The values of a church come about as consequences of the basic philosophy of the church.

They describe the character of the church; govern the way in which things are done, the way finances are used and the nature of our relationships both inside the local church and with other parts of the universal church.

 

The Pursuit of God

Our highest value is the pursuit of God. We have nothing if we cannot know and experience God’s presence, hear his voice and follow after him with all our hearts.

Our desire is to see the love, mercy, and power of Jesus shine through all we do.

 

Discipleship

The church is instructed to produce radical disciples of Jesus.  Therefore, every person is to be a member of a  group where they can be discipled, and assist in the discipleship of others.

Hence, each person both receives blessing, power, teaching, training, and support, and in turn gives it away to others.

 

Ministry

Since the ministry of Jesus is to be exercised by all the people of God, we welcome the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in order to minister healing and work wonders through the gifts of the Spirit.

The role of the church leadership in ministry is to provide overall guidance, to train the people for ministry and to provide an atmosphere where they can do the works of Jesus.

 

Leadership

Leadership is a functional reality, not an appointment or democratic decision.

We aim to exercise authority with humility, selflessness, grace, care for the flock and a sincere desire to have the single aim of building up the Body of Christ.

 

The Individual

We are to work together in building the church, through maintaining mutual respect, open communication, determined cooperation and believing and speaking the best about each other.

 

Relationships

Relationships are totally dependent upon a desire for intimacy, accountability, and commitment.  The gospel is first and foremost about relationships, both with God and with one another.  Therefore, we emphasize relationships over programmes, church structures and titles.  Relationships are to be seen as an end in themselves and not an opportunity to use, exploit, and manipulate people.

 

Simplicity

We perceive God to be a God of simple order and not of confusion.  Therefore we are committed to the idea that our tasks, both individual and corporate, should be accomplished in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.  All that we do needs to be functional, rather than emphasizing appearance.

 

Integrity

It is incumbent upon us to speak the truth, deal honestly and live uprightly.  We are committed to full integrity in all our dealings with people.  We will fully disclose our failures as well as our successes as a fellowship.  We will ensure full financial responsibility, and accountability.  We will not use deception or coercion to motivate people to function and participate in the life of the church.

 

Unity

We aim to strive for unity by honouring, seeking effective connexions with, and blessing the whole church.  

We acknowledge and affirm the Apostolic and Nicene creeds.

 

Culture

We aim to be contemporary and relevant to our culture and generation without compromising our beliefs and values.  All our practices - worship, teaching, discipleship groups, ministry etc. need to contribute to the development of a church environment where the ‘unchurched’ people in our generation can feel accepted and loved.

We seek to communicate in language that is understood by our generation, without Christian clichés etc.  We desire to act in ways that will enable people to respond positively to the kingdom of God without compromising the gospel of Jesus.