1. We view ourselves as a faith community on mission together

For many people the term church conjures up images of control, child abuse, old buildings, irrelevant teaching and out dated music.

A Faith Community is dynamic, vibrant, fluid, relevant, mystical, embracing and the list goes on. For this reason we have stayed away from traditional terminology and sought to redefine in part the Faith Community’s language.

We want to be a group of faithful believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings living our faith and values 24/7.

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." 1 John 3:23-24

We understand that biblical kingdom living will cause us to stand out in our emerging culture. We are comfortable with this and view ourselves as being on mission together in our own unique cultural setting.

Historically we have thought of missionary service in terms of overseas missions work. We would like to correct that thinking to include both local and international mission service.

We are a sending church rather than an attractional church in this regard.

" So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But 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 1:6-8

The above Scripture communicates this in very clear terms. We are to engage in missions in our own backyard and from there move out to encompass the entire world. This is best done as a member of a missional team.

This is what it means to be a faith community on mission together!

2. Be unashamedly spiritual

We believe that people are generally quite smart. When you invite them to church they will have certain expectations about what they will discover once there. We believe that prayer, worship & biblical teaching are all part of the normal expectation of anyone who visits a church and we therefore are unashamedly spiritual in this regard.

We also believe that people are desperately interested in authentic worship that allows them to connect with the living God.

We believe that fundamentally people value prayer in times of hardship.

We believe that Christian Spirituality is in fact our core business and purpose for the existence of the church. When people attend a church service and do not experience these attributes they leave feeling disappointed and ripped off.

" Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:19-20

" Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

3. Promote incarnational mission teams

We are called to be in the world but not of the world.

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." John 17:13-19

" For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17

As a faith community we are seeking to understand what this means for us in the third millennium. Jesus was God incarnate in our world and we desire to continue that incarnation in our generation.

" I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” John 16:28

We desire to be involved in our community at all levels. We do not want to tie our partners up with so many church activities that they do not have time to build meaningful relationships with ordinary people from within our community.

We want to encourage partners to join an incarnational mission team or establish one if God lays a burden on your heart. We believe that by sending our partners into the world we can reach people who would never ordinarily enter a church building. We can live the Christian faith before our family and friends and earn the right to speak Jesus’ words of life into their lives.

4. Engage in service of one another and our community

Jesus gave to us the clearest of examples in this area of servant hood recorded for us in Mark 10:45

" Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become 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, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45

We believe in servanthood leadership! We believe that God is the God of the secret things. We believe that the attitude of the heart and the journey towards achieving outcomes and goals are more important than the outcome itself.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:1-4

We openly encourage those who display a servant heart and would counsel those who serve out of a desire for recognition, identity, positional leadership or pride.

We believe that some of the best evangelistic opportunities come from acts of service both within our own faith community and within our broader community. We would encourage our partners to continually look for opportunities of service and Random Acts of Kindness. Seeking to be Christ to our community.

5. Value experiential worship and the arts

We believe that the church has settled for second best over time and has lost the passion for multi-sensory worship. We desire to rediscover some of the ancient worship practices bringing them into our current time.

We believe that people’s experience of God involves all of the five senses and that our church worship should also reflect this reality.

We believe that there is a richness of worship when people are encouraged to explore the arts and incorporate them in our worship experience

6. Connect with technology

We live in a technological age. Computers, data projectors, software programs, the internet, email, chat rooms, virtual reality are only a sample of the influences on the culture of our time. As a church we believe that it is vitally important to both embrace these new technological advances and to incorporate them into the daily life of the church in an attempt to reach all people.

We do not become enslaved to technology and its rising costs but rather it becomes a tool in our tool box with which we build the kingdom.

7. Live in community

The reality is that you cannot become a member of God’s family and live in isolation to the rest of the Christian community. As a member of God’s family there are responsibilities that we have towards one another.

" let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:22-24

8. Lead by transparency and teams

We believe that the best missions activity happens when we serve in teams. There is accountability, encouragement, a greater gift mix and range of personality types as well as a community experience to be had by all.

We believe that Jesus modeled this with his twelve disciples and then his three closest friends/disciples.

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." Matthew 5:18-22

As well as his sending them out in pairs:

"These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons." Matthew 10:5-8

"Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits." Mark 6:6

Team ministry is our preferred model of missional service and is encouraged at all times. We try to stay away from lone ranger type maverick activities. These types of activities leave the individual unprotected and place the church’s mission at high risk.

9. Ask questions and engage one another in Dialogue

We believe that communication is one of the greatest keys to vibrant community living. We therefore encourage you to engage one another in healthy dialogue and encourage you to ask your questions whether it be during our worship gatherings, meetings or personally.

As we pursue this core value we encourage you to participate in dialogue with:

• A mutual respect for the other person’s point of view
• An attitude of servanthood and humility
• A deep desire to hear God in the dialogue

(This is not an opportunity to Lord it over someone else or to release some aggression on an unsuspecting recipient.)

10. Value diversity, which we believe leads to creativity

Unity is in no way related to uniformity. God is a creative God and he made each of us as unique individuals. When a diverse group of people live together in unity God commands a blessing.

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore. Psalm 133

We value different ness and believe that it enhances our understanding of who God is and how he relates to us. We believe that the church’s pursuit of uniformity over the centuries has in fact dumbed down the creativity of the church. The church was once a place from which the world’s best music emerged, in which poetry was created and the art of story telling was honed. It is our dream that the church recapture this passion for creativity and diversity.