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Our Core Values

At Life Church Ministries, we embrace seven core values and ten associated core practices. Just as a tree draws vital moisture and nourishment through its roots, our ministry has seven roots that transmit the life of Jesus into everything we do. These roots, or core values, are the things that we do all the time — at every stage in the life of our ministry.

God’s Word
We continually learn God’s Word and put it into practice!

God’s Word:

• gives us life (Job 23:12;Jeremiah 15:16; Matthew 4:4);
• is reliable (Matthew 24:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21);
• instructs (Psalm 119: 9-11,105), and
• is to be obeyed (Joshua 1:8; John 8:31-32)

Prayer
We maintain daily intimate fellowship with God by talking to him and listening to what he says to us.

Prayer is talking to the Father (Luke 11:1-2). God has called us to be one with Him (John17:20-23). Prayer both builds our intimacy with the Father and enables us to partner with Him by doing His will (Matthew 6:9-10).

We must pray in faith (Mark 11:22-24). We should devote ourselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17) following Jesus’ example (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16). We should pray instead of worrying (Philippians 4:6-7). We should pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18-19; Jude 1:20). As righteous believers our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16) and are an offering to God (Revelation 5:8).

Worship
We spend time regularly in God’s presence by worshipping him in Spirit and in truth.

Worship is the logical and fitting response of a created and redeemed people to an uncreated and redeeming God (2 Samuel 7:18-26; Psalm 71:22-24; Psalm 77:11-15; Psalm 107:1-9; Romans 11:30-36). We are commanded to worship God (Deuteronomy 6:13; Psalm 29:1-2; Psalm 95:6; Psalm 96:8-9; Psalm 99:1-9; Psalm 100:1-5; Revelation 14:7).

We worship the Father in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). We worship with singing (Psalm 9:2, Psalm 9:11; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 81:1), audible praise (Psalm 34:1; Psalm 103:1), shouting (Psalm 47:1; Psalm 63:1-3), clapping (Psalm 47:1), dancing (Psalm 149:3), lifted hands (Psalm 63:4; Psalm 134:2; 1 Timothy 2:8), bowing, and kneeling (Psalm 95:6; Ezra 9:5).

We also worship God by giving our resources. You can learn more about this important aspect of worship from the giving page.

Fellowship and Relationship Building
We make fellowship a habit—meeting together with other believers in large meetings, in organized small groups and in various informal gatherings

Like believers in the early church, we devote ourselves to fellowship (Acts 2:42). In this way we encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25), share our lives with each other (1 Thessalonians 2:8), and meet one another’s needs (Galatians 6:2; James 2:14-17; 1 John 3:16-20).

In association with our core value of fellowship we embrace the following core practices:

• Mutual Submission - As followers of Jesus Christ we submit to each other (Eph 5:21).
• Unity / Agreement - We practice unity (Psalm 133) and agreement (Matthew 18:19; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 4:2-3) because these have always been Jesus' intention for the church (John 17:20-23) through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). Our agreement is first and foremost with Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:15-18) as revealed in God’s Word (1 Corinthians 3:10-13).
• Submission to Spiritual Authoriity - We submit to the spiritual authorities that God has established in our lives (Acts 16:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; Heb 13:7,17). By doing this we promote unity in the faith (Ephesians 4:1-16).

We also build caring relationships with those who don't yet follow Jesus Christ (Mat 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1Cor 9:19-23; 2Cor 5:11-6:2; 1Pet 3:15).

We receive important blessings from God through our brothers and sisters:

• Material assistance - Acts 2:44-47; Acts 4: 32-37; 1Pet 4:9
• Confession - James 5:16; 1John 1:5-10
• Spiritual assistance (e.g. encouragement, insight, counseling, etc.) - Eph 4:16; 1Pet 4:10-11
• Discipline - Mat 18:15-20; Gal 6:1-2; 1Pet 4:10-11

Holiness
We obey God's command for us to be holy (set apart for his use - Lev 20:26; 1Cor 1:2; Eph 1:3-6; Heb 12:14; 1Pet 1:15-16).

We obey this command by embracing the following core practices:

• Walking in the Light (1John 1:5 - 2:2) - We strive to make our lives increasingly open to others rather than hiding who we really are.
• Accountability (Mat 12:35-37; Rom 3:19; Rom 14:11-12; Heb 4:13; Heb 13:17) - We answer to God and to one another for the things that we do.

Serving
We serve God, one another, those who don't yet know Jesus, and our communities.

We were created for God’s pleasure and to serve Him (Deuteronomy 6:13; Matthew 4:10; Romans 1:9; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 7:15). God requires us to serve one another (2 Corinthians 4:5; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:8-11) following Jesus’ example (Mark 10:45). Our service also extends to a dying world as we present the good news of Jesus Christ to those who don't yet know him(2 Corinthians 5:17-20; 6:4-10).

Evangelism and Discipleship
Empowered by the Holy Sprit, we practice evangelism by sharing the good news about salvation through Jesus Christ with the people we know.

We don't force Jesus on others, but when people respond to the message we embrace them and obey Jesus' command (Matthew 28:19-20) by mentoring them in their new faith. We pass along the “whole will of God” (Acts 20:25-27) to new believers - teaching them to teach others to teach (2 Timothy 2:2) in order to reach an ever-expanding audience (Mark 16:14-16).

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