OUR VALUES

bible

We value the Bible as God's revealed truth and the catalyst for life transformation and change. The Word of God is one of the greatest gifts He has given us. It's so many things – divinely inspired, relevant, applicable, perfect, supernatural, simple, complex, comforting and challenging. It literally is the last word – nothing will be added to it, and it has the final say in questions of how we live our lives, lead our families, and function as a church.

The Bible is not a self-help book, it's not a collection of ancient sayings that may or may not apply in today's world, and it's not a mysterious book of answers to life's most confusing questions. More than anything else,

THE BIBLE SHOWS US WHO GOD IS.

As we come to know God and walk deeper in relationship with Him through reading His Word, He begins to change us. In the process, God gives us His character. What comes naturally to Him that's so hard for us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, mercy, & justice) begins to show up in our lives.

Like any relationship this takes work – it takes commitment. We've got to be willing to wrestle, to work through difficult issues, to ask ourselves hard questions, and to hear things that may be difficult for us. But when we do, we'll never be the same.

MISSION

We value the mission of God to reach and redeem individuals, families, neighborhoods and beyond. From the Garden to the Red Sea, from the wilderness to the promised land, from Nazareth to Calvary, and throughout all of history, God has been at work to love, save, and restore people. And now that story continues in each of our lives.

As a loving Father, God initiates this process. He loves us, calls us, and pursues us long before we look for Him.

HIS GREATEST DESIRE IS FOR ALL OF US TO TURN FROM LIVES LIVED FOR OURSELVES AND TO RECEIVE THE LIFE GOD HAS CREATED US TO LIVE.

When we do, He invites all of us to join Him in His mission in our own unique way. Though our contributions are different, God values them all as we give and contribute to what He's doing in the lives of others.

Jesus told His disciples that the mission would start in their city (Jerusalem), then spread to the surrounding regions (Judea, Samaria), and then to the ends of the earth. At Grace Creek, we want to follow that pattern. God's mission starts in our hearts, works through our families, impacts our neighborhoods, affects our entire city, and then keeps spreading to the ends of the earth.

SPIRITUAL FAMILY

The Bible makes it clear that God builds through family, both natural and spiritual. God has called all believers to be a part of a healthy spiritual family. God Himself sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6). God has never been about building a religion, a philosophy, or a movement. He's building a family. A spiritual family is made up of God's children coming together to love God, worship, sacrificially give, and serve one another. Jesus said that the world would know we love Him by the way that we love each other. Yet, so many people feel alone, unloved, and insignificant, and what they really want is to feel like they belong. This is where the Church comes in.

WE BELIEVE THE CHURCH SHOULD BE

...a safe place where people can be honest, where they can share their challenges, where they can wrestle with truth, and where they can look for help in a time of need.

People matter to God, and He wants all of us to experience His love through genuine spiritual family. This doesn't happen through coming together for a few hours a week - it's what happens when people are joined together and do life together.

DEVELOPMENT

We value a lifestyle of worship that leads to the ongoing process of development in the life of every believer.

WE'RE ALL WORKS IN PROGRESS. WE'RE NOT WHO WE ONCE WERE, AND WE'RE NOT YET WHO WE WILL BECOME.

We should be able to see this ongoing process of development in the life of every believer as we grow closer to God.

Religion leaves you empty. You may learn some rules and some new words and phrases. You may learn how to act during a service and what you should and should not say, but in the end, nothing on the inside changes.

When we fully engage with God, when we give our whole hearts and every area of our lives, we don't just "worship" during a service, we live a lifestyle of worship. 

Whatever we do, we do it to honor God and to show Him that we love Him. When we live this way, we'll never stop growing.

GENEROSITY

We value a truly significant lifestyle of giving and serving others with all God has entrusted to us. Most everyone wants to lead a significant life. We all want to leave our mark on this world. There’s something in us that wants to have a story that will outlive us, a story worthy of being told long after we are gone. 

In our culture, a significant life is achieved by storing things up. Things like wealth, experience, wisdom, power, and even time itself. The more you have of these treasures, the more significant your life is. But this is not so in God’s economy. His economy runs counter to our own and grates against our ordinary way of thinking.

IN GOD'S ECONOMY, TRUE SIGNIFICANCE COMES BY GIVING, NOT BY GETTING.

We believe living a significant life is first and foremost a call to generosity, because we serve a generous God, who has graciously given us everything we have: our life, our breath, and our abilities. All of this entrusted to us out of His great mercy and love. There are many ways that we will never be like God, but this is not one of them. 

We believe we’re called to imitate His love by being generous with others as He has been generous with us. We believe that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.