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock." (Matthew 7:24)
"This is to My Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8)
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)
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Intimate Relationships: "To know and be known." We believe that the soul's greatest craving is for intimacy. That is why we strive to be an authentic community of believers who walk through life together, bearing each other's burdens and sharing in each other's joy. Our intimacy is to reflect the same connectedness that God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit enjoy. We believe that out of our intimacy with each other our ministry to the world will flow. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." ~ Jesus (John 15:13)
"Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18)
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another." (Hebrews 10:25)
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Service: "Meeting the practical needs of others." We are here for the world around us. We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is God's gift to the world and that our most distinguishing character trait should be our love for others. Therefore we serve in practical ways and thereby show the love of Jesus. We encourage individuals, families and Life Groups to give a portion of their time to the service in their community. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10)
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
"Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."
