Vision and Values
Our vision for our church is that we would be a church that is Encouraging People to Reflect Jesus and Serve Others. But how do we live that out? Our values provide concrete avenues in which we live out our vision and ways to reflect on if we are staying on mission. What do our vision and values mean to us? Read on or watch the sermons below to get a better idea of how we’re intentionally being the church (instead of simply going to church on Sunday mornings).
Our Vision - Encouraging People to Reflect Jesus and Serve Others
Our vision has 3 parts:
1. Encouraging People: We are called to encourage and build each other up, especially as we await Jesus’ return. Practical steps include showing up for others, listening incarnationally, avoiding platitudes, and praying with and for people.
2. Reflecting Jesus: We need to be reflecting Christ’s light through our lives. In order to reflect Jesus, we’ve got to be able to be with him and hear his voice. We can do this by being still, being silent, being with God, and being present with people to better reflect Jesus to the world.
3. Serving Others: Serving is integral to our faith. Focus on both needs and wants, come alongside others, and serve together with others to embody Christ’s love and grace.
May we actively engage with our mission and be a transformative presence in our community.
Our Values
Values that aren’t put into action are pointless. Values that aren’t lived out mean nothing. If the values we put on paper aren’t lived out and made practical in our daily life, then they aren’t any good. So how do we establish values that we can actually live out? We start where we are and seek ways to dig deeper. Each value established this past year by our elder board involves a statement, followed by a question to help us examine if we are actually living up to that value.
Value 1: Grow in my relationship with God. Am I being with God enough to sustain my doing for God?
In our society, we tend to go, go, go. Usually to the point of excess and burnout. As Author Pete Scazzero says, “We do violence to our souls when we do more than we be.” We want to grow in our relationship by being with God.
Practically, that looks like… •Silence and solitude.
•Breath prayers.
•Bible reading and study.
•Worship and fellowship.
Value 2: Listen to others. Am I more focused on what I want to say to others or what I need to hear from others?
We’re not talking about casual conversation here – that involves give and take. But in those heart-to-heart, soul-bearing, struggle-sharing conversations, are you actually listening? Or are you jumping into fix-it mode?
We can actually listen by…
•Turn your phone off.
•Make eye contact.
•Summarize what they say.
•Ask questions.
Value 3: Help others help themselves. Am I enabling bad decisions or empowering good decisions?
Every parent knows it’s usually easier to just do it yourself. But if you want your kids to ever become self sufficient, you have to enable them to make good decisions on their own. The same is true in helping and supporting others in the church.
If we want to help helpfully, we…
•Get to the root issue(s).
•Take time to teach.
•Focus on the next right choice.
•Give Grace, not criticism.
We believe that living these values out are transformational not just for ourselves but also for those God has placed in our lives.
