Like people and snowflakes, no two churches are alike. Their differences and distinctions not only give them personality, but they mobilize churches around common goals.
The Neighborhood Church is guided by Seven Core Values. We believe they’re more than just values – they reflect a lifestyle that helps us love God and love our neighbor.
1
Life Together – Living as a relational community.
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…’” Genesis 1:26
We live as a relational community by honoring God and holding relationships sacred. We hold relationships sacred by creating opportunities to be together, valuing relationships over structures, and gathering in caring, authentic, and diverse small groups.
Key question: How effective are we in creating opportunities to be together?
2
Worship Together – Worshipping God as a gathered community.
” O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6
We worship together by honoring and interacting with God as a community. From ancient liturgies to contemporary expressions, from expected to unexpected, we encounter and enjoy God together in our worship gatherings.
Key question: How did you encounter God in worship today?
3
Grow together – Continually growing in our relationship with God and with our neighbor.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
We continually grow by investing time in and strengthening our relationships with each other and with God. We recognize the continual renewing nature of God’s beautiful creations and we spend time together from casual discussions over dinner to designed studies of the Bible to encourage divine growth in our community.
Key question: How do we face challenges in our community?
4
Serve Together – Serving God by serving our neighbors.
“For God so loved the world that he gave…” John 3:16
We serve our neighbors by generously giving our time, ability, and resources to those in our community. We believe all people, not just pastors, are equally called by God to serve by intentionally participating in and caring for our community, representing Christ in our community, and pointing people towards Jesus.
Key question: If our Church ceased to exist would our community be impacted?
5
Guided Together – Following God’s direction as a devoted community.
” All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
We listen to and obey God’s voice, first through Scripture, and also through Christian communities modern and ancient. In all areas of our lives – work, home, recreation – and our gathered life together we seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Key question: What is guiding us and how are we responding?
6
Missioning together – Joining Jesus in his mission.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5
We join Jesus in his mission to transform our world. God is a missionary God and we are his missionary people. God calls us to join him in the adventure of being like Jesus. We do this by daily embodying Good News in our relationship to our family, friends, neighbors, culture, and environment. Through us Jesus preaches, heals, comforts, gives, encourages, works, and saves us from ourselves.
Key question: Where is Jesus already at work and how are we joining him in his mission?
7
Multiply Together – Planting neighborhood churches.
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Jesus invites us to join him in building his Church. We do this by sharing our lives, faith, and resources with our neighbors, both near and far, and by planting churches. We dedicate ourselves, as God allows, toward fostering a relational network of Neighborhood Churches, planting 20 churches in our first 20 years.
Key question: What are we doing right now to plant new churches?
