Our core values are the overflow of what we believe:
That God has spoken to us in the Bible, which has the Gospel as its focus, and is to be proclaimed to all peoples resulting in radical salvation to whole-hearted worship of God through Christ in a genuine and diverse community with godly leaders, together on Christ’s mission by planting churches that exist solely for the advancement of the gospel and the glory of God.
The Bible
We value the Bible because it is God’s Word to us. He has revealed Himself to His created beings in the 66 books of the Bible, which is inerrant, authoritative, sufficient for all of life, and declares the gospel of Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelation. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4, 21; Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 5:46-47)
The Gospel
We value the Gospel because it alone is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Gospel is the message of Scripture that God offers salvation to undeserving sinners from His eternal judgment against sin through Jesus’ death on the cross, burial, and resurrection from the dead three days later. The gospel is our greatest need and there is no other means by which sinners are saved and saints are sanctified. (Romans 1:14-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Proclamation
We value the proclamation of the gospel because it is the divinely appointed means of getting the good news of salvation to sinners. The church has been entrusted with the gospel and has been commanded to proclaim Christ to all peoples in every nation so that they may believe in Him and have eternal life. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15)
Salvation
We value clarity on true saving faith because there is no other matter more important than salvation. Sinners are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, but that faith is never alone. It is a faith that works itself out in love for Christ and His church, and in a progressively transformed life. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26; Matthew 7:21, 25:31-46)
Worship
We value whole-hearted worship of God through Christ in the power of the Spirit because it is the goal of salvation. We have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and are now inclined toward God to worship Him with all of our mind, heart, and life as the only reasonable response to so great a salvation. (Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14; Revelation 5:9-10)
Community
We value community because when Christ brought us near to God in salvation, He also made us one family, made of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We value real, biblical community. A place where we welcome and accept people from every race, social status, and background and commit ourselves to a particular local church so that we can be there for one another, build up one another, and reconcile with one another in the inevitable conflicts of being a family. We also value this kind of community because we know that love for one another is the one command of Christ and the most compelling witness to the unbelieving world around us. (John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:1-3; Romans 13:8; Matthew 5:23-24, 18:15; 1 John 4:7-11; Acts 10:34-35)
Leadership
We value a plurality of godly male leaders because God has given leaders as under-shepherds for the life and health of the church. The church needs leaders to preach the gospel with fidelity, exemplify the gospel with godliness, and defend the gospel with boldness and humility so that the church may know Christ, stay faithful to Christ, and stay focused on the mission of Christ until He, the Chief Shepherd, returns for His people. (Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16)
Mission
We value the mission of the church because it is the calling of our lives. To know Christ and make him known in all the world is the Great Commission given to us by our Lord and what we live for as the church. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8)
Planting Churches
We value church planting because it is one of the best means of fulfilling the Great Commission. To fulfill the Great Commission, we need gospel-proclaiming churches peppering the landscape so that those dead in sin may hear the gospel and live. Rather than becoming inward-focused, we want to press out to proclaim Christ in areas that need a gospel witness. And as God saves sinners, we seek to gather those believers into new local churches that continue to be a gospel presence in the community. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15, 16:20-21)