It’s been a delight to hear back from so many of you by email about what you consider to be the values of our church, and for me to praise God for how he’s used our church to encourage and equip you to love others.

As I’ve read your responses, it’s been clear that there is one value that stands head and shoulders above the rest: that our church is deeply Bible-based.

You said we’re “Bible-based in a real and well-articulated way that does not shy away from why we are like that,” and that we have “faithful teaching of God’s word by people of real conviction and gifted by God for that ministry,” with preaching where “the main focus is God.”

It’s a genuine delight to know that the labour of our preachers is not in vain, as we seek to humbly sit under God’s word ourselves, and as we are lead by his Spirit to know more of him and ourselves, which we then bring to you.

I often think of teaching God’s word like serving up food for friends: the greatest compliment is when our guests finish all the food on their plate, and they are deeply satisfied in a way that brought real change and comfort, by God’s strength.

Sadly, this is not something that all Christians embrace, with some feeling that being too Bible-based somehow quenches the Holy Spirit or dampens our experience of God.

Yet, in my experience over the years, the churches that have been most profoundly impacted by God are those that humbly receive his word… especially as it challenges us to stand firm in a world that wants to own us as its own.

Praise God for his glorious word, and for the passion his Spirit has brought upon us to devour it and live for Jesus in every way.

JODIE McNEILL

Almost three years ago to the day, we invited everyone from our church to gather for a ‘Vision Day’ to consider our mission, vision, and values.

As a result, we identified six values that have defined who we are and, most significantly, what we consider to be important.

We decided that we were orthodox, Anglican, missional, intergenerational, village and heritage.

Using these values, we have explained to people what our church is like and why we do things the way we do.

It’s also helped us as we’ve considered change, so that we could work hard to do things that were ‘us’ and not things that went against our grain.

Since that day three years ago, God has kindly lead us through lots of change, and we’ve grown in many ways, especially as we’ve welcomed so many of you to be new members of our church.

And so it seems wise to have a fresh look at our values so we can consider whether these values are still the best six words to sum us up… and we’d love to hear from every current member of our church so we can consider your thoughts.

So, to help us review things, we’d love it if you could take just a few minutes to write down what you think is important and special for our church… and even to consider what might make you unhappy if we changed it.

Please email your thoughts (or write them down) so we can draft some refreshed values to help redefine who we are, so we might grow and change in a way that’s consistent with how God has formed our church.

It’s such a joy to be a part of our church at this time, and we pray that the Lord might continue to lead us to glorify him, as we keep loving each other.

JODIE McNEILL

(photo credit: Mike Cohen via Flickr)