1. “People Matter to God”
We Value People
John 3:16 shows us what mattered enough to God to send His Son to die for – people…us! Christ didn’t come to die for some thing, he came to die for all people! He didn’t come to die to serve a religion, but to start a relationship. The best part is that John 3:16 not only shows us what he did in the past because people mattered to him, it continues to show us in the present what he does to build that relationship! For God so loves people…! People matter to God!
2. “Teaching is for Life-Change”
We Value Application of Scripture
We can learn a lot of facts about God, know a lot about spiritual teachings, and quote lots of scripture. But if that knowledge is never applied, if it doesn’t change our lives, it’s just an accumulation of facts and figures. As a core value at ECF, it is the intended goal that what is taught changes lives! Teaching that draws us closer to God and makes us more like Christ. It’s not here is my work life, here is my family life, here is my personal life and here is my Christian or spiritual life. It’s here is Christ’s life lived through me. At ECF, teaching is not just to get smarter, it’s to change lives!
3. “Real Christ-followers Grow”
We Value Growth
God sent Christ to die for people. And then he gave us free will. He could have made growth just another life function. We eat, we sleep, we breathe, we grow. But he chose to let us choose whether we grow. In that sense we are the “Angel’s Envy.” Spiritual growth is a choice. We can choose to be a pretty picture that’s not much more than a static moment in time or a colorful but artificial arrangement. Or we can choose to be the envy of angels…we can choose to grow and mature in a personal relationship with Christ, becoming more like him daily. Real Christ-followers grow!
4. “Growing Larger and Smaller at the Same Time”
We Value Small Groups
“Paradox and Paradigms”. Okay, let’s get the obvious out of the way. A “paradox” is not two guys who graduated from med school and “paradigms” doesn’t mean you’re a nickel short of a quarter! A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems to contradict itself, but defies logic by proving itself to be true. “Larger and smaller at the same time?” Ridiculous! Doesn’t make sense. A paradigm is a slight shift in philosophy or way of thinking; a new way of looking at something. So, if we allow ourselves a paradigm shift, a new way of looking at it, can “larger and smaller at the same time” begin to make sense? I believe so. I believe the paradigm that solves the paradox is…drum roll….small groups! I believe that a clearer picture of the New Testament church is a small group of people that grow deeper in fellowship, stronger in discipleship, and broader in ministry who come together for corporate worship to celebrate what God has done in the small groups. Small groups allow us to get to know each other deeper, support each other as disciples of Christ and share with each other in ministry to each other and to others. So as our church, and the Kingdom of God, grows larger, we encourage our people to get into a small group, to be challenged, and to truly grow.
5. “God is Honored in Excellence”
We Value Excellence
The goal is that every venture undertaken, every ministry idea launched first compliments one of the five purposes and then is executed with excellence. If we teach, we teach with distinction (excellence) and God is honored. If we preach, we preach with merit (excellence) and God is honored. If we sing, we sing with brilliance (excellence) and God is honored. If we fellowship, we fellowship with superiority (excellence) and God is honored. If we play in the band, if we run sound and lights, if we prepare and present media, if we greet attenders as they arrive, if we serve in the café, if we work with the children of Electric City Fellowship, we do so in excellence and God is honored! The truth is, we honor him with nothing less than our best, our most excellent.
6. “Every Member is a Minister”
We Value Service
When we accept Christ, we become ministers! That’s the picture that Scripture paints. It is as much our privilege and responsibility to preach God’s word, to introduce people to Christ and disciple these new believers, to meet physical needs, to spiritually mentor others, and to counsel the confused and shepherd the searching as it is anyone that is called by God to full tim ministry! They may have a burden on their shoulders to lead a church of believers in Christ, but every member of the Body of Christ has their own set of Spiritual gift and needs to use them to help grow the Kingdom of God. That’s the story told in scripture and that’s the picture painted by the core value, “Every member is a minister” at Electric City Fellowship. All of us are ministers! To accept the responsibility and accountability to be used by God to reach people and meet needs is a privilege, a gift! Every member is a minister!
7. “Changing Methods, Unchanging Message”
We Value Creativity and Innovation
Nothing will ever take the place of personal, relational telling of the message. Me telling and showing you about what God has done in my life and what he can do for you. But, the more hooks we put in the water, the more fish we’ll catch. We need to be “fishers of men” and find changing methods to reach into people’s lives with the un-changing message, where they are, whatever condition they’re in and reel them in. God’s message to us is, “You catch ‘em, I’ll clean ‘em!”
8. “Focusing on the Things that Unite Us, Not the Things that Divide Us”
We Value Unity
A key to winning (growing in the Kingdom of God) is being a united team as a church body. By focusing on things that unite us and not things that divide us, we accentuate the positive, we encourage strong fellowship and we open up avenues for God to work! By casting division aside, we cast the one who seeks to divide aside. ECF chooses to focus on the things that unite us and the one who wants to divide us gets no attention! That’s a win!