A ministry creed

Ministries talk a lot about their unique philosophy of ministry - the things that drive how they do what they do. But have you considered your philosophy of how you work with other ministries? 

ReachGlobal's approach can be summed up in two phrases: "It is about the Bride, not the brand," and "We don't own, control or count anything as ours." Unlike the business world where there is much that is appropriately proprietary, the ministry world is all focused on the same thing: Making the Gospel well known.

Because it is about the Bride (the church) not the brand (my brand of the church) we can and will cooperate broadly with others who are both missional and evangelical. We do not allow the small differences in theology to keep us from working with those, like us who want the Gospel to penetrate our world. Nor do we assume that our brand has a corner on the truth. In heaven there will be no brands except a Jesus brand!

With the declaration that we don't own, control or count anything as ours, we willingly give away everything and anything we learn along the way, want to be generous in helping other ministries and will never control our ministry partners. Who owns it all? Jesus! We want to make His name well known and His reputation great. We live in the spirit of unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17. It is a great place to live.

Have you thought deeply about your ministry philosophy as it relates to other ministries? We opt for being a ministry of humility and service.

Do core values or guiding principles really matter?

Do core values or guiding principles really matter? They do if we are serious about them because when we carefully craft them, know them, live them and align our ministry decisions to reflect them they form the culture or the DNA of our church or ministry.

I recently came across the core values of a new church plant in Athens, Georgia: Living Hope Church Athens. Reading them I immediately knew what kind of church they aspire to be. It is a DNA that would please Paul who wrote to the Ephesians about what it meant to be a healthy church.

Of course such values mean nothing if not lived out in the day to day life of a church. Knowing the church planter on this one I believe they will be. Does your ministry have a defined set of values that define your culture, that everyone knows, that all are committed to and that guide your decisions?

Our core values

Gospel-centered

We will seek to bring everything back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of salvation in Him.

Theological Worship

Our worship will seek to combine biblical truth with the freedom of the Spirit.

Prayer Saturated

As a declaration of dependence on God, we will seek to make prayer the foundation of all we do.

Authentic Relationships

People are encouraged to be transparent about their struggles and victories.

Expository Preaching

Preaching through books of the Bible will be our normal way of teaching.

Discipleship

We will help people progressively grow in their maturity such that they can assist others in doing the same.

Word and Spirit

We want God’s Spirit to be free to move, while filtering everything through the Word of God (i.e. Bible).

Elder Governance

The plurality of godly elders will be the authoritative leaders of the church.

Welcoming

We will be proactive about welcoming people of all ethnicities, social status, church backgrounds, etc.

Church Planting

We will seek to plant many churches out of this church.

Our vision is to be a Word-rooted, Spirit-empowered, and culturally-engaged church that seeks to bring:

·         salvation to the lost,

·         healing to the hurting, and the

·         training of leaders

to help reach the world for Jesus Christ.