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As followers of Jesus we have certain core values that we live by and that guide us. Even more, they define who we are as individuals and who we will be together as a church.
We have committed to love God; therefore we are God Stalkers.
God says in Jeremiah 29:12-14, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Then Jesus came along and said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He taught us to “hunger and thirst” for God and His Kingdom.
God isn’t looking for people who might be willing to show up for a church service each week or who simply believe. He wants people who will pursue Him with reckless abandon.
Together we want to go on a journey toward truly living a “Love God” life. Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind.
What we value, who we are, who we are becoming? God Stalkers.
We have committed to love people; therefore we are Grace Wholesalers.
Grace means to get the opposite of what you deserve; to receive mercy, forgiveness, and love when judgment is warranted. A wholesaler is a store that only sells in bulk quantities.
God treats us with amazing grace. The only way we can be in relationship with Him, grow spiritually, and end up in Heaven is through His grace.
Jesus came and exactly represented God the Father. And perhaps the most startling thing about Jesus is that He was the one sinless person who ever lived, and yet the most sinful people wanted to be around Him. They flocked to Him. They were transformed by their interactions with Him. Why is that? It’s because He treated them with amazing grace.
The church is to be the body of Christ. We are to exactly represent Jesus, and so we will give people mercy, forgiveness, and love…in bulk. And we believe that people will flock to us and be transformed by their interactions with us. Why? Because we will treat them with amazing grace.
What we value, who we are, who we are becoming? Grace wholesalers.
We have committed to turn the world upside down; therefore we are Guerrilla Lovers.
There are two basic forms of warfare: the “shock and awe” approach where you have the bulk of power and resources so you try to end the battle as quickly as possible by blowing the enemy away; and, “guerrilla warfare” when you are undermanned and resourced, and so you use intelligence, strategy, creativity, and the element of surprise to make repeated, close-proximity, low-intensity ambush attacks until finally your enemy gives up.
For a long time in America, the church has had an, “If you build it they will come,” mentality and has used shock and awe tactics to impress people. We realize that America is increasingly post-Christian and cynical of all things church-related. Therefore we plan on using guerrilla lovefare. We will use intelligence, strategy, creativity, and the element of surprise to build relationships, serve our community, and touch people repeatedly with the love of God.
What we value, who we are, who we are becoming? Guerrilla Lovers.
