Stating Core Values
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A church leader asked, "Is there a way to express our church’s aspirational values?" The church was in a revitalization process, and an important step was the discovery of core values. When the leaders audited the ministry’s core values, a lack of certain vital values startled them. The same process applies to a church plant to discover if it is missing certain vital values.
There are several ways a ministry can articulate its actual and aspirational values. A ministry needs to communicate the values it has implemented as well as those it wants to implement. The following method focuses on the credo that is key for values communication. The Core Values Statement adds the aspirational values at the end.
| The following presents the core values of First Church. We desire that these values define and drive this ministry in the context of a warm and caring environment. | |
| We acknowledge Christ as the Head of our church and submit ourselves and all our activities to His will and good pleasure (Ephesians 1:22,23). | |
| Biblical Focus | We strive to teach God’s Word with integrity and authority so seekers find Christ and believers mature in Him (2 Timothy 3:16). |
| We desire to acknowledge God’s supreme value and worth in our personal lives and in the corporate, contemporary worship of our church (Romans 12:1,2). | |
| Prayer | We rely on private and corporate prayer in the conception, planning, and execution of all the ministries and activities of this church (Matthew 7:7–11). |
| We ask all our people to commit to and fully participate in biblically functioning small groups where they may reach the lost, exercise their gifts, be shepherded, and grow in Christlikeness (Acts 2:44–46). | |
| Family | We support the spiritual nurture of the family as one of God’s dynamic means to perpetuate the Christian faith (2 Timothy 1:5). |
| We encourage our people to serve Christ with love and gratitude rather than guilt and condemnation (Romans 6:14). | |
| We will constantly evaluate our forms and methods, seeking cultural relevance and maximum ministry effectiveness for Christ (1 Chronicles 12:32).
The following are the aspirational values of our church. While we’ve not yet arrived, we’re working to make them a reality in this congregation: |
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| Lost People | We value unchurched, lost people and will use every available Christ-honoring means to pursue, win, and disciple them (Luke 19:10). |
| We seek to equip all our uniquely designed and gifted people to effectively accomplish the work of our ministry (Ephesians 4:11–13). | |
| Ministry Excellence |
Since God gave His best (the Savior), we seek to honor Him by maintaining a high standard of excellence in all our ministries and activities (Colossians 3:23,24). —Audrey Malphurs, Ph.D. |
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