Our values are:
1) We love God – first and above all else. Everything we are and do should be an expression of our devotion to the God of grace (Matthew 22:37).
2) We love one another – and are learning to like one another! We consider others better than ourselves, put others before ourselves, walk the extra mile to bless and serve one another as an expression of grace and love (Matthew 22:39, John 13:34, Hebrews 13:1).
3) We have been hurt and are being healed – we’re on a journey of transformation, changing into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
4) We are increasingly dependent upon the Holy Spirit who resides in us, and in partnership with us operates through us. We seek spiritual fruit and gifts to be fully manifest among us (John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 12:7, 2 Corinthians 3:17).
5) We have been called to bring the Kingdom of God as we set free captives, bind up the broken hearted, release the oppressed, and minister God’s grace to the poor (Matthew 10:7-8, Matthew 28:18-19, Luke 4:18-19).
6) The word of God, the Bible, rightly understood and applied, is our blueprint for life, operated through the grace of God (Hebrews 4:12).
All this increasingly comes about as we more fully enter into and experience God’s presence. We therefore seek His manifest presence in all situations.
Practical implications of our values more concretely worked out:
1) Worship is our highest calling, expressed in its many faceted ways, as we sing, pray, witness and serve (Psalms 95:6, Romans 12:1).
2) In becoming ‘like Christ’ we give ourselves to accountable relationships, investing in researching, understanding and applying God’s ways of being and doing (Ephesians 5:21).
3) Prayer is central to our engagement with God and investing in God’s mission for us (Ephesians 6:18).
4) The Church is God’s principal means of bringing the Kingdom of God. We give ourselves therefore to its prosperity (Ephesians 3:10).
5) Everybody has a part to play. We all need to pro-actively seek out and apply God’s calling to our lives as we build the church and bring the kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:27).
6) As God is a gracious and generous Father, we too seek to live out of grace in our relationships with an extravagant and generous predisposition (2 Corinthians 9:7).
7) We give ourselves to and look for culturally relevant ways to proclaim the kingdom of God with those who are lost, enslaved and broken (1 Corinthians 9:22, Philippians 1:18).
8) We are committed to working with the body of Christ as God leads us, irrespective of different expressions of church (John 17:11).
9) In the outworking of our mission we seek to be a blessing to our wider community, investing time and energy to serve our town (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
10) We seek to bring life and liberty to the poor, disadvantaged, and needy in our community, offering them all the benefits of the kingdom (Isaiah 61:1-3).
11) We want every generation, young and old, to access all that God has for them (Matthew 19:14).
12) We practise believer’s baptism (Acts 8:36-38).
13) We promote a fully evangelical and charismatic expression of Church.
14) Local churches are governed and led by elders, recognised by apostolic ministry and the church they serve (1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:7).
15) We are committed to being ‘extravagant givers’, financially and practically to the local church, entrusting local leaders to administrate finance and resources for the building up of the church family (2 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Timothy 5:17).
16) Planting churches is God’s plan for every local church. We seek God’s leading and timing for the outworking of this (Ephesians 3:10).
17) We are called to global mission. We seek God’s leading and timing to invest in other nations for the bringing of God’s kingdom and the advancement of biblical churches (Acts 1:8).
18) All the 5 fold ministries of Ephesians 4, i.e. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are essential for the healthy maturing of local churches (Ephesians 4:11-13).
19) We are committed to a full expression of spiritual gifts amongst us for the building up of the local church, and within our mission to the lost (1 Corinthians 14:22-26)