Core Values and Beliefs
I. Our Greatest Gift is God Himself
A. God is Love and therefore Good! (1 John 4:8, Matthew 7:7-11, Luke 11:9-13, 1 John 3:1, Ephesians 1:7-8, Romans 5:8, Psalm 103:11-12)
B. The trinity has made their home or abiding place inside us. (John 14:17, John 14:23, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Colossians 1:27).
C. God executes justice and righteousness for all who are oppressed. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. (Psalm 103: 6-14).
D. He will never leave us or forsake us. His face will not turn away from us. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5, Matthew 28:20).
E. We’ve received the Holy Spirit who is the greatest gift to the church. The Holy Spirit within us guides us into ALL TRUTH! We are intimately connected with the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit. All the Father has was given to Jesus and Jesus says the Holy Spirit will take from what is His and declare it to us! We can know the deep things of God. (John 14:26, John 16:13-15, 1 Corinthians 2: 10-12).
F. The Holy Spirit and Jesus both give gifts to the church and to believers.
G. We can all hear God’s voice and see what God is doing just as Jesus did. (John 5:19).
H. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers for the building up of the church and advancement of God’s kingdom on earth. These gifts are alive and active today. We zealously pursue them while remembering that Love is the foundation that all things work from. (1 Corinthians 12-14).
I. Jesus gives gifts to the Church by grace: the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher are given to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ, until We look just like Jesus on the Earth! (Ephesians 4: 7-16).
While we can know God, who He is and how He works is many times a mystery to us. We value walking out this mystery (which is us not understanding the who, what, when, where, why, and how of things) and know that while he does give us understanding we also have a lot that we don’t understand until He chooses to reveal it to us. He hides things for us not from us.
II. Identity in Christ
A. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. When the way of our being aligns with the truth of our being we will walk in the fullness of God! The Father is our creator and his nature and seed are in us. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of these things to us. (John 14:6, Genesis 1:26-27, 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 3:9, John 16: 13-16).
B. Who we are can only be found in Jesus because we are hidden in Him. (Colossians 3:1-3).
C. God is Holy, therefore we value and pursue holiness and wholeness in Him. We are being transformed into His very image from glory to glory, and this is true freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
D. All believers are priests, kings, bondslaves, servants, friends, and children of God simultaneously. God’s divine power has given us all things in regards to life and godliness. We’ve received his precious promises. All the promises of God find their “yes” and “amen” in Jesus Christ.
E. We have no identity with sin 1. Jesus set us free from the power of sin, death, and the grave. (Romans 8:2, 1 Corinthians 15: 54-57). 2. Before Jesus, we were sinners and partakers of the sinful nature. Now that we’ve received Him into our hearts through faith, we are partakers of his divine nature, and He has forever perfected us as we’re being sanctified. Our old man was crucified with Jesus, therefore our old body of sin was done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin and are now freed from sin.
III. Humility is the pathway to the whole kingdom.
A. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
B. If Jesus humbled himself to become a man to completely redeem us, then I must walk humbly before God for He is humble. (Philippians 2).
C. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but rather it’s thinking of yourself less.
D. Humility is the key to spiritual growth because humble people remain teachable.
IV. We live from Victory and the Kingdom works!
A. The finished work of the cross of Christ defeated sin, death, and the grave. Therefore, our starting place is victorious and from this place of victory we go from glory to glory. (John 3:16, Hebrews 2:14-15, 10:12-14, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 1 Peter 2:24).
B. The Church is and will be His victorious bride. (Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 12:11).
C. All the promises of God find their Yes and Amen in Jesus and as we walk in these promises we reveal God’s glory and become partakers of God’s divine nature. (2 Corinthians 1:20 & 2 Peter 1:1-4).
D. As believers we only fail if we give up and giving up is birthed from unbelief.
E. Anything is possible if we believe in God.
F. We will do the same works of Jesus and even greater works if we believe in Him! Faith in Jesus is the gateway to the supernatural realm of God’s kingdom and brings the realities of heaven to earth.
G. God is the answer and the answer is always way more powerful than the problem.
H. Jesus healed all that came to him, He has all power and authority in all of heaven and all of earth.
V. Jesus is the plumb line of all true theology.
A. His plumb line centers over the Bible. (Matthew 24:35).
B. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8).
C. Jesus is the only perfect representation of God the Father and he perfectly revealed who the Father is and how the Father works. (John 14:9-11, Hebrews 1:3, John 5: 17-23).
VI. We are presence focused and pursuing true intimacy with God!
A. God is love and inherently relational. (1 John 4:8, Matthew 23:37).
B. We are Father centered not needs centered. Jesus did what He saw his father doing, not what people wanted him to do. (John 5).
C. God is love, therefore we live, move, and have our being in love.
D. The Kingdom is family based! 1. We are sons and daughters of God. (John 1:12-13). 2. We are the bride of Christ and He is our bridegroom. 3. Believers are brothers and sisters in Christ.
E. Jesus was found in the heart or bosom of God and salvation through Christ gives us access to this intimate place with the Father. (John 1:18, Hebrews 4:15-16 & 10:19-23).
F. True intimacy requires being unhidden before God and others. We intentionally choose to live in authenticity and vulnerability before God and others.
VII. We are Free, Powerful, and Responsible.
A. We are free in Christ. Freedom is the ability through grace to do any and all I want in the Spirit which simultaneously denies the lusts of the flesh. There is no law when we walk in the Spirit.
B. Powerful: The same power that raised Jesus from the grave dwells in us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:18-23).
C. Responsible: Because we are free and powerful, we’re also extremely responsible for our lives and not victims to anyone. (Romans 14:8-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
VIII. Creating Healthy families and community.
A. We’re adopted into God’s family so we intentionally create family and community everywhere we go.
B. The Family is God’s model and therefore the best way to disciple and grow people.
C. We do everything out of relationship and value meeting together. People don’t truly grow outside of community. (Proverbs 27:17, Hebrews 10:25).
D. A family is a covenant relationship where honor and trust are essential to true intimacy. These relationships help us truly empower and confront one another so we walk in our true identity in Jesus.
E. Love never gives up. When people fall or fail we don’t break relationship but are committed to bring restoration to their lives. (Matthew 18:15, Galatians 6:1, John 8:1-11, John 21).
F. We won’t work on your problem more than you.