CORE VALUE: WE LIVE WITH OPEN DOORS

Statistically speaking, more people come to Christ through relationships than by any other means, such as a random encounter. That implication is huge! If life is better lived together, investing in relationships has to be intentional. As Pastor/Author Tom Mercer of High Desert Church says, people are “supernaturally and strategically placed” in our lives. Identifying those relationships and investing in them has eternal kingdom impacts. Of course, we should all invite people to church, but that oddly only happens around Easter and Christmas each year. People pick up on that. Growing in relationship with people by inviting them into our lives before an invite to church is one way we evangelize, and ironically, typically results in a “yes” to that invitation. Now, think about that in terms of inviting people to follow Jesus. If we are willing to open our homes as a place to relentlessly love people, we invite people to see how we live as we follow HIM!

CORE VALUE: WE LIVE WITH OPEN HANDS

We are constantly reminded to hold everything loosely, keeping our hands open. John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” There is no other way to live this out than to live in generosity. What Jesus has done in our lives, we want to share openly with everyone. If God does not desire anyone to go without his love, shouldn’t that be our desire? The way we live should constantly reflect the light of Jesus Christ… with our time, our finances, and with the forgiveness we have been given. We want desperately to live generously!

CORE VALUE: LIFE IS BETTER LIVED TOGETHER

Community is where we have the opportunity to live out our faith in Jesus. What better place to be perfectly imperfect? As we are infused with the life-giving name of Jesus Christ, His interwoven character of grace and truth begin to work in us and through us as we embrace vulnerability. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” Healing happens as we live authentically in full view of those we are in relationship with. Vulnerability-based trust can only happen when the facades of perfection are dismantled and destroyed in community. Once this is embraced, the mission becomes clear. We begin to live as disciples of Jesus and learn to get back to the radical requirements of unwaveringly following him. We invite others to join us on the journey as we follow Jesus and we begin to see the life-giving truth of making disciples.

CORE VALUE: GRACE AND TRUTH ARE INSEPARABLE

These two characteristics have been presented as parallels struggling to remain balanced. As if sometimes we should show grace to some and to others, truth. In John 1:14 it says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” As Dr. Neil Tibbott once said, “grace and truth are part of the interwoven character of who Jesus is.” You can’t have one without the other. He is full of both. We know there is a desperation for truth when absolutes have been eroded and a thirst for grace when all we want is to be accepted in our brokenness. As we learn to relentlessly love ALL people, we realize this can only be done by Jesus working in us and through us!

CORE VALUE: JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING

This remains central to who we are and everything that we do. We proclaim the name of Jesus because there is no hope, healing, or new life without him. Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Being infused by the name of Jesus results in life-giving hope that changes every part of who we are no matter what we have done. He can rescue us from the sin that separates us from the one true God, bring restoration to marriages, breathe new life into every relationship, and help us overcome fear once and for all.