Our Core Values
Core values are more than words on a page—they’re the guiding principles that shape every decision, interaction, and goal. They define what we stand for, influence how we serve others, and ensure we stay true to our purpose no matter how times change. By living out our core values daily, we build trust, foster excellence, and create a culture that truly makes a difference.
The Bible is the unique and ultimate authority for faith and practice. This leads us to diligently seek the right understanding and application of its truths–not only to know what is right in principle, but to make us the right kind of person. We use Scripture to humble us and define the “abundant life”, not humiliate and direct others.
The clearest picture of who God is and who we’re meant to be is embodied in Jesus of Nazareth, who is both God and Man. The gospel (“good news”) is Jesus: His life, death, and resurrection is both the fulfillment of, and solution to, the Bible narrative. Jesus selflessly takes care of us, freeing us to emulate the same for others.
God’s call to love others requires training ourselves to live for more than just our own comfort and enjoyment, putting the true best for people above our time, talents, money, possessions, opportunities, and personal preferences. How we give of ourselves shapes who we become, and we serve others not to virtue signal but because people matter. We believe all people are “image bearers” of the divine with immeasurable worth, so we don’t just love those we consider acceptable or “ours”–we seek to understand and celebrate God’s beauty within all cultures.
Redemption in Jesus confirms what creation declared: we do not have to trust in ourselves and labor under the anxiety of trying to earn God’s favor while keeping others at bay – we can rest, our confidence being in God’s work and heart, freeing us to embrace others. God’s memorial of this rest (the “Sabbath”) is our “temple of time”, linking our stories and influencing our trajectories; we don’t keep the Sabbath, so much as it keeps us. Its practice allows us to seek God’s presence, be freed from that which enslaves us, free others in the same ways, and do good through bringing true joy and healing to our world.
Human flourishing is not found in consuming, copying, critiquing, or condemning our environment – we are called to cultivate and create a better world, each person making a positive difference through their unique gifts and experiences. This calls for actively looking for – and accepting – ways to be involved in meaningful roles where one can grow and serve others. We are the poetic knot in which heaven and earth are interlaced.
We actively build bridges to connect with people wherever they are, removing unnecessary barriers and extending grace and fellowship to all. When conflict arises, we choose the bridge-building path: protecting the vulnerable, seeking understanding and healing over winning, and directly approaching problems with humility and discretion rather than with defensiveness and avoidance. We create welcoming spaces for newcomers to explore safely and invest in community to grow together.
Mental acceptance alone does not make faith–we’re committed to living out our values individually and collectively. In doing so, we accept the messiness of embodying these values while staying open to growing in our understanding of them, each other, and of their application in the here and now. Believing the “abundant life” is truly good for all, we commit to modeling, mentoring, and inviting others to experience the same.