GOSPEL
The Good News of God’s abundant love and grace to us through Jesus Christ is at the center of all we do
The Gospel is how any and all spiritual change happens in the lives of individuals, groups, and institutions of people. Therefore, it informs every ministry and is our most fundamental point of reference and principle in every action, plan, and strategy. This principle, before all others, guides us in the decisions we make, the solutions we embrace, the way we conduct our ministries and our relationships with others.
PRAYER
Prayer is vital to a growing relationship with God and ministry in His name
We believe that personal and corporate prayer manifest obedience and humility, submitting ourselves to God and His will, and to His power. Such dependence nurtures alertness to the spiritual dimensions of our undertakings and equips us with wisdom and knowledge for our calling. Above all, prayer changes things because it is God’s desire that we ask Him to work.
FACILITATION
Making disciples who make disciples… Only through this multiplication we can complete what we do
Our vision, as well as our mission, describe multiplication and reproduction as inherent in what we do. Without multiplication, we cannot complete our purpose. While we can plant churches and make disciples, only they can multiply themselves. Our role is to encourage them, train them, and by many other means help them learn to multiply.
TEAMS
A group of individuals united in healthy relationships who work together toward a shared vision
Our name includes “Team” and our mission includes “working together.” We work in teams because that is true to who we say we are. We need the diversity of gifts, knowledge, perspectives, and experiences of all our members and partners to accomplish our mission. Working together in teams also exemplifies, for the emerging church, what true fellowship looks like.
INCARNATIONAL
We seek to model Christ, who emptied himself to carry out his mission
Incarnational ministry is critical to multiplication, and multiplication is at the heart of our mission. The more effectively disciples and churches adapt to the local culture and language, the easier it is for them to multiply. Adaptation is effective only when it is subject to careful and critical reflection that preserves the integrity of the Gospel as it engages local contexts.
HOLISTIC
Our strategies integrate ministry to the whole person, spiritually, socially, and physically
Holistic church planting promotes incarnational ministry, increases trust among unreached people groups, and fleshes out the Gospel with which we have been charged. Good assessment of the felt needs of the local community are critical to sustainability. Our methods must be reproducible physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. When we have finished and our goals are accomplished, disciples and communities of believers are reproducing and are using their resources, labor, and entrepreneurial capacities to thrive in body, soul, and mind.